«Art is the truest voice a human has to express thoughts and feelings»
Ever since the first time I saw him dance, I had the feeling that in that head and that body there was something more going on than just a competent interpreter. To get ahead in this field you have to have something to say, not to mention the desire to investigate and delve more deeply into what the message is. Manuel Liñán is no run-of-the-mill dancer in search of easy applause. His path is quite a bit more complex than that…and more difficult for sure. Introspection is not an easy creative method, but Manuel knows that what’s important requires sacrifice. Now he brings us his latest work, called “Tauro”. Yet another step forward for someone who by nature causes a stir in the world of flamenco dance.
First of all, congratulations on the birth of your “baby”…is it a boy or a girl? The fact is, this has been an enjoyable experience, but also nerve-racking. But mostly, I was anxious for the work to be finished. This has been very important for me, especially considering the people involved. I was anxious to see the work on stage for once and for all.
Why “Tauro”? Is that your sign of the zodiac? Yes, I’m Tauro. When I started this project, I had some clear ideas about what I wanted to do, but I didn’t know what title to put. I wanted it to be like a kind of calling card without referring to any particular context so that I’d have plenty of leeway to create little by little along the way. I decided to use “Tauro” because it’s a part of me and my identity.
At this point in your life, you have an interesting portfolio of works, but this one seems more complete and well-rounded, more committed to dance, more of yourself in it, and more mature. It’s possible, because as you work, you discover things, you evolve, or at least that’s what I try for, and perhaps in this work you can see more of who I am because part of the work addresses Granada, my roots, and maybe that evolution, that methodology may have served to keep me focused this time.
How long were you in making Tauro? Five or six months…well…more. Five or six months of rehearsals, preparing the music, fact-gathering… But it’s really more time, because you start with ideas, you imagine certain things, eliminate others, you begin again, you think it won’t work a certain way so you try again… I think if you count that whole process, it maybe took about a year.
I think everything about Manuel Liñán is meticulous, rigorous, methodical… I think your dancing has that, you know just what you’re doing every step of the way.. Well, sometimes. I want it to be like you say, but I also leave a margin to think differently from what anyone expects…even ourselves.
I was at the debut, and one of the things that caught my attention was the music. Everything has the aroma of Granada, or at least much of the music has to do with Granada, and it’s chosen with great care to be cohesive with the dancing. I want to emphasize the moral support from so many people who were involved in this project. Luís Mariano was the musical director, along with Antonia Jiménez, and I also have to say I was advised by Juan Pinilla in the selection of the verses, some of the styles and even the adaptation of some of the poetry. Curro Albaicín was also a great help giving me some historical data about the zambras which I was unaware of, he explained things that were very useful to me. It was all done with tender loving care, at least that’s what I was trying for, and everyone else involved in the project. It didn’t really feel like my own project, but a team effort.
“I leave a margin to think differently from what anyone expects…even ourselves”.
You’ve made use of styles that tend not to be used in recitals or dance shows, like trillas, temporeras, or the whole end of the show, the “Elegí a Granada”…that’s where the musical counselling of Juan Pinilla and Luís Mariano shines through… I wanted everything to begin with my roots, and roots related to working your own land with cantes like the trilla, or the temporeras of Montefrío. We wanted that to be the beginning and lead into a granaína.
How do you construct a piece? Do you have the music first and build the choreography around it, or is the choreography thought out first and then you add the music? Or is it half and half? It’s half and half. There are times when you need specific music for a specific idea, and others when the music offered may change the concept, taking the original idea and sending it in a different direction.
The profession of choreographer… There seem to be less and less big format groups, and things tend to come down to a dancer setting choreographies for himself or herself, with no major moving around of the corps de ballet…and yet, you’ve managed to open a path in this direction, because you mounted one of the choreographies for the show “Mujeres” directed by Mario Maya, or now with Tauro, where you also set dances for other people. How do you learn to choreograph? In my career I’ve passed through different companies such as those of Carmen Cortés, Rafaela Carrasco, Merche Esmeralda, and you begin to realize there are different ways of saying things, not only as a soloist, but being able to share your ideas with others on stage, your approach, trying to choreograph to tell different things that don’t necessarily come from you, but which are a joint effort. It’s a completely different experience because you have to share, you have to have knowledge and you have to learn. You have to be there, accompanied and accompanying.
“This genre is evolving, and it can be traditional, but if flamenco evolves taking it to another conclusion, it’s no longer flamenco”.
Manuel Liñán’s dancing is in a line I wouldn’t really call experimental. It’s modern, contemporary in the sense that it’s of our time, but not experimental. What does tradition represent for you? I think tradition is always advancing, and I don’t know where the frontier lies between traditional and modern. I think evolution is good for everything, and I wouldn’t know how to define the change, as far as flamenco is concerned. This genre is evolving, and it can be traditional, but if flamenco evolves taking it to another conclusion, it’s no longer flamenco.
Are you comfortable with experimental projects where flamenco is mixed with contemporary dance? For the most part, yes.
Do you see yourself in that line? Not really, but I do like to surround myself with everything involved with dance.
Getting back to Tauro…you all sure work hard on stage! You’re practically on-stage from the first moment straight through til the end. Except for one number, I think you’re in all the rest, although you’re constantly in and out for costume changes. And not only you, but all the rest of the cast, when they’re on-stage they really kill themselves, and that makes for a very powerful work. Well, yes. Like I said earlier, I’m very grateful to all the people who accompanied me on this adventure, because they gave it their all, every single day…rehearsing, in the theater, in the general rehearsals…and that affection comes out on stage. I was moved even long before the debut when I realized how everyone was supporting me, and supporting the project as if it were their own.
Let’s see now: Antonio Campos, Gema Caballero and Sandra Carrasco singing… Luis Mariano and Antonia Jiménez on guitar, dancers Cristian Martín, Vanesa Coloma, Guadalupe Torres… I also want to thank Gloria Montesinos who was in charge of lighting, and Yaiza Pinilla of the wardrobe, very important factors. And behind everything, as I mentioned before, I have to thank Juan Pinilla who acted as musical advisor on some of the pieces, and Curro Albaicín for all the conversations I had with him.
Some Granada artists – I don’t necessarily mean flamenco artists – love Granada, but Granada doesn’t love them back. A sort of love-hate relationship. What’s your relationship with Granada, a city to which you devote a large part of the show? Do you feel mistreated as happens with other artists? No. I once said that for me, Granada is a platonic love that sometimes when you need it, it’s not there. But no, I don’t feel mistreated by my hometown.
Tauro is your own production. Is today’s trend that artists produce their own shows? In my case, everything. I have to say that Tauro is underwritten by the Madrid Community, but I’ve always been a risk-taker.
So do you sleep well? Yes, because I’m enthralled with what I do.
Are you not afraid to take risks? How do you manage fear? When you’re excited about what you do, the rest doesn’t matter much.
After the final curtain, I imagine there’s a feeling of rest, but what happens now with Tauro? Are you worried about that? I wouldn’t exactly say “worried”, but I would like the shows we fight for and ask support for, as in my case with the Madrid Community, not to have to end the same day they debut. As I said earlier, there’s a full year of work behind this, and if the show is only good for three performances, that wouldn’t make me happy. A show isn’t made in three presentations, but rather it comes together after ten or more times, so I hope to continue working with Tauro, and bring it everywhere until we get bored with it.
