You can attend ¡Viva! and let yourself be carried away by the pure energy that emanates from it. You don't need to be a specialist to be gripped: gypsy dance has an immediate universal appeal. The elegance, the power of the composition of Manuel Liñán (still little known in France but already hailed in Spain as one of the new masters of the genre) amply justify the distinction awarded in 2020 by a jury of connoisseurs, under the aegis of the chair of Flamencology and Folklore Studies of the University of Jerez. This means that his art meets all the criteria required of a flamenco that conforms to the strictest traditions. But ¡ Viva! goes even further. Her exclamation, her "vivat!" is the verb that the Andalusian public lets out in a cry of enthusiasm when the evening is intense, when the cante jondo sounds more than just right and when the dancer touches that elusive grace, that famous duende that everyone feels without being able to describe it (to find it, said Lorca, "there is no map or exercise"). But ¡ Viva! is not just a verb: it is also an adjective, in the feminine singular. Because the whole show is a tribute to the bailaora, to the spirit of life that carries her beyond herself. And this sincere, unreserved tribute is paid to her here by seven male performers, including Liñán himself, possessed by a duende that sweeps away everything in its path, starting with gender boundaries.
Types
- Dance