Saturday, May 30 was flamenco night as Flamenco Contigo performed at the Orange Room in New Westminster.
Based in Vancouver, Flamenco Contigo is Patricia as dancer and Ivan on guitar. Both are professionals with lengthy bios. See the resources at the end of this article for links.
Seeing flamenco live in an intimate setting like the Orange Room is completely different from seeing it on stage, or on the television. For one thing, there's an immediacy of being right there, mere feet away and being able to hear Patricia snap her fingers. For another, the clackity-clack of the shoes on the floor is surprisingly loud!
Both Patricia and Ivan have classical backgrounds, which showed in the technical and formal perfection of their work. Flamenco, however involves a lot of extemporization, something I was unaware of. Both dancer and guitarist will play off what the other does. Each performance is therefore unique.
Our Western anglo culture frowns on exclaiming appreciation or encouraging performers while they are in the middle of a piece, but that is not the case with flamenco! Shouts of "Andale!" or "Bravo!" are encouraged, especially after a demonstration of skill.
Resources:
