Cultural delegation visits the timeless world of flamenco

During the initial pause of the pandemic in 2021, San Francisco theater flamenco Carola Zertuş spent several nights under the calm night skies of southern Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert. She felt the moment expand into her universe, feeling like she was drifting in the Milky Way. It’s a transformative experience she sought to evoke in creating her new evening-length work.

San Francisco’s Theater Flamenco, the Bay Area’s second-oldest dance company, premiered “Transitar por un Mundo sin Tiempo” at the Herbst Theater last year as part of its 57th production. .^th During the home season, the production will be revived at the ODC Theater for four nights from February 8th to 11th, retitled “Un Mundo sin Tiempo.”

At Herbst, the choreography and decorations evoked less of a desert and more of a sense of suspended possibility. “You go into this world where anything can happen,” Zertuche said. “The driver who took us to Wadi Rum was an eight-year-old child. We were with desert people. At night, the sky is full of stars and the desert is like an ocean. I was very inspired.”

Mexican-born Zertuche is the lead dancer, principal choreographer and artistic director of the Flamenco theater, as well as a master of incorporating guest artists into his productions. Dedicated to the deep roots of Andalusian flamenco and gitano culture, she is not afraid to reach beyond. cante johndo (deep singing) and traditional steps for sound sources and movement vocabulary.

ODC’s “Timeless World” production “is something we made in May, but there have been some changes, both in the choreography and the addition of Nol Simonce,” she says, adding that she has moved here Since then, he has become an indispensable part of San Francisco’s modern dance scene. A founding member of Janice Garrett and Dancers, Garrett + Moulton Productions, and Sean Dorsey Dance, Simonce teaches at LINES Dance Center and Scholl Anderson Dance Center.

He is the next wild card after Adrian Santana, a Malaga-trained dancer born into a flamenco family. An openly gay dancer in a macho culture, he has achieved national and international success and become something of an ambassador for an art form that is becoming increasingly “more universal.” he said. “It’s from Spain, but there’s flamenco everywhere you go, even in small towns. I’m very happy to be able to share it.” Claudia Derwese and Lia Covelli, who also danced in Hirst’s work, will reimagine their roles.

And, like May’s work, Timeless World features a sensational musical cast led by guitarist Juani de la Isla, a prolific Spanish artist with nearly 200 albums under his belt. . Hailing from San Fernando Island near Cádiz, a hotbed of flamenco for generations, de la Isla is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from the famous Gitano family known for fusing flamenco with rock, jazz and other idioms. will be joined by Diego Amador Jr. . His father was the great flamenco vocalist and pianist Diego Amador, and his uncles Raimundo and Rafael founded the groundbreaking 1980s flamenco blues band Pata Negra.

Trumpeter Mario Silva, electric guitarist Roberto Aguilar,