In Spain, the flamenco dancers have a way of creating an ambiance, a feeling of being one with the performance, el duende. It is not often that I have experienced this in Malta but Bettina von Brockdorff, with the intimacy at St James Cavalier Theatre, made it happen. She managed to create that element of duende.

I enjoyed the dialogue that took place between Bettina’s brilliantly played castanets and the beautifully-recited poetry, by Walid Nabhal and Norbert Bugeja.

The amount of castanet playing was impressive; at times it was so brilliantly played that the music became superfluous. The fusion of dance and castanets gave birth to Estilizada, which is not so frequently seen because of the difficulties in mastering this form of dance.

In spite of her young age, Bettina has clocked many hours of Spanish dance both in Malta and in Spain, which is evident both in her dance, as well as in her castanets playing.

Well done Bettina to you and your group: Caroline Caruana varied her dances from a very masculine, in the Farruca, to soft and romantic; Marisha Bonnici’s classical background makes her gracious in her movements; Robert Scicluna’s energy in his precise footwork was remarkable; Caroline Mattocks, known to us as a dancer, made her debut on the cajon and was well appreciated by the audience.

The show came to a close with a brilliantly performed Guajiras, by Bettina, who dedicated the dance to my daughter, Sharon, and “all the artists who made us what we are today”.