Flamenco is a vibrant art form. That is abundantly clear from the off, even to a first-time viewer. As soon as a flamenco dancer takes the stage, stamps her solidly-heeled shoe against the boards, flings her arms skyward, crosses them, and takes purposeful steps as her elaborately frilled dress swishes this way and that, you know she’s in business.
The robustness and sumptuous emotive substance of flamenco dance may, in part, be down to the fact that it is the sum of numerous parts. There are all kinds of theories about the origins of the dance genre and the music that underpins it. Many claim that it originated from India and was brought to its recognized epicenter, Spain, by nomadic peoples from India, picking up colors and nuances from the cultures and languages it encountered en route.
Yarden Amir conveys that sense of multi-layering in her work and is about to demonstrate the eclectic riches of her chosen profession in tandem with the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra – Ashdod. The dance slot of the concert program, Las Tres Granadas, which also features Spanish guitarist Fyty Carrillo, Israeli guitarist, oud player, and co-creator Ofer Ronen – who, like Amir, is based in Spain - and Israeli vocalists Yael Horowitz and Dema Kablan, kicks off at the orchestra’s home base on May 28 and takes in seven more shows around the country through to June 13.
By definition, Amir brings something different to flamenco dance. She is, after all, Israeli not Spanish. Then again, she says flamenco music and its cultural tributaries, from Andalusia and other regions, are part and parcel of her cultural DNA.
“My father was Moroccan and I heard all the melodies in the synagogue and other places. The melodies are similar to flamenco. I feel at home with it all,” she explains.
For the past seven years, Amir has called Seville, in southern Spain, home. During that time, she trained with renowned dancer-choreographer Fuensanta “La Moneta” and performed all over the world, including with the acclaimed Maria Pagés company.
“I danced with them for two years,” Amir notes. It was a formative passage in her professional continuum.
“I was the only foreigner in the group, among eight dancers and eight musicians. We performed around the world. The king and queen of Spain came to one our shows,” she adds proudly. “We played at some wonderful venues.” She was warmly embraced by her Spanish peers who, Amir says, take an inclusive approach to their craft.
“They were proud that I was in the company. They believe that flamenco belongs to everyone, not just to the gypsies and the Spanish.”
Amir found herself in accepting, nurturing hands. “La Moneta believes strongly in fusing styles, both in dance and musically as well as aesthetically, with costumes, accessories, stage props, and backdrops. She is constantly exploring and looking to break down barriers and boundaries.” Considering flamenco’s multicultural backdrop, that sounds eminently apposite.
La Moneta also dipped into Jewish history when she starred in a film she created called Facing the Silence, directed by award-winning documentarist Emilio Ruiz Barrachina. The movie, which incorporates dance, music, and literature, is based on a book by Spanish author, poet, and guitarist Félix Grande called La Cabellera de la Shoá (The Hair of the Holocaust).
La Moneta received the book from Amir, who also appears in the film which was screened at the 2022 Barcelona Jewish Film Festival. Grande wrote the book in a feverish four days, immediately after returning from a visit to Auschwitz. “He wrote the book and died very soon after that,” says Amir. “He was powerfully moved by the [human] hair exhibited there and the way the women were sent to their death. The experience was too much for him.”
Amir connects strongly with that, with her familial link to the Holocaust on her mother’s side. As a non-Spaniard, she also embraces the idea that flamenco, like any art form, has to constantly evolve and take on new baggage. A recent performance at the Felicja Blumental Festival in Tel Aviv, for example, saw her marry flamenco dance with the works of several contemporary classical and avant-garde composers. It made for a compelling viewing and listening.
That should also apply to Las Tres Granadas. For starters, the name implies a multi-pronged storyline that feeds off the triad of religions/cultures that were once based in southern Spain – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
“We created the show around four or five years ago, for the Mediterranee Festival [in Ashdod],” Amir explains. “It included my teacher, La Moneta, who comes from the caves around Granada. She made the connection with the classical world in the production, and allowed me to dance that part. There were musicians from Granada, and we also invited Elad Levi to take part.”
Therein lies the connection with the Andalusian Orchestra where Levi, a celebrated violinist, serves as artistic director. “We began the exploration of the three worlds back then, focusing on the three cultures which created flamenco from Granada,” Amir says. “There is strong Arabic influence there, with the Alhambra [palace and fortress], Andalusia, and the rest. Elad was very enthusiastic about this project, so he invited us to guest with the orchestra.”
When it comes to art and culture there are always the puritans who cling steadfastly to the past and what they consider signed-and-sealed tradition, while others take the approach that art has to unfold with the times and tradition, by definition, is in a constant state of flux as it incorporates new elements from all manner of sources.
The influences in Amir's work
As an Israeli performing a quintessentially Spanish art form, Amir leans towards the latter line of thought.
“As a dancer I look for the movement that suits the music of Chopin or Scarlatti [both of whom had Spanish connections], or Arabic or Andalusian flamenco music. There is also a piece I dance called ‘Sambra,’ which is early roots flamenco.” Other cultures have also found their way into flamenco over the centuries.
“There were waves of migration which brought their own color. There are even Cuban influences.”
Rather than being treated as a foreign pretender, Amir says she has largely enjoyed more room for maneuver within the discipline. “The fact that I am not Spanish has allowed me more freedom. That gives me more freedom to cross the boundaries, and I don’t have any familial or historical weight to deal with.”
Mind you, that does not mean she has carte blanche to just go with the flow. “I respect the roots and the tradition,” she notes. “But, today, flamenco is very open. That suits me.”
For tickets and more information: 073-759-9931 or *5994
