iloveflamenco.com

by Sandra Serrano

About 13 years after I first heard the name Joaquin Cortes, I finally had an opportunity to watch him dance live this evening. The evening started with a funky instrumental.   It was jazzy, bluesy and even a bit rockish at times.  It was so good that for a minute I forgot I wasn't there to see the band.  The flamenco guitar finally kicked in after a bit, though it would again change back to an eclectic party music for the big finish to the introductory number.  Joaquin then came out (to tremendous applause) and performed some new stylings, though the fundamentals of his style still remain predominant.  He performed an Alegrias, and although there were short showcases of his footwork, it was more of an Alegrias that you would see at true Gypsy functions.  It reminded me of this video my father showed me once.  While in Spain, he was invited to a Gypsy baptism (or something along those lines).  As a payo (non-Gypsy), he was thrilled to be able to observe and record this.  Joaquin Cortes almost succeeded in bringing that video to the stage for me tonight.  The alegrias had a rawness to it, but it was the casualness of it that made me feel I was at a party most of the night. At this point I begin to realize the appropriatness of name Cale for the show... and then I'm thrown for a loop.

We finally see the 10 female dancers make their first appearance laid on the floor, with extremely long dresses on which were more like a beautiful, flowy draped fabric. This may be odd for some, but what I love most about Joaquin is the choreography him and his uncle Cristobal Reyes (who I had the pleasure of studying under for two months in Madrid) did for Pasion Gitana.  So these girls and their choreography is what I had most looked forward to. (Told you, odd for some.)  I soon start to figure out that they are mermaids and then I soon start to figure out that they are topless.  I was in shock for hours afterward. (I'm glad I didn't bring my 10-year-old.) I'm still trying to figure out what to make of it.  It was beautiful in an artsy sorta way, but I don't know if I like the idea of associating flamenco dancing with topless dancing.  But then again, for many in Spain toplessness isn't so bad.  They have topless beaches, and I remember topless women in shower gel commercials and the like.  So, like I said, I'm not sure what to make of it.  But I wonder if Joaquin had to compromise on the quality of dancers for this tour because of the topless requirement?  It really was a beautiful number, though there was no footwork of any kind of course, just a lot of upper and lower body twists and arms.

After the shocker, they presented the three women singers in spotlights.  They had crisp, rich, robust voices and it was a pleasure to hear their singing featured.  Joaquin came out in a white shirt and jeans and the girls returned, this time in flowy white dresses and barefeet.  I honestly love the bare feet concept, except that there was very little flamenco going on in this number.  You'd get some arm movements here and there, and possibly a bit more, but it was more of a modern dance feel to me. The music was of course eclectic again and mixed some afro-cuban beats into blues and jazz.  The girls did manage to slip their shoes on at some point and did some footwork with Joaquin.  It was a nice number and I do like the incoropration of other dance styles into flamenco, but I just think like I said, there should have been more flamenco. 

After a sextet spotlighting the two male singers performed an awesome traditional set, Joaquin came out in a black suit and gave me more flamenco.  This was Vintage Joaquin.  Lots of footwork and serious determination.  But it soon reverted back to fun and to more of a jam session again.  The girls came out again in the black dresses with white underskirts shown above, and the party finished strong.

I had a wonderful time this evening.  It was a great experience and I recommend it to anyone.  But it was more about Joaquin Cortes than flamenco.  His celebrity was overwhelming, and towards the end of the show I felt as if he doesn't have to impress people anymore.  He's just out there having fun now.  He doesn't have to kill himself with crazy footwork to give people their money's worth.  Especially for women seated in the orchestra section who went fanatical when Joaquin went into the audience.  You'd think they were pre-teen girls seeing a Jonas brother!  But it was fun, as the whole evening was.  And it was inspiring in that aspect.  I just want to have fun with flamenco too!