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Angel Rojas& Carlos Rodriguez Artistic Directors, Nuevo Ballet Espanol By Mandy Kent |
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Having watched the fiery extravaganza 'Flamenco Directo' the previous evening I was really looking forward to meeting the two fast-moving and charismatic 30-year-old stars of the show, Angel Rojas and Carlos Rodriguez. The pair run the intriguing company Nuevo Ballet Espanol, mixing as it does contemporary dance with the flamenco traditions they are both steeped in. Rojas and Rodriguez have been dancing in professional companies since they were teenagers and in 1994 jointly won first prize in the Spanish Annual Dance and Flamenco Choreography Awards. They formed Nuevo Ballet two years later, since becoming Resident Company in the Theatre of Madrid, while also touring internationally throughout North and South America and Europe.
But this is their first visit to the UK and I was keen to hear more about the company they created and their unique approach to flamenco...
AR & CR: The company has four separate shows touring at this moment but 'Flamenco Directo' is possibly the most representative, certainly in terms of what we have been trying to achieve with the fusion of flamenco with other influences such as jazz, contemporary music and modern dance….in that sense it is a great introduction. It has also had a lot of success in other parts of the world, which is another reason for bringing it to the UK. MK: The audience was appreciative last night but you may have noticed that London audiences are quieter compared to those in other countries. How do you think the show went? AR: The English public can be reserved but they are also well-informed, they know what they have come to see and what to expect. The applause comes as it should. Last night was the second night and people are beginning to get an idea of what the show is. Hopefully the response will increase as the show settles down in London. CR: We know the show works; we have been doing this show for a long time. MK: Yes, the show was created in 1998 and it has played around the world. Which aspects of the dancing come from contemporary dance? I noticed your fantastic pirouettes for example, is that typical of flamenco? CR: The pirouettes come originally from classical dance, which is part of the education we have had as dancers, we haven't just come from a flamenco background. I have studied classical ballet dancing virtually all day in my training. The technique helps. MK: Do the flamenco 'purists' frown on the fusion of styles?
AR: We are very respectful of the forms of flamenco; we are not crossing over the line. We have had problems with flamenco traditionalists but not with purists. What we are doing is as pure in a flamenco sense as what was being done forty years ago, though it is different as the art has evolved.
CR & AR : We have just done a flamenco version of 'Romeo and Juliet' which will be performed in Madrid. MK: And perhaps 'Carmen' could be your next show?! Could you tell me if there is room for improvisation in your performance? AR: The only real space for improvisation is in our solos, a solo dancer can improvise. But with 'Flamenco Directo' we have to control the time, there is a lot to say in the show, it runs for just over two hours, so it is fairly designated both in terms of the structure of the show as a whole and the structure of the individual pieces. That's not to say there is no improvisation, but there is more in some of the other shows we do. CR: Drawing a parallel with classical ballet, there is a point to make; there is a line to go down and so that is the model we are trying to follow with Flamenco Directo. Traditional flamenco does have a different format, there is much more along the improvisational line, but we are not trying to go that way with Flamenco Directo, we want to control what we are showing on the stage. MK: Is the stage floor 'miked-up' to amplify the sound of the foot taps? Does it require a special surface? IH : There are microphones just above the level of the floor, not under it, and the stage has a normal wooden floor. MK: Do you have a particular favourite amongst the pieces? A special moment in Flamenco Directo …..perhaps your own solos?! AR: No, not my solo! When Ana Arroyo is dancing there is a certain theatrical moment when her arm is raised and the light suddenly goes away from it, for me it creates a great piece of theatre and the nature and style of her dancing is very theatrical, she's taken that choreography in a direction that I really admire, and it wouldn't be the same if anyone else was dancing it.
CR: I like the first number because it's so slick and so fast, has so much energy and when you get to the end of that number you know you are going to get great feedback! It's brilliant to be inside that first number and to be looking toward that particular point.
CR: I love watching the reaction of the audience. There is so much going on and the audience is trying to work it out! MK: Can you see the audience then? CR: Sometimes if the stage lighting is bright and spills over into the first rows. MK: How do you two keep in such close synchrony when dancing together? Do you count the beat or just listen to the music? CR & AR: It's fifteen years of working together! Obviously we both know the pieces and have practiced over and over, but at certain stages there is no real need, you just get into the rhythm of the number and there is an unspoken knowledge that the other one is following that same particular rhythm, once the rhythm of that dance is worked out the rest is almost automatic. MK: Do you always choreograph together? AR & CR: Sometimes together, sometimes separately. Sometimes we want to say the same thing and sometimes we want to put our own work in. There is a piece we are working on for the end of this year where we are on completely different wavelengths at the moment but it is not a problem, there is sincerity between us and we are friends. MK: What are you planning next, what is in the future? CR & AR: The launch of our new work 'Tierra' which means Earth. We will also be appearing as guest principal dancers in a production of 'Don Juan' which was premiered six months ago. We have done the choreography for this work and now we will dance as guests. The producer is one of the producers of 'Notre Dame de Paris' and it will be at the Palais de Congress in Paris. There have been over two hundred shows in Canada. It's a musical, with modern French music mixed with traditional music, it is quite a revelation! MK: I was interested to read that you sometimes dance to pop music such as Sting or Gloria Estefan. CR & AR: Yes, that is a show called 'Fury'. It was made for American television. MK: Have any of your performances been filmed for video or DVD?
IH: 'Fury' was filmed for USA television but has not been released for sale.
 Carlos Rodriguez & Angel Rojas © Teresa Peiri
AR: It's just good luck! We have to be careful as with any dancer, you don't do stupid things, you are careful even going down stairs, you don't go ski-ing and things like that. MK: Have you any other comments to make about your debut in London? AR: We are delighted to be in London and to have the opportunity to open a door for our careers. We haven't had a chance to come to London before. We are really pleased not only for 'Flamenco Directo' which is one of our older shows but we hope we can bring some of our later works too. I hope that the UK audience will continue to enjoy our work and that this can be the start of a long association with this country. MK: I wish you every success.
CR: If people really want to come and see an example of where flamenco is at, the new tendencies in flamenco and what is happening, then they should come and see this show.
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