Flamenco Festival premiere wows audience in Qatar

 A section of the Spanish community in Qatar on Thursday witnessed the international premiere of Flamenco Festival showcasing an energetic and electrifying choreographic performance by a group of Andalucía artistes led by Spain’s best male dancer Manuel Linan.

The group, which comprises a total of 10 members including Manuel, the dancers, singers and two guitarists, put up a stupendous show at the National Theatre of Qatar for about 90 minutes which was well appreciated by the audience.

The performers displayed the mastery of their acts by harmonising both their feet and palms as well as the entire body, to create very melodious beats in tune with the three singers and the two guitars, which were the only musical instruments used.

Speaking about the show, the group’s director Miguel Marin explained that it was based on a combination of both old and new tradition.

“Manuel is a more modern choreographer, who has a unique way of combining both modern and tradition concepts. As you can see during tonight’s show, the dance, music, steps are traditional while the choreography is very modern,” he pointed out.

According to him, the group was sponsored to Qatar by the Spanish Ministry of Culture’s Institute of Flamenco, which is focusing on preserving flamenco and keeping the spirit of the age-old tradition alive.

During the show, the artistes made extensive use of wooden chairs as ‘choreography tool’.

Marin explained why the chairs were specially flown in with the artistes from Spain: “The chair has a link with tradition…it is like a symbolic object for the Andalucia people and not all artistes use it in their performance like Manuel is doing.”

He said the various grand traditional costume dresses worn by the three female members of the group throughout the show are called the ‘batade cola’ (where batade means dress and cola is tail).

The dresses were made from modern fabrics but yet look traditional thus further confirming Manuel’s aesthetical tastes for both modern and aged stuff.

The men wore different types of high bull-fighter costume while all (both male and female dancers) put on flamenco shoes with heels that are completed with nails in their soles in order to provide the desired sound.

He mentioned that Manuel has received many awards, including the 2013 best male dancer at the Max Awards in Spain and revelation dancer in Jerez festival, for his unique and memorable choreography that deepens the poetry of flamenco.

He is recognised as one of the most accomplished and innovative flamenco dancers of his generation, also he is a master of technique steeped in tradition and known for his dramatic choreography.

His brand new show, Flamenco!, is a celebration of the flamenco dance.

Since its inception in 2001, Flamenco Festival, has become the premier showcase for the Flamenco outside Spain and now has more than a million viewers worldwide.

Another show - Chekara Arab Andalucian orchestra of Tetouan will also perform at the National Theatre today from 8pm.

Both shows were organised by Institute of Flamenco, Andalucia in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain and the National Theatre of Qatar.