Tenley Fohl Photography
The title of this entry loosely translates to "There comes a WOMAN!". This is a jaleo, or motivating "shout-out" (like the now played out, "you go, girl") heard at the beginning of the first You Tube video below, featuring Pastora Galván. I love it for many reasons. One because it is declared by a man, two because of what I believe he means when he says it, and three because that meaning is so at the root of what I love about Flamenco. When the video opens, you only see men onstage: the guitarists, the percussionist, the singers, all dressed in black. Before you even catch a glimpse of her, you know the audience at Casa Patas, where the performance is happening, has already made note of Pastora's arrival. There is some clapping and then..."¡Ahi viene una MUJÉR!". Immediately following this declaration, the lower-left frame of the picture is engulfed by a flutter of pink ruffles, which you would think is very "girly", but then you see Pastora's full figure come in--curvy and in command, with a look of fierceness and control on her face. She marches in slowly, and a compás, in rhythm, obviously knowing that she is taking full command of the stage. There's no need to flit about; she holds her space and absorbs the cante, or singing. Her presence fuels the singers in return and you see them, El Bocaillo in particular (singer on the left next to the percussionist), reach deep into his gut for his letra, or verse. This is not about being pretty. Although Pastora is obviously gorgeous, she reflects his gut emotion and his guttural singing in her face and in her movement. Even when they reach the end of the number, when everyone seems exalted of tension and there's a smile on her face, she still is dancing with all that womanly fierceness and all those curves. That is what I most love about Flamenco. It does not apologize and it does not constrain. Even within all the rules of timing and structure, there is room for all of your emotion to come through and all of YOU to come through. In fact, it is what is expected. Pastora is only in her 20s too. I am looking forward to seeing how her baile, or dance, ferments with life experience. One of my teachers said, "Flamenco is like a fine wine; it gets better with age" and this is so true.
I recently found an example of an older and also iconic dancer, Eva La Yerbabuena, at the Bienal in Sevilla in 2006. She is surrounded by a crowd of male musicians, also in an old-school ruffly dress and hair combs, this one bronze and coral. She is curvy and very tiny. The men look like they tower over her and yet, she is completely dominating that stage. This performance is the Fin de Fiesta, or "end of the party", which is what it sounds like--the last number in a show. This number is usually a bulerías, like it is here. Bulerías comes from the word burlar, which means to tease or kid around. Even though it's obvious in her dancing that she is having fun and sort of "joking around" in her moves, she's still demonstrating such a commanding presence. She's floating on Miguel Poveda's cante, coming in with amazing contestaciones, or percussive responses, and thoroughly enjoying the sense that she's obviously in charge of the scene. And they're all enjoying it too. One of my favorite parts is where, to the novice eye, it may seem like she's doing nothing. It's in the middle, when she's just standing facing the audience, with her hands on her hips, waiting. She's just waiting and enjoying the wait. That is something so hard to learn how to do in Flamenco, believe it or not. It takes great command to know how to be comfortable just waiting onstage. And to wait with her hands on her hips! I love it. It's such a classic womanly pose. ¡Ole!
Flamenco is beautiful and powerful for men and women alike, but there is definitely something to be said about seeing a woman in such a classic, feminine costume, holding her space, making her presence known and felt. ¡Ole a las guapas!
I recently found an example of an older and also iconic dancer, Eva La Yerbabuena, at the Bienal in Sevilla in 2006. She is surrounded by a crowd of male musicians, also in an old-school ruffly dress and hair combs, this one bronze and coral. She is curvy and very tiny. The men look like they tower over her and yet, she is completely dominating that stage. This performance is the Fin de Fiesta, or "end of the party", which is what it sounds like--the last number in a show. This number is usually a bulerías, like it is here. Bulerías comes from the word burlar, which means to tease or kid around. Even though it's obvious in her dancing that she is having fun and sort of "joking around" in her moves, she's still demonstrating such a commanding presence. She's floating on Miguel Poveda's cante, coming in with amazing contestaciones, or percussive responses, and thoroughly enjoying the sense that she's obviously in charge of the scene. And they're all enjoying it too. One of my favorite parts is where, to the novice eye, it may seem like she's doing nothing. It's in the middle, when she's just standing facing the audience, with her hands on her hips, waiting. She's just waiting and enjoying the wait. That is something so hard to learn how to do in Flamenco, believe it or not. It takes great command to know how to be comfortable just waiting onstage. And to wait with her hands on her hips! I love it. It's such a classic womanly pose. ¡Ole!
Flamenco is beautiful and powerful for men and women alike, but there is definitely something to be said about seeing a woman in such a classic, feminine costume, holding her space, making her presence known and felt. ¡Ole a las guapas!
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