Many people are lucky enough to some point of their life to experience an unforgettable evenings, or if you are very lucky several, so if you are ever in Madrid in June, be sure to visit the Teatro Albeniz to watch Danza Espanola y Flamenco. This theatre plays host around this time, to a choreography competition for all the best flamenco schools in Spain. This is a competitions for the best new work in dance, music and choreography, it should be an original composition. I found this theatre quite by accident, having asked my hotel if they could recommend a venue were one could view authentic flamenco dancing.
On the evening I attended, I immediately became aware that this was not just some normal night, everything seemed to be on a high octane level. Those in attendance were not your normal audience, but seemed to be a highly select group. Looking around the theatre, one became aware that it was full of dancers and knowledgeable patrons. They were mainly young, beautiful, and critical. Dressed in all the finery of Spanish fashion, the girls with red flowers in their jet black shiny hair, were a sight to behold, as they chatted excitably about the coming evening's entrainment. These exquisitely dressed young women, filled the air with that buzz of excitement that only the young and passionate are capable of, They seemed to have come from not only Spain, but all over Europe. The couple seating next to me had only just arrived from St. Petersburg to watch their son, young Juan dance.
This competition is held over four days, three nights of elimination with only the three best from each evening, going through to the final. All the performances seemed to me to be out of this world, how one could judge was beyond my limited knowledge. This was no tired nightclub routine, but the real thing, for not only were reputations at stake, but substantial prize money could be won. An electric current surrounded each group of dancers, as their seamless intensity of movement griped your throat. The girls twirled and spun in their well-trained routines to the haunting sounds of flamenco voice and guitar, as they moved around their male partners. Each individual performance of these young dancers filled the theatre with their passion, skill and power, the visual sight was one of sheer joy, and love of their dance. There would be short quick flicks of a foot that sent their dress flying through the air, to fall in some perfect pattern upon the stage. The crisp defiant body movement, the tossed head and flashing eyes were a language in themselves. Their tense steps, seemed like coiled springs would suddenly release, as they turned away from some unwanted lover. One particular performance on the first night I was there, a choreography of memory, of a young girl, as she used her cape to represent various aspects of her life. Her first love, her child and the death of that child, Spanish culture is very dark, but also wonderful.
It seemed inevitable, that I was destined to return the following night to watch the final. The sensation of this night was even more intense than before. The winners of this competition was Olga Pericet, who played and sang with two other dancers, one male, one female. They danced out their life with such passion, that many eyes were somewhat teary. The audience and performers had become one, each twirl and movement was greeted with a shout of Ole, the audience by now were one their feet, shouting in great excitement, as they encourage the dancers to even more daring feats. The guitars seemed ready to burst, as frenzied feet beat the stage at greater and great speed. You felt you were at a bullfight, as this fierce national pride over took over the theatre, it is hard to explain the experience to anyone, unless you were there in the flesh. The crowd just clapped in time to he music, as they stamped their feet, shouting their approval. Life and death seemed so close, as the male dancer in this sager departed from this world, leaving his partner to her lonalyness and grief. This performance won both the music and dance section, and left me with this wonderful memory of an unforgettable night. I have never in my life experience such a high powered evening, and I only hope that such a night may come again.
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