Caprichos Flamencos

Esslinger Zeitung

A Ritual Full of Secrets (...) Everything is stylized in a very pure, clear fashion, from the excellent costumes to the choreography and the narration style, as if the dance had completely internalized the proud attitude of the flamenco. What appears to be a ritual full of secrets taking place in a moonlit clearing in the woods is a parable created with ingenious simplicity of structure and message. Two female singers and two guitarists accompany the six fantastic Spanish dancers. Of all the dancers, Fernando Alfaro stands out in particular with his long zapateado solo and his dizzyingly fast spins. What follows is a very different variation of the flamenco, just as incredible and seemingly wanton in its approach as the first one was: an ironic interpretation. The "cucharada de locura" piece, meaning "a spoonful of craziness", was created by Joaquin Ruiz and treats the audience to lovingly presented punch lines as soon as the musicians appear on stage. We see Mediterranean lightheartedness, we enjoy the humorous story of the white magic flamenco boots, which run away with their surprised owner (a fantastic solo by Fran Bas), and we see flamenco with an element of jazz and discreet hints of Broadway. At the precise moment when a duel in the style of "West Side Story" threatens to become serious irony comes into play again. The duel is carried out with bananas, and the scene culminates in a colorful fruit salad. The piece ends with almost philosophical lightheartedness as the performers disappear into the starry night of the beginning. The audience is presented with two dance theater variations of flamenco, two "Caprichos Flamencos", both completely different in the way they sound and both choreographic and conceptual masterpieces. A fantastic evening - not just for flamenco aficionados.

Angela Reinhardt, Esslinger Zeitung, 10.12.2004

Basellandschaftliche Zeitung

For Twenty Years the "Flamencos en route" Dance Company Has Been Filling Audiences with Enthusiasm through Its Perpetual Search for New Forms of Expression. (...) When it comes to the movements choreographer Brigitta Luisa Merki employs a very subtle and delicate language to approach the subject. She never uses trivial images in order to express the division into woman and horse. Instead, she looks for ways to translate it into the details. (...) The Music Is Looking for New Ways of Expression. The music plays a pivotal role in this piece and is played live. Much like she does with the dance part Brigitta Luisa Merki lets the music depart from traditional flamenco and then uses it to look for new ways of expression, which she finds in the duet sung by two female voices (Keiko Ooka and Nieves Diaz). (...)

Ursula Haas, Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, 06.12.2004

bazkulturmagazin

Under the Sign of the Centaur (...) Heavenward.Like chimeras on an imaginary stellar path the three women, proud and unapproachable, seem to follow an inescapable destiny. They move between heaven and earth, very deliberately at first. Like artistic arabesques their arms snake into the air, their wrists and fingers twisting and twirling upwards and back down again, like spirals. Are they reaching for the stars? In contrast, the trains of their costumes drag heavily along the floor. But then, fast as lightning, with a small movement of the foot, the horse bodies, now turned into women, elegantly change direction, the hooves start stomping, sparks flying. During a moment of silence three fauns boisterously jump onto the stage. The timeless game of attraction and rejection between man and woman is beginning. (...) - enchantingly beautiful and enthralling in its directness - (...) The bodies express yearning, erotic desire, affection, and resistance. In the "Farruca" machismo expresses itself in a very imaginative way (Fernando Alfaro is fantastic) while the female centaurs display their strong femininity with ease. Eventually, the gender patterns dissolve, the fauns lying on the floor, and the women step over them and move beyond, out into the vast universe. (...) SLAPSTICK SCENES. The second part, "Cucharada de locura", is directed by guest choreographer Joaquin Ruiz and is inspired by the cheerful "cante chico". Exaggerated gender stereotypes are created and then discarded again with relish. Poetic sequences alternate with slapstick scenes. Dancer Fran Bas, who - in this case - is not subject to the relentless demands of his red shoes, but his white ones, is fantastic in his tragicomical role. Dance and music permeate the entire production, a celebration overflowing with joy of life. We wish that it could continue much longer. However, the evening is coming to an end, the lights go out, the fantastic ensemble moves on, leaving behind nothing but the artificial starry sky - and the yearning.

Maya Künzler, bazkulturmagazin, 06.12.2004

Der Landbote

Sensuous Presence and Deliberate Form. In changeable, idiosyncratic, and lively ways, in highly imaginative free forms of portraying spontaneous ideas the two caprichos choreographed by the Flamencos en route dance company make the many facets of the Spanish dance visible. (...) "Pequeña locura": As a contrast to the previous, mostly dark-sounding flamenco songs, Joaquin Ruiz chose bright-sounding, light, cheerfully humorous songs for his production. Once again, the arrangement as well as the interpretation by the singers Keiko Ooka and Nieves Díaz and the guitarists Juan Gómez and Pablo García are outstanding and inspire the six male and female dancers to give an infectious performance. (...)

Ursula Pellaton, Der Landbote, 02.12.2004

Der Bund

Sensuous and Playful Things The year 2004 has been very eventful for the Flamencos en route dance company: its director, Brigitta Luisa Merki, received the Hans Reinhart Ring, in addition, the company from Baden is celebrating its 20-year anniversary. Powerful centaurs, high-spirited fauns, charming women, hotheads like you seldom see on Swiss stages: with its program "Caprichos Flamencos" the Flamencos en route dance company shows off the entire spectrum of its abilities, thus proving once more that its innovative treatment of the traditional formal language of the Spanish dance is unique. The evening lasts more than two hours and combines flamenco with elements of modern dance, folkloric dance with strict abstract forms, and impressive images with playful slapstick, thus creating a contemporary theatrical language of the highest artistic level. The program is very skillfully conceptualized: the first part is dominated by the longing, powerful centaurs, while the second part portrays a sensuous, carefree dance celebration, which sweeps the willing audience of the sold-out Dampfenzentrale Theater off its feet. (...)

Julia Wehren, Der Bund, 26.11.2004

Zofinger Tagblatt

(...) What the "Flamencos en route" ensemble magically produced on the stage of Zofingen's performance hall deserves the attribute "highest art". (...) All of this (and more) is expressed in the most fascinating choreography. The dialogue with that which is different is wonderful, fascinating, magic. (...)

Klaus Plaar, Zofinger Tagblatt, 22.10.2004

Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Flamencos en route at Its Best (...) The audience was thrilled, the speaker speechless. The Baden Kurtheater opened its season with the anniversary production of the Flamencos en route dance company. For 20 years now the company has been "en route", following its own path under the artistic direction of Brigitta Luisa Merki. Its new production, "Caprichos Flamencos", clearly proves that it is on the right path. (...) The duets are challenges, dialogues in musicality, and competitions in virtuosity. Particularly impressive are the transitions between the lightning turns and the long, slow movements, between loud music and silence, self-assured assertiveness and uncertain longing. Using strict form, Merki created a program that is full of suspense and yet harmonious within itself. The haunting singing by Keiko Ooka and Nieves Diaz, accompanied by Juan Gómez's and Pablo García's dexterous guitar play, is an essential part of the production. Little Crazy Things Joaquin Ruiz's choreography does not present the Capricho as a whim of nature, but as an insignificant craziness, a "Pequeña locura". Music and dance have been expanded to include traditional elements and scenic interludes. The piece allows the individual dancers to show off their humor and charm. (...)

Felizitas Ammann, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 18.10.2004

Aargauer Zeitung

Mythological Depth and Pure Joy of Life The premiere of the dance company Flamencos en route in Baden on Saturday garnered much applause. In its anniversary production "Caprichos Flamencos" the company clearly showed what flamenco can offer as an art form. Capricho is the diminutive form for the translation of an idea, done freely and with relish. Brigitta Luisa Merki and Joaquin Ruiz enjoy it to the fullest, using opposing approaches and refining techniques. In "Centauras y Faunos", Merki explores in a variety of ways and with mythological depth the age-old theme of the relationship between man and woman. Ruiz, on the other hand, shows flamenco (and other elements of Spanish tradition) as a charming symbol for the joy of life. The comparison between the two choreographies with the same dancers, singers, and guitarists shows very clearly how broad and forceful flamenco has become as an art form. Over the last twenty years, Brigitta Luisa Merki's company has made considerable contributions to this development. (...) In the form of dance, three couples - or six strong individuals rather - tell about the attraction between man and woman, the struggle between the sexes, and love. Dramatically, poetically, erotically. (...) The male dancers imperiously strike their poses, impress the audience with jumps, stamping staccatos, and spins. The female dancers with their trains move closer to earth - and yet, their arm movements often make them seem to reach for the sky. The men as well as the women can be soft or full of temperament, domineering or subordinate; they all have the capabilities as dancers. The complex, profound dance myth closed with the strong image from the beginning. The Pleasures of the Village Square The opening after the intermission is very different: a bare-looking stage, cold light, a few colorful chairs standing around, a singer warbling a few bars, a female dancer carrying in loudspeakers, a dandy in a white suit sashaying across the square, dallying briefly with a woman who came to look in. After a guitarist had been carted in and had unpacked his guitar - amid the laughter of the audience - the dance celebration could begin. One got the feeling of being on a Spanish village square, in the middle of an infectious fiesta, and then in a fairytale, in which a male Cinderella finds white shoes that danced along - all of it translated into dance in a humorous and fantastically beautiful way. Joaquin Ruiz does not seem to shy away from elements typical for musicals, either. His choreography for the two dandies and the "female bar dancer" is one of the most unconventional estrangements ever done on stage in flamenco. The fact that the six dancers, the two singers, and the guitarists had no problem fitting into Ruiz's dance world is evidence of their profound knowledge. It granted the audience (of regulars) of Flamencos en route a new visual and auditory experience.

Sabine Altorfer, Aargauer Zeitung, 18.10.2004

Berner Zeitung

Expressive Images Captivate the Audience in Flamencos en route's Anniversary Production "Caprichos Flamencos". (...) The spectator is entranced, beguiled, and unable to withdraw from the attraction of the following two hours, where fauns and centaurs meet, melt together in dance, let themselves go and fulfill each other, until they break apart, only to start to discover each other anew. Just like nature's whims. Simple desires of nature stir up the complexities of the human mind, until they are accepted, until new ideas are created from their differences. The Depths of the Soul In her anniversary production "Caprichos Flamencos", which was performed in Baden, the artistic director of Flamencos en route, Brigitta Luisa Merki, once again presented a program that shows the flamenco in all its variety. In "Compas", the rhythm of some flamenco dances, the three male and female dancers use their feet to get the hearts of the spectators to beat in synchrony with the twelve beats per measure, captivating them and carrying them off. During the first part of the evening the two singers, Nieves Diaz and Keiko Ooka, throw the listeners into the depths of the flamenco soul with their "Cante jondo" and their clear and uncompromising voices, accompanied by the two guitar virtuosos Juan Gomez and Pablo Garcia. The dancer Adriana Maresma Fois impresses the audience with her beautiful arms, moving like some sort of aquatic plant, as well as with her strength and stage presence. Fernando Alfaro is the male dancer, who, with his "Farruca", the male flamenco theme, reminds the audience of Antonio Gades and fills it with enthusiasm. The centaurs are portrayed by the female dancers. The costumes are especially noteworthy. Designed by Carmen Pérez Mateos, they underline the story with their earthy colors and original styles. The male dancers act the part of the fauns. Their "dialogue of seduction" demonstrates that the choreographer is a master in creating love duets. Easy-going and Slightly Crazy Joaquin Ruiz, guest choreograph, flamenco teacher, and dancer from Madrid, is in charge of the shorter second half of the evening. He plays with the "Cante chico", the easy-going, witty, and happy singing style. His portrayal of a street scene is colorful, confident, charming, and slightly crazy. The outstanding role in this part is played by the dancer Fran Bas, who gets the audience to laugh on several occasions. Flamencos en route's premiere in Baden last Saturday made an indelible impression, like the constellations of the stars in the night sky.

Sonja Laurèl Bauer, Berner Zeitung, 18.10.2004

Ballett Intern

Anniversaries, 20 Years of Flamencos en route (...) Enraptured and abstract, the piece "Centauras y Faunos" by Brigitta Luisa Merki is a portrait of different beings coming closer together, an allegory of the eternal differences between man and woman, yin and yang, spirituality and desire. Employing dance theater techniques Merki combines flamenco songs such as Siguiriya, Farruca, or Soléa por buleria and melds them into a profound, mythical dance production. Joaquín Ruíz's village square in the second part is characterized by brightness and bustling, energetic activity. Ruíz relies entirely on the personalities of the dancers and musicians to produce the bustle made up by "little crazy things" ("cucharada de locura"). The "cante chico", a lighthearted type of flamenco song, provides the structure for the multitude of short scenes painted into the space with elegant ease. (...)

Edith M. Wolf Perez, Ballett Intern, 01.05.2004

Tanz und Gymnastik

The Path is the Destination (...) Flamenco is the clearly defined point of departure for this dance company. However, flamenco is an art rooted in tradition - the art of the free but in some ways strictly preserved form. "Flamencos en route's" program represents the true sense of yin and yang, of preserving things while changing them, of tradition preserved in its varying manifestations as it passes through time. (...) Brigitta Luisa Merki's new piece, which premiered at the Baden Kurtheater in mid-October, is another realization of this program. The elements used by the choreographer are well-known elements from the art of flamenco. (...) A special expressive finesse as well as brilliant skills, such as the stupendous continuous pirouettes by Alfaro, present a series of highlights in the general course of a program, which primarily lives from its inner logic and cohesiveness. Even the minutest details of the program are carefully choreographed and presented as fascinating dance theater by the performers. With its simple and clear lines and colors, Herta Eppler-Joggi's stage design, combined with the sensitive lighting created by Christoph Gutmann, evokes the expanse of the star-covered sky and the sober poetry of abstract paintings. Setting out - Never to Arrive In this anniversary program the ensemble's basic approach both proves to be right again and points toward a lively and bright future. The program does not just use flamenco as a vehicle to bring more or less authentic folkloristic dance to the stage, but to create an independent artistic form of dance from its steps and forms. No longer is the portrayal of traditional flamenco the goal. Instead, the intent is to create an independent form of dance theater that is formally committed to the flamenco and develops from its spirit and character while still radiating its atmosphere even in its changed form. Twenty years ago, no one could have foreseen how fruitful this approach would be. And it seemed even less likely that this ensemble - an independent company - would be able to exist for twenty years. Few are the independent ensembles that manage to survive artistically and financially for such a long time, to stay active and maintain their presence. (...)

Richard Merz, Tanz und Gymnastik, 01.04.2004