It's not too late to catch flamenco fever with hypnotic and handsome Jose Greco II and his famous company of dancers.
Billing itself as "the first family of the Spanish flamenco world," Greco and company have already dazzled audiences in Taichung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung. This weekend they come to Taipei for their final few performances in Taiwan at the National Theater and the National Concert Hall.
The son of Jose Greco, a flamenco master and the first to bring the Spanish music tradition to Broadway, Jose Greco II has been dancing since he was 17 years old. His sisters, Carmela and Lola Greco also have their own flamenco companies. Together, they have performed for the king and queen of Spain, as well as at Washington DC's Kennedy Center and New York City's Joyce Theater in the early 1990s, where they were well-received. For many fans of flamenco, the Greco family name is synonymous with the flamenco arts.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KHAM
"Tremendously compelling, great charisma ... a kind of James Dean vulnerability," is what New York's Village Voice had to say of the young Greco. Another New York-based magazine said he "could always pull off tremendous jumps and turns in the air."
The younger Greco established his own dance troupe in 1996 and continues to serve as its artistic director and, of course, lead dancer. Of the troupe's US debut, the Los Angeles Times said that Greco has "moved out of his father's shadow to become a star of unique heat and incandescence."
"Greco's style is part of the new-generation flamenco style, which is distinct from his father's style," said local flamenco dancer Lin Keng (林耕) who also teaches the dance at Taipei's Cuadro Flamenco Fuego Fantastico dance studio (迷火佛朗明哥舞坊).
Lin said that new flamenco trends in Spain seem to make less use of classical dance elements previously found in the dance form, such as ballet, and to intensify and highlight the spicier elements. "In order to make flamenco look more like flamenco, [today's] dance is usually rougher and wilder," he said. This is perhaps why many Western publications used the word "tigerish" to describe Greco's on-stage presence.
Another major difference of Greco's troupe is that their performances are pure dance presentations, instead of the danced dramas found in traditional flamenco. In June and in October of this year, two flamenco dramas presented by the Luisillo Flamenco troupe, Carmen and Bolero, both received an enthusiastic reception from Taiwan audiences.
This time, local audiences should be ready for a show of nothing but flamenco dance, which, as Lin pointed out, was what thrilled audiences last time.
"Through the sounds of the guitar, the dancer's clapping and stomping and, most importantly, every body movement expressed -- especially the dancer's eyes -- one can feel their inner struggle, as well as the strength in their life," Lin said.
To truly appreciate this, he said, it's best to see pure dance repertoires, instead of dance dramas.
For this weekend's show, Jose Greco II will dance both Gitanerias and Toreador, each presenting at least 10 flamenco variations.
With the dance group's exceptional dancers and Greco's personal charisma, this performance is sure to boost Taiwan's growing number of flamenco fans.
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