Festival de Jerez. Niño Seve, Miguel Lavi, Isabel Bayón, María José León.

Isabel Bayón “La Puerta Abierta”
Niño Seve, Miguel Lavis
María José León “Cinco Generaciones”

Monday, February 25th, 2008

Texto: Estela Zatania
Fotos: © Ana Palma

Niño Seve, Miguel Lavis
Palacio de Villavicencio, 7:00 pm

Two very interesting young artists shared an hour-long recital at the Palacio de Villavicencio Monday afternoon at the Festival de Jerez. 

Severiano Jiménez Flores, “Niño Seve”, belongs to a new generation of guitarists who develop their careers without first passing through the apprenticeship of accompanying that used to be the basis for all soloists.  Ever since Sabicas, Serranito, Manolo Sanlúcar and especially Paco de Lucía demonstrated that the diversity of flamenco music doesn’t need to depend on dance and cante, these flamenco musicians have sprung up; we could almost speak about a new branch of flamenco.  Niño Seve is a jewel in Córdoba’s crown of flamenco guitar.  He produces beautiful sounds that evoke the forms of flamenco more than the “palos”, suggestive insinuation.  A mining theme, soleá, a beautiful alegrías composition and some high-octane bulerías in which he devoured the guitar.  He’s quite on top of the music and the technique, but it’s possible that a few years of accompanying would, after all, afford a more defined rhythmic structure.

Yound Miguel Lavis was a pleasant surprise.  For years his name has appeared in the backup of various groups and tablaos.  From Jerez de la Frontera, the Plazuela none less, and will all the associated flavor, Miguel breaks up the doldrums caused by the dearth of young singers in Jerez with his high-quality martinetes and debla, malagueñas of Chacón and Mellizo, bulerías por soleá ending with the Gloria style as is the custom in Jerez, siguiriyas with far more commitment than you would expect from one so young and bulerías with his own personality, defending classic cante with good taste and knowledge.  The look of approval and admiration on the face of his guitarist, Diego de Morao, was the most eloquent seal of approval.

Isabel Bayón “La Puerta Abierta”
Teatro Villamarta, 9:00 pm

Dance: Isabel Bayón. The special collaboration of Miguel Poveda. Guitar: Jesús Torres. Percussion: Antonio Coronel. Palmas: Carlos Grilo, Luis Peña El Lúa. Coreography: Isabel Bayón. Stage dirección: Pepa Gamboa

It’s hard to say at what point the aesthetic of flamenco dancing changed.  From an essentially exteriorized intense art, it has been transformed into a slick sophisticated product where feelings are played down and the messy manifestations of human emotion are considered unseemly.  Or at least one branch of dance is given to this approach, probably because it opens doors to the much sought-after global market with far greater ease. However, the frontier between contained emotion and absence of emotion is blurry and nearly impossible to define, which is why it’s for each spectator to judge on which side of the border Isabel Bayón’s dancing sits. 

Her interpretations have always been technically flawless, but for the person writing these words, she never makes it out of the dance studio and into the realm of expression, nor does that even appear to be a priority.  She delivers her well-prepared choreographies without taking any risks nor committing herself in any meaningful way; perhaps it would be more appropriate to speak of “danza flamenco” than actual “baile flamenco”.

Fortunately, Miguel Poveda is on hand to warm up the chilly atmosphere and remind us that flamenco can be as moving as it is beautiful, that technique must be at the service of interpretation and the ultimate objective of all art is communication.

Changing costume on stage in full view between numbers gets old very quickly; if Bayón has little to say dancing, the long segments when we are obliged to watch how she dresses and grooms herself are dead weight.  Martinete, soleá, milonga, taranta, alegrías and bulerías, but the good memories are auditory, not visual.

María José León “Cinco Generaciones”
Sala la Compañía, 12 midnight

Dance: María José León. Cante: Pepe León “El Ecijano”, Sebastián de Huelva. Guitar: Manuel León, José Luis el Piru. Palmas and chorus: Lucía la Piñona, Rosi la Divi.

María José León is not a household word among flamenco fans, which is why her show was included in the series “Los Novísimos” which is reserved for the Sala la Compañía.  Despite her youth, she is a old hand with plenty of stage experience, and she knows how to fill a space with her good dancing full of powerful moves.

The title “Cinco Generaciones” (5 generations) refers to her family, some of whom take part in the recital: her father Pepe León “El Ecijano” is singing, and her brother Manuel León is on guitar. Perhaps it’s precisely the weight of traditon that makes her keep obsessively to the most traditional forms.  She is a good dancer, with personality and command, but she’s her own worst enemy with dances that are way too long; a number that was a sort of tribute to Manolo Caracol based on zambra and his famous fandangos, lasts over 20 minutes, the soleá which seems to go on forever despite one dramatic closing after another, and alegrías is more of the same.  A good choreographer would know how to get the most out of this young dancer’s admirable talent.

Despite the length of the show, there’s still time to going running to the Peña Fernando Terremoto to see the group of Manuel Valencia.