Dance
Isla
Pjazza Teatru Rjal

Isla, Puerto Flamenco’s latest production, opened this year’s edition of the Malta Arts Festival. The show captured the growth of the company that has been performing annually in Malta since its conception.

The conceptual framework, holding the idea that no man is an island, supported an existential concern that is at the heart of flamenco itself

The Seville-based company, with Maltese Francesca ‘La Chica’ (Grima) and Andrej Vujicic at the helm, brings together a rich array of flamenco artists. While holding dear to the genre and all that holds true to its name, the company also explores bringing to form a contemporary conceptual framework that holds their performance together and gives it coherence and purpose.

While this relational tension between the purity of the form and a conceptual framing has been present in their work from the beginning, Isla was marked by an artistic maturity that takes their work to yet another level.

The ‘island’ theme that ran through – an exploration of man’s relationship with solitude, sanctuary and otherness – was loose enough to allow the audience to watch the performance without necessarily engaging thematically. It also gave anchorage to those who enjoy marrying their rational and emotional responses.

Flamenco can be seen to be both solitary and relational – with possibilities of deep introspective solo singing, to improvisational play between singers, guitarists and dancers. Isla portrayed group engagement as a more elevated form of being. There was always a relationship between two or more artists on stage even where the scenes were described as solos.

Still, the performance progressed towards group engagement. It moved from numbers performed by protagonists, to emerging dialogues between performers, and finished with a festive number of choral effect with the equal presence of each artist. The last number was in fact entitled ‘the shore’ indicating a point of arrival.

The progression was conveyed through the integration of the various artistic elements.

Through the stage and costume design, the opening was superbly effective in bringing out the idea of solitary imprisonment, an imprisonment that was released and beyond which the dancer could find life in the other artists around her.

The canvases that draped the rear of the stage also supported the metaphorical trajectory of the piece. Patricio Hidalgo painted live on blank, white screens. His representations began with black figures in the background, to a more full-bodied representation of urban life and a full-featured face in the foreground.

Interesting also was the way in which the artists drew on the technique that belongs to the form and pushed it to work for them beyond the traditional form, and yet fully in keeping within the form. This was exemplified by the way in which ‘La Chica’ used her first costume, mastered and taken care of by Pili Cordero, Ana Choi and Maria Pisani.

This larger-than-life full-circle skirt was designed to cover the circular platform used as the performing space. It came to hold the idea of the island. She was restrained and released from it.

She worked this originally-designed skirt drawing on technique from the traditionally developed bata de cola (tail skirt).

The conceptual framework, holding the idea that no man is an island, supported an existential concern that is at the heart of flamenco itself. Hence, the art form was given a platform to do what it does best: express social and existential pain, sorrow, joy, celebration, companionship and festivity. One of life’s deepest pains was expressed directly with reference to the recent death of flamenco artist Sharon Sapienza to whom the production was dedicated.

Puerto Flamenco has again brought us a visceral performance full of passion, life and commitment. The artists with whom the group collaborated were masters of their form, fully matured into their performances. These included dancers Antonete and Abel Harana, who interestingly gave us moments of song too; guitarist Ruben Romero; and special guest artist, singer Encarnita Anillo.