Flamenco Continues Its Colorado Renaissance At CU's Old Main Theater

Pablo Rodarte's Flamenco shows continue this weekend (February 5 and 6, 2010) under a new name, Danza Espana, at the University of Colorado Boulder's Old Main Theater. The show at Old Main exhibits the same energy resident when this group performed as Polka Dot. Rodarte himself exhibits an amazing presence, whether dancing or providing rhythmic palmadas (hand clapping), zapateados (foot stomping), or finger snaps, and he has brought together an amazing ensemble of other dancers and musicians. The guitar accompaniment by Kevin Romero and Steve Mullins includes precise conversations with the dancers, and endearing solos, punctuated by both vocal and rhythmic encouragement from Rodarte and the ensemble. Mullins subdued and often background work on the caja (box) melds well, and vocals by tenor Marco Herzog and alto Natalie Perez de Villar vary from commanding presence to understated raison d'etre.

When it comes to dance, Danza Espana is pretty much about Lisa Trujillo, Lisa Trujillo, and Lisa Trujillo. Her embodiment of the form is lovely, and beautiful to watch. Her use of braceo (arm movements) are graceful beyond description, and her florea (finger movements) speak volumes. Trujillo's skillful and staccato zapateados provide stunning rhythms to both adagio and allegre sections of her dances, the whole dance being an embodiment of her torso, arms, fingers, feet and face. And in a Solea her use of her long batas de colas (dress) compliments all of that in delightful ways.

Other than Trujillo's solos, dances include a Sevillana duet between Rodarte and Trujillo, in which communication between the two was endearing, a Sevillano solo by Susan Melina, and trios, mostly Allegrias, danced by Trujillo, Melina and Tamaro Roybal, in which the braceo and florea performed by Melina and Roybal rivaled those of Trujillo.

Missing from this performance were the stunning embodiments of the form resident in Rebekah West, who has moved on to teaching dance for youth in Australia - truly Australia's gain is Colorado's loss.

Donald K. Atwood

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