In May, the Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company brings to Sydney A Compás! To the Rhythm, one of the worlds’s most talked-about flamenco performances. It received rave reviews at its world premiere in London, The Times calling it ‘spellbinding’ and The Independent writing: ‘If you only see flamenco once in your life, make it this.’ Comprising three guitarists, one percussionist, two singers and three dancers, the group presents Australian audiences with the rare opportunity to be immersed in pure flamenco, to experience the compelling rhythms, the visual splendour and the deep traditions of the flamenco art form. Señor Peña is proud of his talented, professional artists, who have been with him over many years. Dancers Ángel Muñoz and Charo Espino are, in fact, husband and wife, which gives an added dimension to their performances together. Paco Peña is emphatic that flamenco is a very ‘particular’ music. It projects its life, its expression from different angles, those of singing, guitar and dance. The singing is difficult for some people to take, in that it’s not straight from the Western tradition. ‘It has Eastern elements, Arab elements .So it’s a combination of East and West which is not easily understood, but to us is absolutely essential and very inspiring.’ He explains that the guitar also serves as inspiration, as does the dance, with its inherent exploration of possibilities that make people react and communicate and do things they would not otherwise have thought of....
To read the full story become a Friend of 2MBS-FM . |