Ensemble Espanol’s Dazzling Dance Feast

Because of its power, there must be an untold or unknown story behind flamenco. Rarely do you get a satisfying explanation on the true source of its passion. Or why there’s such an undercurrent of defiance running so freely through it.  Let’s not even go into how proud it reads.  A pride that bleeds right into magnificence.  In the end, all of those things recede to the background because it’s flamenco’s beauty that seals the deal. Over its three-day appearance at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts that began last Friday, Ensemble Espanõl splendidly revealed the full force of this highly unique art form to appreciative Chicago audiences. 

Flamenco Passion, the concert finale of the dance company’s 2022 arts festival, overflowed with spectacular dance and unforgettable music.  A deep program consuming nearly three hours, it took an unhurried approach to display the range of a dance form that feels as if it reaches back to antiquity.  Said to have only originated a little more than 200 years ago in southern Spain, those projections might be considered shallow if they don’t delve into flamenco’s gypsy origins.  It’s the essence of those origins that electrified the Flamenco Passion program.

Drama, romance and suspense dominate flamenco.  Each of those things is heightened when you fold in bold costuming, fearless choreography and astute production elements.  With those ingredients, every segment, whether dance or music centered, became its own memorable story. 

Pace, variety and quality also distinguished the concert.   In residence at Northeastern Illinois University, Ensemble Espanol’s impressive artistry was presented in an assortment of dance formats.  Some focused more on traditional choreography while other dances suggested hints of more contemporary influences.  Key components, like flawless timing and precision, remained constants throughout them all.  Not only was the footwork impeccable, but every nod of the head and gesture of the hand displayed an enviable level of synchronization within the company.  It’s that captivating synergy that defined the entire performance.

The solo dances, where the emotive side of flamenco took the forefront, held their own special delights.  The dances became personal when Elisabet Torras, Jorge Moreno and La Lupi took the stage.  La Lupi was the first to appear in Juanaca .  A born performer, she used this world premiere to reveal a side of flamenco many might find unfamiliar.  It appears more spontaneous, but it’s choreography stays grounded in a specific response to music.  Accompanied on stage by three instrumentalists and a vocalist, she dances as if she were on an exhilarating mission.  One that encourages her to react viscerally to the stimulus of music.  A raw, pure quality to her movements brimmed with vitality and dance virtuosity.

Dressed in red with a long heavy train trailing her gown, one of flamenco’s more esoteric components is to master the train.  It too is an art form; one that demands an exemplary ability to match step or tap to rhythm while regulating one’s wardrobe.  Completely unrushed, orchestrating the dance’s momentum as it rose and fell and rose again, she tamed the train and thrilled the audience with seasoned poise. 

Mr. Moreno, in his own world premiere of La Resonancia del Alma (Resonance of the Soul) was no less transfixing.  Dancing to his own choreography, he epitomized uncommon prowess, power and masculine grace.  Also accompanied by the concert’s musicians and singer Paco Fonta, Moreno’s performance proved spellbinding.  Arrestingly intimate, the conversation created between the heels of his boots and the instruments became a beautiful dialect of its own.  Blanketed with Fonta’s exquisite and haunting vocals, La Resonancia del Alma became a complete world that the audience sank into with relish. 

Like pinpoint synchronization, pose and silhouette are hallmarks of flamenco.  Reminiscent of ballet’s pas de deux (dance for two) that often build to a display feats of dance excellence, Ensemble Espanol featured a similar dance for four.  Contest and romance were tightly woven together to highlight the complementary beauty of tension and tenderness.  Exaggerated to heighten the dance’s dramatic impact, Dame Libby Komaiko’s choreography in Danza del Fuego/Dance of Fire still gleams twenty-five years after it was created.  

Like so much of the concert’s structure, and the dances and music within it, Ensemble Espanõl’s arts extravaganza seemed to suspend time to magnificently showcase cultural excellence.  An excellence that was only enhanced by Dustin Derry’s astonishing production design.

Ensemble Espanõl –Flamenco Passion

June 17 – 19, 2022

North Shore Center for the Performing Arts

9501 Skokie Blvd.

Skokie, IL  60077https://ensembleflamencopassion.org