Up close and personal with flamenco
The best way to see traditional flamenco is up close and personal.
“You need to see the person’s face and see their sweat and their expressions,” said Lia Grainger, lead dancer of Fin de Fiesta Flamenco.
That’s Grainger’s favourite way to see a flamenco show, and that’s what she’s bringing to Peterborough next Thursday.
Fin de Fiesta Flamenco is performing at Gordon Best Theatre at 8 p.m.
The city is one of 40 stops on their Salvaje tour (Salvaje means wild in Spanish), which stretches from Quebec to B.C.
It’ll be the group’s third time in Peterborough, performing at Catalina’s last year and The Theatre on King in 2016.
Although flamenco has made its way to the big stage, Grainger said she enjoys it most when the audience is almost on stage.
That’s how it’s done in Seville, Spain, where flamenco thrives.
“I like to create that kind of show myself,” Grainger said over the phone from Montreal.
Fin de Fiesta Flamenco is a six-person flamenco music and dance troupe. It’s made up of Dennis Duffin (guitarist), Alejandro Mendia (French flamenco singer), Lara Wong (flautist) and, Hanser Santos Gomez (percussionist).
The members are spread out across the globe, with Duffin in Seville, Graniger and Wong in Madrid, Spain, Santos Gomez in Montreal, and Mendia in Bourdeau, France.
They meet in Madrid to rehearse over the winter and tour over the summer.
For Salvaje, the group is joined by Mendia’s wife, Deborah Dawson, also known as Deborah La Caramelita in the dance world.
“She really has this strong, gypsy style that is really beautiful and pleasure to watch,” said Grainger, 37.
Flamenco isn’t an exacting dance, like ballet, for instance, so dancers are able to add their own flare to it.
That’s exactly what Grainger had to do because at six-foot-one, she doesn’t have the typical flamenco dancer physic.
“I’ve had to adapt it over the last 12 years to find what works for me and create my own style.”
Grainger said flamenco is often mixed up with salsa, but the two couldn’t be more different.
Salsa dance is a fun couples dance while flamenco dancing is very difficult, technically.
There’s a lot of very complicated rhythmic footwork involved in flamenco, she said.
“Your feet are sort of a percussive musical instrument.”
The music is complicated as well, Grainger said, with intricate guitaring and complex singing.
It takes passion to perform flamenco, which is why Grainger thinks it tends to envelop performer’s lives.
“You can see that it’s something that every artist had to put their life into.”
It’s a very intense art form, she said, filled with sorrow and pain, yet there’s also elements of profound joy.
“It’s not a subtle art form, it’s very emotional.”
Since they began touring in July, Grainger said the show has become “tight,” which shows how much the group really cares for each other.
“There’s a lot of passion and love in the show.”
NOTE: Tickets are $22 and are available at The Only, at the door and online at www.findefiestaflamenco.com