© Isabal Bayon Sadler's Wells' fourth annual Flamenco Festival London. Ballet.co Magazine coverage: March 2007 April 2007 recent Gala de Sevilla reviews more Charlotte Kasner reviews Discuss this review (Open for at least 6 months) Gallery of Photographs

The programme featured two seguiriyas and two soleas, topped and tailed by neuvo numbers and enlightened only by one Cantilinas and an Alegrias. There was therefore as little light and shade in the dancing as there was in the lighting. The technique could hardly be faulted but it was not sufficient to raise the evening and create a joyous climax to the festival. Isabel Bayon's seguiriya provided the highpoint; intense and exciting and incidentally the only decent costume of the evening, a blue bias cut dress with matching shawl.

The men's costumes were hideous and restricting. Suits with jackets that flapped distractingly and hindered the braceo. Grilo's closing solea was executed in a glaring white suit that made him look like a frenetic Alec Guiness. He constantly flicked it off his shoulders, perhaps in an attempt to look sexy, but it did at least free his arms a little. Marco Flores' opening seguiriya was competent enough but the dull grey suit, combined with the gloom of the lack of lights made him look like an office worker who'd accidentally strayed into a pena and who rapidly began to look the worse for wear. Ties waved in the breeze, trousers bagged and wrinkled and shirts looked crumpled within seconds. At least Flores didn't have to suffer the raspberry coloured horror of a suit that was inflicted on Manuel Linan. It certainly did not enhance his already unremarkable solea.
 

The audience were quiet throughout, a rare jaleo ringing out in a rather forced manner. The individual dancers obviously have a following and undoubtedly have superb technique but it seems unlikely that the comparatively low key response was due to reverence on the part of the remainder. In a not unprecedented manner, the brief encore bulerias was the most interesting dancing of the evening, providing at least a semblance of spontaneity that the remainder of the evening lacked and that is essential when flamenco is not enhanced by tight staging.

A pity to end on such a low note, but Sadler's Wells is to be congratulated on co-ordinating such an otherwise vibrant and varied festival and they no doubt will be pleased with the sold-out houses and queues for returns.