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Hot Avant Garde and Experimental Flamenco

Hot Avant Garde and Experimental Flamenco

March 3, 2020 Posted by rina@rinaorellana.com Flamenco Dance, Flamenco Dance Styles 4 Comments

I am amazed at the super wide range of dance styles within contemporary flamenco. On the one hand you have the super traditionalists who are funky diva flamencos like Saray de los Reyes, La Farruca, and Andres Peña. Then you have the funky musical flamencos who dance like maniacs but are very musical in their expression, like Domingo Ortega and Rafaela Carrasco.

But today, I’m into checking out the hot avant garde and experimental flamencos. Some are flamenco dancers that use a more contemporary dance vocabulary. Others are strong flamenco dancers that really push the boundaries of experimental dance by using a flamenco vocabulary.  I would say the best ones, in my humble opinion, come from a very strong flamenco background or family. You have to be a master at flamenco to be able to go “off course” and make it work.

In the past, experimental flamenco primarily focused on dancers going beyond traditional environments, movements and clothing. Now, there’s a new addition of cross dressing. Although it’s not exactly experimental, it certainly is new in how comfortable and confident the dancers are with this type of expression.

Although I myself am more of a traditionalist in style, I truly appreciate how these dancers expand the flamenco vocabulary with their unique expressions. Enjoy.

Manuel Liñán

His style itself is very traditional in flavor, but he’s been so bold with cross dressing. He has been able to make it all look like beautiful, wonderfully expressive dance as opposed to some kitchy drag queen act.

Leonor Leal

What I love about Leonor is that she is a solid flamenco dancer as well as a trained contemporary dancer. She’s so different if not for her dance but in her choice of dress and her hair!

Rocio Molina

She’s so flamenca and yet can just blast off to another dimension. Watch her here dance with power in a bathrobe as well as paint while she dances.

Olga Pericet

Olga can also do everything- flamenco, classical, contemporary and she knows how to work it all together. This video is from her show at the Festival de Jerez 2014. She does her wonderful, powerful flamenco with some very experimental moments with a deer man.

Israel Galvan

It’s safe to say that Israel is the king of the experimental flamencos. His dances are spacious and danced to his own inner rhythm.

Andres Marin
He is another experimenter of lines and music.

Karen Lugo
Karen has a strong flamenco base with very, very contemporary & geometric lines. Here is her lovely version of Guajira with a fan.

Belen Maya

This is her video from the original Carlos Saura Flamenco movie. Lots of sharp lines and geometric shapes and my own first introduction to “non-traditional” flamenco.

I hope you enjoyed these videos. Tell me which one you like best!
🙂 Rina
Photo credit: Composition No. 8: La Flamenca by Nicholas de Lacy-Brown

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Tags: Andres Marinavant garde flamencoBelen Mayacontemporary flamencoexperimental flamencoIsrael GalvanKaren LugoLeonor LealOlga PericetRocio Molina
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4 Comments

Leave your reply.
  • Anne Wrenn
    · Reply

    October 8, 2016 at 6:54 AM

    Flamenco Purl is still the best. It always will be!!!

    • rina@rinaorellana.com
      · Reply

      Author
      October 9, 2016 at 4:16 PM

      I know what you mean Anne!

  • Sooz
    · Reply

    October 8, 2016 at 9:16 AM

    Fantastico! I had no idea there were different styles/types of flamenco! These videos were wonderful! I like the term ‘an experimenter of lines and music’. I enjoy that in dancing as well! What shapes come to mind when I hear this music? Love it! I loved the theatricality of Rocio Molina. That was one powerful beginning! Leonor Leal reminded me of a dance friend of mine, Fanny Ara! Here is a fave video of mine of her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWQiU3jxaqE

    Karen Lugo was very fiery and fun to watch! Made me want to pick up a fan and dance with it. It almost becomes like your partner :0) I remember the Belen Maya one, a great performance, and who can forget that incredible green dress! And I can’t forget the men! Andres Marin was a standout for me. Intense and evocative. Loved all of these videos! hard to pick just one. Olé!!!

    • rina@rinaorellana.com
      · Reply

      Author
      October 9, 2016 at 4:17 PM

      Thanks Sooz. I’m glad you enjoyed all the dancers. And thanks for sharing Fanny’s video. She’s a very talented dancer.

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