Interview with Cristina Hoyos. Habla sobre el Romancero Gitano. Directora del Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía

INTERVIEW
WITH

CRISTINA HOYOS

«Romancero gitano»

by Manuel Moraga
photos: Luis Castilla

After the tempestuous professional relationship
with the previous director of the Agencia para el Desarrollo
del Flamenco, in which she unquestionably came out on
top, Cristina Hoyos is now in the news as a result of
two strictly artistic events: the tribute in her honor
at the
Festival del Cante de las Minas, and the staging
of “Romancero Gitano” at the Generalife
in Granada, which runs through August 26th. With script
and staging by José Carlos Plaza, the lady who
heads the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía is highlighting
Lorca.

Whose
idea was it to resort once again to Lorca, was that
your doing?
Well, each year at the García Lorca Festival,
one of the poet’s works must be represented. In
2003 we did “Yerma” with José Carlos
Plaza, and he had an idea for the Romancero that was
very nice, so now we’re back at the Generalife
gardens with this work.

Ten chapters have been selected, did you make the choices?
No, that was basically José Carlos’ doing.
He came to me and said, “Cristina, I’ve
picked out these poems which are the most easily adaptable
to dance, to express our feelings and vision”,
and I thought it was great.

What ‘palos’ do you make use of to interpret
the work?
Quite a variety, not just one or two. There’s
a very wide assortment, a bit of everything. Soleá,
rondeña, siguiriya, martinete, bamberas….you
name it!

Isn’t it risky taking on Lorca when he’s
one of the most ubiquitous names in flamenco?
Well, you always worry about things, but the point is,
Lorca is very close to our hearts. When I say “our
hearts” I’m thinking of flamenco, because
being an Andalusian poet who loved flamenco music, who
composed, who was a real man of his people, it’s
always problematic, but we tried to put it all together
as best as possible, to recreate the way he felt when
he wrote those wonderful words.

Would you say the choreography is daring or conservative?
It’s on the daring side, because both José
Carlos and myself feel Lorca was very avant-garde for
his time, so we wanted to get as close as possible to
how he felt when he wrote these poems. And we ended
up with some risky choreography. You have to keep charging
ahead. The show has to be absolutely relevant, without
ever forgetting our flamenco roots.

“The show has
to be absolutely relevant, without ever forgetting our
flamenco roots”

Romancero Gitano – foto: Luis Castilla

Is the choreography yours and Junco’s, or did
some other maestro contribute?
The choreography is my own, with the invaluable contribution
of Junco, but we’re a team and I think José
Carlos also had a very clear idea of what he wanted
in the choreography. There’s also my husband Juan
Antonio who was always giving advice. This is a team
effort, everyone contributed in their own way.

The previous work, “Viaje al Sur”, was
a great popular success, but some of the critics didn’t
treat it kindly. Who is more important for you?
You’re talking about the critics in Seville, because
throughout the rest of the world they loved it.

Well, in Madrid there was also a bad review, in El
País specifically.
Well, yes, the article by mister (to call him “mister”
instead of something else) Roger Salas, but the rest
were all very good. Don’t just look at the bad,
look at the good as well.

That’s why I said “some” of the critics.
The show was a huge success and had fabulous write-ups
everywhere we went. Besides, the real critic is the
audience itself, and they loved it, applauding straight
through and filling the theaters. That’s the real
critic.

“This is a time
when the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía is performing
more than ever and having greater success than ever
the world over”

When you’re putting together a work, do you
know how it’s going to turn out? Does experience
let you know when something is going to work, or when
the audience is going to applaud? Is everything controlled?
It’s not controlled. The thing is, as you go along
and it begins to take shape, you know whether or not
it’s going to be great. This thing we’re
doing now, there’s no doubt it’s going to
be a great show. No doubt whatsoever. You begin to notice
it in the atmosphere between the members of the group,
when they all say “that’s great!…it’s
realling coming together”, you feel it in the
air.

What is your vision as director of the Ballet Flamenco
de Andalucía? What do you think should be the
philosophy of this institution?
To continue working as we’ve been doing so far.
We’ve created “Viaje al Sur” which
was performed many times, and we’re going to continue
doing it because there are contracts signed, and the
philosophy is to keep working hard and doing great things
as we’re been doing. I think this is a time when
the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía is performing
more than ever and having greater success than ever
the world over. So I think we should just keep on the
same track, don’t you think?

The reason I ask is because being a public institution,
perhaps you can do things a private ballet might not
do, you know this, because you don’t necessarily
depend on the bottom line.
The idea is to be bold, but not spend money like some
people do, when they spend a fortune on capricious effects
and then have six or seven performances. So I think
the philosophy is to try put on a good show, and you
really put yourself into it even though it’s public
money. The philosophy is to work, do it right, be consistent
and do a better and better job.

Romancero Gitano – foto: Luis Castilla

José Carlos Plaza
es el puntal indiscutible de este espectáculo”

“José Carlos Plaza is unquestionably
the pivotal point of this show”

Are you still dancing?
Yes yes, I dance. Less than before, but I dance.

What part do you have in the Romancero?
I dance in “Romance de la Pena Negra”…better
known as the romance of Soledad Montoya.

Tell me about José Carlos Plaza…
He knows Lorca inside and out. Every detail, every little
thing. He’s done a wonderful job. Just as he did
before with “Yerma”, but this time, since
it’s ten poems, it’s ten separate stories.
So he’s really done a great job. I think he’s
the creative force of the festival, because he was always
lobbying for Granada to have a festival devoted to Lorca.
He likes to say he is overcome with emotion whenever
he sees us dance. It’s all a wonderful team effort
and José Carlos Plaza is unquestionably the pivotal
point of this show.

More information:

«“Viaje
al Sur” Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía