Compañía Mercedes Ruiz review – classy ode to classical flamenco
The most compelling parts of Mercedes Ruiz's show Romancero del Baile Flamenco (Ballads of Flamenco Dance) might be the ones danced in silence. Take the opening, where she appears in pale rose dress, partner José Maldonado in dusky pink, and they circle each other, eyes locked, not predatory but sweet, coquettish and companionable, and all attention is quietly drawn to them.
That's no disrespect to the musicians – a simple set-up with singer David Lagos, guitarist Santiago Lara and palmas (hand claps) provided by twins Antonio and Manuel Montes Saavedra. It's only that Ruiz's show is the antidote to the full-volume, all-feet-firing, tearing-one's-heart-out onslaught of much virtuoso flamenco.
Ruiz appears as part of London's annual Flamenco festival, which features a wide range of musicians and dancers, some pushing the art form in unexpected directions, others keeping a more traditional flame aglow. Ruiz, who has been leading her own company for 22 years, is more in the latter camp, dressed in demure version of classic flamenco style: the long ruffled bata de cola skirt, the mantón shawl, Cordobés hat, fan and castanets.
She is, as it happens, a demon on those castanets (same when it comes to finger clicks). Sometimes she holds them behind her back, we hear their twittering out of sight, and it's like her thoughts whirring, a little subtext to the relationship we see on stage – although this doesn't feel like a deeply subtextual work. It's an ode to the art, which Ruiz has absorbed deeply and returns to us with a light touch, hands like fine lace, smile like warm sun. There's a gentleness to Ruiz's petal-soft movement, it is playful and delicate and precise. Meanwhile, the gentlemanly Maldonado supports, enhances, but doesn't try to upstage Ruiz. It's wonderful to hear the subtleties in his footwork, the conversational tones and controlled dynamic, accented with a well-placed sforzando in agreement with the climax of a musical phrase.
Romancero del Baile Flamenco may seem a little tame in comparison with some of the festival's other offerings, the starry bravura of Sara Baras, the progressive politics of Manuel Liñan or duo Estévez/Paños's experimentation with form but there is absolutely a place for a class act like Ruiz, even if this outing doesn't thoroughly enthral.
Flamenco festival continues until 8 June
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