Exciting, moving flamenco dance, powerful song, virtuoso guitar and cello – with lots of charm, imagination and theatre thrown in
Incognito, by international flamenco company Mi Flamenco is touring for the last time this spring. It is a show not to be missed. It contains all the spirit of authentic, pulsating flamenco, intertwined with the unexpected. Exciting, moving flamenco dance, powerful song, virtuoso guitar and cello – with lots of charm, imagination and theatre thrown in.
Mi Flamenco bring creative, genuine flamenco to audiences worldwide, dispelling the stereotypical image that flamenco often carries. This company is produced and directed by husband and wife team Ester and Uri Tal (lead dancer/artistic director and lead guitarist/musical director). They bring with them other artists of the highest calibre.
Ester Tal is UK-born, but was drawn to Spain by her love of everything Spanish, combined with her desire to dance flamenco. She has danced from an early age, inspired by a mother who loved dancing. Flamenco, however, came later. Attracted by the bohemian gypsy culture, the drama of flamenco and the spirited women in particular who dance it, she moved to Madrid in 1993, where she met her guitarist husband, Uri. She studied in the world-famous flamenco academy, Amor de Dios, for seven years and then the couple went down to Jerez in Andalusia to live, work and study flamenco with the flamenco gypsies. They lived and breathed flamenco for a further seven years in Jerez, before basing themselves here in the UK, with a mission to bring powerful, true flamenco to audiences here.
What is it that attracts a British woman to want to dedicate her professional life to flamenco? Ester explains: “Flamenco has a spirit that is unique. I have always wanted to express myself through dance, but never really fitted into the English dance academy world. The technique and discipline of flamenco dance is tough, but the range of emotion and strength of flamenco dance, and the individuality of expression it allows, is addictive. Mi Flamenco is my flamenco family and I feel proud and privileged to be a part of it.”
Mi Flamenco (literally My Flamenco) have at their heart the gypsy singing from Jerez – the birthplace of flamenco singing. Their powerhouse of a singer, the characterful Luis El Mono, is “Jerez” through and through:
“El Mono sang as if he had fire in his belly, clapping his hands wildly in time with the intricate music and footsteps.” (Helen Potter, Docklands Review, Trinity Laban, London 2010)
Uri’s own musical compositions sit beautifully alongside the amazing cellist, Nick Squires, who adds his own particular grace and beauty to Mi Flamenco’s production. If your idea of flamenco dance is strong and masculine, you will not be disappointed by Carlos Velazquez, who joins them on this tour.
Incognito promises to delight theatre-lovers, and music and dance fans, as well as die-hard flamenco aficionados. It comes to The Theatre Chipping Norton on 28 March.
