It was 1997 at L.A.’s, “The Fountain Theater, where we had the opportunity to see Andres for the first time on stage at another Flamenco venue. This production was so memorable because we witnessed what we later referred to as “The Dueling Flamencos,” – Andres Pena & Domingo Ortega competing for the hearts and minds via Bulerias. Back then, Andres made us sit up and take notice. Fortunately, he came to Vegas as a guest artist and once again proved his prowess as a flamenco force; it was just a matter of time when we would see him with his own troupe in the States. That opportunity finally arrived on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

But let us digress … O.K., let’s get something straight. According to the program, Alfonso Carpio is listed as the one who doesn’t sing, but does “palmas.” As far as we could tell – all of the singers were incredibly competent at “palmas.” In fact, THANK YOU for having so many artists perform “palmas”; it is an art form that has not always been appreciated by other flamenco productions. In the age of Nuevo Flamenco, bongo drums, boinging drums, and cajons from Peru oftentimes dominate and diminish flamenco’s power. Whoever made the decision to truly represent this essential heartbeat to this production has our vote. Also, we appreciated the guitarists who were musically fascinating, yet rhythmically complimentary to the choreography. This was especially evident in “Farruca.”

Overall, Andres’ show is one of the best flamenco productions we have witnessed. Kudos must be given to the lighting and musical directors. The fluid transition from multi (entire company) to isolated (Malaguenas) staging made the production varied and quick paced.

Machine Gun Andres aka: (MGA) showed his strong simple, masculine and crisp body lines and flawlessly lightening fast footwork in a highly respected piece, “Martinete.” Andres is of a different ilk; unlike others before him (such as Canales), he is a technician, and not a dramatist. With one dramatic beam of light, Andres walked powerfully onto the stage. His emotionless face expressed the seriousness of this performance. Before us, Andres quietly stood – like a frightening skull-like image of death. Once he began, the drumbeat of death was calling from the grave for the minions to follow him into hell … we were entranced, and gladly followed him to the “darkside.” Upon his departure, a thunderous applause broke the trance. From that moment, we understood that for Andres, his clipped, concise choreography is the key to his power. No, he doesn’t have the facial expressions of other flamenco artists, but MGA has something else, technical prowess. This technical stance worked in “Martinete” because the performance was dramatically heavy. (Undoubtedly, MGA's “Martinete” is the best we have ever witnessed.) There was a moment when MGA's Solea por Bulerias hit a similar astounding climax, (The applause seemed to last for eternity.) but it unfortunately disappeared like water through his hands. We all felt it - he had just finished a flurry of incredible footwork, suddenly rushed forward to the edge of the stage, looked through us and drew us in. At that moment, he should have taken his jacket – perhaps even winked at us, walked off stage and left us wanting more, instead of giving too much. Perhaps, his love for performance got the better of him; who knows, or who cares? Andres, thank you for taking us to the “darkside.”