The extraordinary combination of these independent artistic forces from the worlds of music, vocal performance, and dance employs new sounds and images to lead the audience through the landscape of Spanish songs portrayed so longingly and expressively by Lorca and de Falla. This prolific artistic cooperation creates a mysterious kind of magic.
The flamenco songs performed by Carmen Linares, the impressive authenticity of her interpretation, are amplified by the innovative musical arrangements of the Eos Guitar Quartet.
Brigitta Luisa Merki's choreography transforms the performance space and allows for a novel perception of music and song. The dance performance enters into a direct, delicate dialogue with the music and becomes an integrated element of the musical and vocal score. In the imaginary landscape of this music, dance and movement evoke a new dimension, reminiscent of scenic songs. A lively three-dimensional concert develops.

In a new version with a composition entitled Petenera Folia by Antonio Robledo, which he wrote specifically for Carmen Linares, the flamenco singer.
Program: el amor brujo by Manuel De Falla; Petenera Folia by Antonio Robledo; Canciones españolas antiguas by Federico Garcia Lorca; Arrangements: Eos Guitar Quartet; Choreography: Brigitta Luisa Merki, Flamencos en route Dance Company

Premiere, 20.08.2005, Luzern, KKL, Lucerne Festival

no pictures or audio data files available

Neue Luzerner Zeitung

A Marvel of Magic:
The dance company Flamencos en route, together with the Eos Guitar Quartet, gave a spectacular performance in Zug. It was the last performance of "El circulo magico" for the time being. The formation under Swiss director Brigitta Luisa Merki, in cooperation with Carmen Linares, the powerful singer, has created a magical marvel of flamenco art. Old traditions are skillfully linked with new forms of expression.(…) The gripping energy of the acoustic guitars; the fast, rhythmic footwork technique; and the slow, smooth movements of the dancers, combined with Carmen Linares' beguiling voice, resulted in a performance of outstanding quality.

Neue Luzerner Zeitung, 28.11.2005

Berner Zeitung

Flamenco in a Designer Dress: (...)
Over the twenty years she has been directing Flamencos en route, the 2004 winner of the Hans Reinhardt Ring has developed her own aesthetic concept, which reorganizes the traditional hierarchy of song, dance, and guitar play - and blurs the boundaries in the process. Percussion sequences flow directly into the clattering heels of the dancers; a circular motion of the arm, on the other hand, effects the continuation of the melody. Music and dance maintain an erotic relationship, enticing each other, striving to become one - until Carmen Linares materializes from the dark with great dignity, allows the unrefined cante jondo to rise again from her Andalusian soul, and thus breaks up the entire scene. (...) No one can compete with Carmen Linares; the Eos Quartet stoically maintains its composure; nd the female dancers even know how to turn their chairs into dance partners with casual elegance. Art of the highest form - even without the "duende", the ultimate kick.

Berner Zeitung, 24.11.2005

Basellandschaftliche Zeitung

From Dark Magic to a Grand Fiesta: The Eos Guitar Quartet, the fantastic flamenco singer Carmen Linares, and "Flamencos en route" gave their first performance of "El circulo magico". It was an impressive production, in which they explored new dimensions of the flamenco.(....) Brigitta Luisa Merki creates direct connections from the four female dancers to the four guitarists, evokes ordered, spatially precise, choreographed images of enticement and seduction - never lacking elegance. The four musicians become a part of the choreography. Carmen Linares interprets the songs with great emotional expression.(...)

Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, 23.08.2005

Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Everything is composed with the spatial dimension in mind, from the ever-changing formations of the singing, playing, and dancing performers, their physical contact and the looks they exchange, to the play of the light, the coordination of the costumes and the portrayal of the sounds. (...) The performers' magical round dance makes strings and vocal cords vibrate and bodies tremble expectantly, shake energetically, thunder brilliantly, and - all of a sudden - dally delightfully. (...) It looks and sounds atmospheric, like a light evening breeze changing to a soft drizzle or to a drumming cloudburst, only to clear up suddenly and turn into the night after the storm.(...)

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 22.08.2005

La Rázon

El círculo mágico is not only a feast for the ears, but for the eyes as well, thanks to the dance performed by the Flamencos en route dance company. The dance, choreographed by Brigitta Luisa Merki, maintains a direct, delicate dialogue with the music and the voice of Carmen Linares. (...) Carmen Linares' prediction that nobody would remain like a statue during the performance turned out to be true. The program 'El círculo mágico' seduced the audience, curious and expectant as it was in the face of a performance that broke with the tradition of the Swiss festival.(...)

La Rázon, 22.08.2005

El País

Carmen Linares, a temptation in Lucerne
Carmen Linares has the appearance of a tragic heroine, a human goddess, as she unfolds with great depth the songs 'Canción del amor dolido' or 'La Canción del fuego fatuo', both from 'El amor brujo' by De Falla. The dancers of Flamencos en route move skillfully, the guitarists are outstanding. With each performance, Carmen Linares manages to grip the audience anew.(...)

El País, 22.08.2005