Forever flamenco
The courtyard of the President's Palace in Valletta will be the stage for an authentic flamenco experience filled with raw emotion and passion-fuelled virtuosity.
Living in the suburbs of Seville in a place called Triana, a Maltese couple found their roots in flamenco music. After travelling and finally settling in Spain, Francesca Grima and Andrej Vujicic formed their flamenco company through casual hang-out outs after class or rehearsal. What led to these encounters was really and truly the relaxed lifestyle the Spanish, especially flamencos, lead. One contact led to another, one friend called unto another and hey presto Puerto Flamenco was born.
"The first members of the troupe were guitarist Joselito Acedo and singer Jose El Tremendo. Acedo the guitarist used to play with Andrej in the famous flamenco academy of Manolo Marin and after classes we would all stay on and jam until we would get chucked out and from there go by the river and continue playing until night. Several months later, Acedo worked with Carmelilla Montoya and invited Andrej to play with him and that was the start of a long journey.
"The singer Jose El Tremendo was working in and running the tablao Las Brujas, in Seville, and also like Joselito we knew him from our suburb Triana. He auditioned me to get into the tablao and after getting the job and working there for six months an intense artistic friendship was formed.
"We then later all worked together on several occasions with different companies and when we got invited to perform in Vittoriosa for the Caravaggio exhibition in 2004, we invited these two artistes over and that was the beginning of Puerto Flamenco." Francesca makes it sound all so simple, a life of travelling, jamming by the Guadalquivir, getting to know your companeros and forming a true bond. It sounds like a fairy tale and a dream come true for any lover of the gypsy/flamenco lifestyle. It's not that simple however; it's the result of very hard work, of sacrifice when travelling, aching feet, thumping joints, a concoction of rhythms in one's head and a constant drive that keeps you going. You cannot be a flamenco in a matter of a few years. Every experience, every new encounter, every show is a struggle to improve, to increase your level and to do more than your best. Yes it's a dream come true but it's not just pure luck.
What is pure, on the other hand, is the kind of flamenco that Puerto Flamenco group members believe in and practise. There is collaboration with traditional artistes from Seville. Last year's guest, Carmelita Montoya, comes from a family of great prestige in flamenco and Amador Rojas is a gypsy from Seville whose style is very authentic. Francesca believes the advantage of this group is the fact that it's a small ensemble of professionals who are almost a family in themselves. The intimate atmosphere created among them and their guest artistes helps a lot with the affiliation on stage. A feeling, a connection, a look can make or break the aura in a show. They all comprehend each other fully and thus everything can run smoothly. Obviously there is the technique, the long hours of rehearsals, sometimes whole days non-stop, but the element of trust and friendship keeps the spirit alive. The spirit of flamenco is the basis of a good show. It is what keeps the link to traditional gypsy music and what essentially keeps it "raw". "The secret of what has kept us together is an understanding and a respect for each other as friends as well as artistes. It's a growing friendship of love and respect, confidence and support. In flamenco one of the fundamental things is an understanding of each other within the group that creates the magic on stage," confirms Cikka.
This year's show is very enriching. Dos Pies Dos Manos Una Vida is part of a tour the company will be taking to Norway, Moscow and possibly Greece. The company will also be giving workshops abroad, a milestone for any artist's career and a great means of becoming known internationally. I'm talking about the two male dancers Jesus Herrera and Antonio Castro. The latter will be performing a duet (Solea por Bulerias) with Cikka and the former will be doing his solo Solea before this.
The novelty of the show is much more baile (dance) than usual and also a new female voice, that of Tamara Lopez. Sevillana de Lebrija, Fandangos de Huelva, Tangos and the traditional Bulerias and Fin de Fiesta will feature in the show. Castro will be performing a Seguiriyas - the palo (style) suited only for the top of top dancers and accompanying guitarists; a fusion of beats and rhythms with a theme of mourning - not an easy task. There will be a lot of group numbers and a solo by "the new guitarist to the group Eduardo Trassierra, who is currently one of the best young solo guitarists. He is going to have a fantastic future career and we are lucky to have worked with him in the past both in Spain and internationally. He is excited to come to Malta to show some of his jaw-dropping technique!", adds Francesca.
• Dos Pies Dos Manos Una Vida will be staged at The Palace Courtyard in Valletta today. The show starts at 9 p.m. and tickets may be obtained online at www.maltaticket.com
"The first members of the troupe were guitarist Joselito Acedo and singer Jose El Tremendo. Acedo the guitarist used to play with Andrej in the famous flamenco academy of Manolo Marin and after classes we would all stay on and jam until we would get chucked out and from there go by the river and continue playing until night. Several months later, Acedo worked with Carmelilla Montoya and invited Andrej to play with him and that was the start of a long journey.
"The singer Jose El Tremendo was working in and running the tablao Las Brujas, in Seville, and also like Joselito we knew him from our suburb Triana. He auditioned me to get into the tablao and after getting the job and working there for six months an intense artistic friendship was formed.
"We then later all worked together on several occasions with different companies and when we got invited to perform in Vittoriosa for the Caravaggio exhibition in 2004, we invited these two artistes over and that was the beginning of Puerto Flamenco." Francesca makes it sound all so simple, a life of travelling, jamming by the Guadalquivir, getting to know your companeros and forming a true bond. It sounds like a fairy tale and a dream come true for any lover of the gypsy/flamenco lifestyle. It's not that simple however; it's the result of very hard work, of sacrifice when travelling, aching feet, thumping joints, a concoction of rhythms in one's head and a constant drive that keeps you going. You cannot be a flamenco in a matter of a few years. Every experience, every new encounter, every show is a struggle to improve, to increase your level and to do more than your best. Yes it's a dream come true but it's not just pure luck.
What is pure, on the other hand, is the kind of flamenco that Puerto Flamenco group members believe in and practise. There is collaboration with traditional artistes from Seville. Last year's guest, Carmelita Montoya, comes from a family of great prestige in flamenco and Amador Rojas is a gypsy from Seville whose style is very authentic. Francesca believes the advantage of this group is the fact that it's a small ensemble of professionals who are almost a family in themselves. The intimate atmosphere created among them and their guest artistes helps a lot with the affiliation on stage. A feeling, a connection, a look can make or break the aura in a show. They all comprehend each other fully and thus everything can run smoothly. Obviously there is the technique, the long hours of rehearsals, sometimes whole days non-stop, but the element of trust and friendship keeps the spirit alive. The spirit of flamenco is the basis of a good show. It is what keeps the link to traditional gypsy music and what essentially keeps it "raw". "The secret of what has kept us together is an understanding and a respect for each other as friends as well as artistes. It's a growing friendship of love and respect, confidence and support. In flamenco one of the fundamental things is an understanding of each other within the group that creates the magic on stage," confirms Cikka.
This year's show is very enriching. Dos Pies Dos Manos Una Vida is part of a tour the company will be taking to Norway, Moscow and possibly Greece. The company will also be giving workshops abroad, a milestone for any artist's career and a great means of becoming known internationally. I'm talking about the two male dancers Jesus Herrera and Antonio Castro. The latter will be performing a duet (Solea por Bulerias) with Cikka and the former will be doing his solo Solea before this.
The novelty of the show is much more baile (dance) than usual and also a new female voice, that of Tamara Lopez. Sevillana de Lebrija, Fandangos de Huelva, Tangos and the traditional Bulerias and Fin de Fiesta will feature in the show. Castro will be performing a Seguiriyas - the palo (style) suited only for the top of top dancers and accompanying guitarists; a fusion of beats and rhythms with a theme of mourning - not an easy task. There will be a lot of group numbers and a solo by "the new guitarist to the group Eduardo Trassierra, who is currently one of the best young solo guitarists. He is going to have a fantastic future career and we are lucky to have worked with him in the past both in Spain and internationally. He is excited to come to Malta to show some of his jaw-dropping technique!", adds Francesca.
• Dos Pies Dos Manos Una Vida will be staged at The Palace Courtyard in Valletta today. The show starts at 9 p.m. and tickets may be obtained online at www.maltaticket.com