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Cortes’ electrifying show sums up 20 years on road
Posted in Romany Dance, Romany Dancers by Chavo Romano
Source:nj.com
Photo: STEPHANIE PISTEL
NEW YORK– Flamenco superstar Joaquin Cortes has been on the road, touring the world as the headliner of his own company for 20 years. This year, in February, he turned 40.
Cortes’ latest show “Cale,” which makes its North American debut tomorrow at the Beacon Theatre, represents a summation. New material for this typically flashy spectacle with computerized concert lighting, video and special effects, includes a soulful “requiem” for the handsome and frequently bare-chested star, and a powerhouse finale for the whole company.
Yet most of the evening interweaves excerpts from his six earlier productions, a parade of blockbusters that began with “Cibayi.” The new show also offers highlights from “Pasion Gitana,” “Mi Soledad,” “Live,” “Soul” and “De Amor y Odio.” “What I’ve done is take the essence of each work,” Cortes says, “and then I staged a completely new production that’s an hour and 40 minutes long.” “Cale” received its premiere in Barcelona in March.
“After 20 years of creative work, you want to close a cycle,” Cortes says. “I hope that, when Cale is over, a new phase of my life will begin.”
Cortes has adopted a nontraditional and hence controversial approach by embracing 21st-century stagecraft. In a typical production, the severe look of flamenco — the simplicity rooted in a culture of poverty and hardship — appears electrified, giving it a contemporary sheen. Without sacrificing flamenco’s intimacy, Cortes displays himself in a glitzy frame like a rock star. He is the only male dancer in the show, backed by a corps of 10 women dancers and 16 musicians.
Both the style of dancing and the music that Cortes composed with his longtime collaborators, the brothers Antonio and Jose Carbonell, reflect a wealth of influences. “It’s based in this personal style that I created, based on the fusion of flamenco with other styles of dancing and music,” Cortes says.
“It’s not a laboratory experiment,” he says. “It’s a natural thing that was born inside me because I had the good fortune to train in all types of dance when I was a kid. Then I was lucky to be able to travel all over the world and see other cultures.”
Speaking of the music, he adds, “You’re going to hear a fusion of flamenco music, which is my roots, with Arabic music, with salsa and with Gospel.” His musical tastes are eclectic. “I love opera,” Cortes adds. “I love rock, funk and house music — everything that has quality.”
Yet if anyone has the right to take flamenco in a new direction, it is Cortes. His credentials are impeccable, starting with his upbringing in Cordoba, followed by his experience as a prodigy dancing with Spain’s national ballet company. The word “Cale,” in fact, means “gypsy” in Calo, the language of Spain’s Roma people. Cortes says the whole piece is infused with his native culture.
“Cale is totally a gypsy work,” he says, “This is what it means to be a gypsy.”
Robert Johnson may be reached at rjohnson@starledger.com.
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