There were lots of modern "a la Las Vegas" style w/ interesting tech- double images on the screen during performances, plus some "a la Cirque de Soleil" drama, comedy & pantomime- excluding the acrobats. There was an unusual dance number, titled, "Tolerance," that included 3 dance styles: hip hop (today's shaved youth), tap (American tap w/ a Spanish beat) & flamenco (Spanish gypsies). Each demonstrated competitively their styles w/ the simple 2 count beat techno beat pounded out by a talented cajon player. Finally to end the tension, one of the Spanish gypsies approached the other two groups and gave them a hug. In return, the others gave a nod of appreciation, and the number concluded w/ all of them dancing together accompanied by an outstanding cajon player. Entertaining and clever. Like Vegas, there was an obligatory adagio. Other flamenco elements included some energetic & powerful "old pros" who sang, danced & preened while playing to, and with the audience. At the end of this particular performance, Rafael suddenly ran into the audience w/ his video camera; then, he proceeded to make us part of his show by simultaneously videotaping & projecting everyone onto the screen. Life imitating art, or is it art imitating life? What an exhilarating way to end a production.

Rafael's Enramblao astonishes the viewer, is fast paced, and keeps the audience alert. He is not only an excellent flamenco (His solos rocks!), but also a creative artist. Overall, it is the cleverest flamenco show we've ever seen in Spain, or the U.S.A., for that matter. As Dez said, "Just seeing 1/2 of what I saw, would have made me happy."

Flamenco in Madrid
La Carbonera: Don't go to La Carbonera Monday nights! Let's see. There were 8 performers on a stage the size of a pea. Of the 3 female dancers, 2 danced like students; in fact one performed a Sevillanas as her solo. Get real. The other female dancers looked/acted like she was their teacher. Overall, they were not inspiring, nor interesting to look at and definitely need to get rid of the frumpy, dull dresses. They sang a tango/rumba? and forgot how, or when to end the song; anyway, it turned into a complete muddled mess. The room was filled w/ befuddled children - which didn't help w/ camera flashes going off every 5 seconds. When the male lead (Rafael) came on stage, all the girls should have graciously left because they did nothing to add to his strong solo. Guitarists & singers were adequate and having fun. But overall, it was a big mess. The lesson we learned from this journey: never go to a flamenco club on a Monday night, especially La Carbonera. To think that Domingo Ortega has performed here.

Flamenco in Sevilla
Los Gallos UPDATE 2004: Remember Los Gallos 2, or even 4 years ago? There was the incomparable Soraya, with the incredible Torombo, El Jairo, El Perla - to mention a few. Me thinks that those times have ended. Nope, I won't be making any future plans to return here; it's changed for the worse. The pretty girl dancers do nothing but tangos and muddle up the contras during their taconeo. They have this new male dancer who is oh-so-feminine. ( I don't think that male dancers should purse their lips & stick out their butts while dancing. Besides, his banging footwork was awful.) Nowadays, I would call this club "cheesy" & a tourist trap. Too bad, welcome to the Euro & commercialism. Because of the excellent singers & guitarists, we can, at least, give it 1 out of 4 fans.

Anselmo 2004 - Every cab driver must get a cut for recommending this place. Fellini film characters are in abundance; so, if you want to make a character film, this is the place. Besides, the interior is like every person's dream of a tablao setting. The locals are a lively & jovial cast; they dance the Sevillanas, sing and play. Funny thing, the cajon player was way better than any of the percussionists we had heard so far at the festival.

Flamenco in Cordova
Cordova - Disco Meets Flamenco at "La Buleria." This was a case of puro flamenco contaminated by disco lights, a major tech decision that the performers relished. It was like watching children playing with a new toy; each time they performed a number, the multicolored flashing lights were set into motion. As soon as they finished a number, the lights were switched off. But all in all, these are people who love their music - they were an exceptionally "tight," joyous group AND most importantly, a pleasure to watch. If you're looking for a strong, rhythmic, talented and delightful tablao, this is a must see. Every 2 years, I visit them and every 2 years, I walk away w/ a smile.

XIII Bienal de Flamenco - Jovenes 2004
This is the first year for this "youth" flamenco festival. Each night one guitarist, one singer and one dancer were featured. These are the up and coming artists from Spain.

June 30
Guitarist: Juan Requena - Here we have a la Paco de Lucia imitator w/ jazzmenco; music floats & goes nowhere. He knows all these scales, but playing scales doesn't make music
Singer: Jose Anillo - Jose enjoys what he's singing & has great audience connection. This guy has potential.
Dancer: Sara Vazquez - Everyone looked, waited for this young female dancer to explode. Practicing & emphasizing technique can make a dancer appear self conscious. This was an excellent example of amateurism.

July 1
Guitarist: Jose Manuel Leon - A la Paco de Lucia #2. Spain is truly beating jazz flamenco to death - nothing but chords & scales, chords & more scales - so what? There is a complete lack of rhythm and compas. They refer to this music as flamenco fusion; it's more like flamenco CONFUSION.
Singer: Victor Quero "El Charico" - It was obvious that he didn't want to be here; he looked like he wanted to hide.
Dancer: Adela Campallo - Having just come from the kitchen cooking paella, Adela Campallo just stepped out on stage. Ugh, those grandmother dresses are horribly ugly; although, she danced w/ lots of fire.

July 2
"AL SUR" Juan de Juan - Special Performance
Energetic, exuberant, happy - loves what he does, and shows it - he's absolutely wonderful to watch - a handsome guy w/ unusual talent. Quite accidentally, his parents and family member sat in front of me. Because they were so friendly, I inquired about their son. She emphasized that he was always a good kid, and never caused any problems. Evidently, there was a seamstress who listened to flamenco music and he was fascinated by it. In his teens, he asked if he could go into town (Sevilla) and take flamenco dance lessons. They were totally surprised by this request and said, "Yes." He proceeded to take a bus into town to study. Anyway, here he is - getting calls at the house from all over the world. She also mentioned that the family has always been involved in music, BUT there had not been a dancer in the family for several generations. Well, even if I didn't meet the mom, I would still say he's an incredible dancer. His footwork is magnificent, unbelievably fast and the clarity & tonality is perfect. This kid has lots of talent and will definitely be around for a long time. Except, Juan - get rid of that African drummer; he was so weak, distracting & looked lost.

July 6
Guitarist: Daniel Casares - A la Paco de Lucia #3 - This guy got totally lost in Bulerias. We get the distinct feeling that this guy has more to do w/ being sexy & cool for marketing, not w/ playing guitar. Dez fell asleep zzzzz. In the guitarist's bio, he stated that he performed in Las Vegas. Being from Las Vegas, Nevada, we want to know if he performed in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Mexico, or Las Vegas, Nevada. If the later, he must have performed at the local, tacky & comical Kitchen Cafe; how appropriate - nobody took that flamenco seriously.
Singer: Juan Zarzuela - Probably the best singer so far, but our advice is this: Do yourself a favor, get rid of Tweedle Lee Dum & Tweedle Lee Dee! These "palmero" friends/ cousins were like two bumps on a log, were thoroughly distracting, and did absolutely nothing except look around like they were looking for a place to hide.
Dancer: Mara Martinez - As each night rolled into the next, one could not distinguish one dancer from the next. Same body shapes, facial features - could have been same person w/ different names. Geez, these Sevillanas are all long dark-haired, small, shapely & pretty women.
For once, we would like to see a dancer with a sense of humor; so far, there hasn't been a moment where the dancer has jumped out of the gate.

July 7
Guitarrist: Manuel de la Luz - This guy comes with credentials and has played w/ singers (Carmen Linares) & dancers. Dez likes when guitarists to express themselves w/ emotion & joy - not as though they are bored out of their minds, like we are. Once again, scales, chords, scales . . . blah, blah, blah, & alas, Dez went fittingly to sleep. As Dez stated throughout this festival concerning the guitarists, "They need to get rid of their affectations."
Singer: Ana Ramirez - This singer was excellent; the palmero wonderful; the guitarist strong, plus - they worked well together. She challenged the audience w/ her presence & character. We liked her; in fact, we loved her. (Oh, and her guitarist was such a happy camper, playing his accentuated falsettos while complimenting her singing. What a joy to listen to & watch!)
Dancer: Soraya Clavijo - 4 years ago, I returned from a summer trip to Spain & told Dez about a dancer that I saw at a club called "Los Gallos." 2 years later, I returned to the club and this time Dez tagged along. He too, was impressed by this dancer, and as a result, we purchased tickets to see her the following evening. Now another 2 years have passed. Low and behold, there is a program change. Soraya is now listed as the guest dancer for Wednesday evening. Now we must remember, we had come to see the new flamenco generation. So far, the performances have been fair to good. But with Soraya, "playful" is the word which best describes her childlike aura. In-fact, at one point, she performed a tantalizing buleria segment, and suddenly motioned to the audience to effectively say - This one, I give to you. Her charm, grace & talent were accompanied by "tight" musicians, Curro Fernandez & son -plus the talented, singer Ana Ramirez. Before the program, she had described her flamenco as modern, strong, different & nontraditional. Yep, that says it all. Oh, and one more important note - this year she won the Carmen Amaya award for Bailaora of the year 2004 in Cordova. No more tablaos - go, flamenca, go!!!!

July 8
Guitarist: Diego del Morao - O.K., here we go again w/ that soft, distracting drumming. Yes, Dez, it's nap time. As Dez stated, "All these imitators must make Paco de Lucia want to run to the caves of Sacramonte & hide.
Singer: Rocio Segura - Way too serious. Relax & have a good time. Meanwhile, we'll tell you what - your guitarist was incredible; what was his name? We could just sit and listen to/watch him forever.
Dancer: Rosario Toledo - Rosario stepped out on stage with the official black widow costume, black stockings, black shoes on a black stage w/ a black background - ok, we get it, but how much drama can we handle if we can't see it? Also, from our festival experience, we have learned that the unwritten flamenco code is you must wear black. As a result, Dez has decided to donate his black shirts to a charity.

OUR FESTIVAL OBSERVATIONS
In just a few nights, we saw a lot of cookie cutter dance/music school products that looked alike, danced alike, and who displayed a general lack of emotional expression, or audience connection. For the guitar soloists, what Dez would like to hear is some crisp arpeggios, clean and strong rasqueados, and how about some clear accented alzapuas? That's asking for too much. Any of these techniques were squandered by the youth. The best guitarists were the accompanists for the singers. We only wish that someone would have printed, or announced their names after the "cante" performance. There were several who were incredible not only in technique, but in artistry. Someone needs to create a tour for these "old pros."

Soft "boinging" African drums. There were lots of what we discribe as "boinging" going on - using African drums to accent flamenco with a soft beat. Ugh, once again . . where's the driving rhythm? Their sound made the performances limpid, sexless & neutered. Why bother? Go home. A drummer should appear confident & add to the "ritmo"; instead, we saw on all of the African drummers' faces an expression of fear & trepidation. Reluctance? How can you be insecure as to where the beat exists in flamenco? Recommendation: Go home & listen to a "compas" CD.