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José Greco and His Flamenco Family
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13796 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
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12 / 1988 |
1,998 Words |
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Gary Parks
Gary Parks is the news editor of Dance Magazine. |
As the opening-night audience spilled from Eighth Avenue into New York's Joyce Theater in late September, a feeling of bright anticipation seemed to bustle right alongside. People were headed for the debut of a company assembled by the legendary José Greco, who for nearly forty years has personified Spanish dance for many Americans.
Greco came out of retirement in 1984 for several guest appearances. Now he is performing with three of his children: Carmela, age 30; José II, who turns 26 in December; and Lola, age 24. The elder Greco, who also has a birthday in December—his 70th—called the evening "The Next Generation." As the lights went down inside the theater, rows of eager faces looked forward to seeing a new dawn in Spanish dance rising before them.
Distinctive Footwork
What a difference an hour makes. As the crowd filed out for intermission, anticipation had been dulled by disappointment. Instead of the soul-wrenching drama some had expected, most of the first half of the program had been filled with tepid narrative ballets delivered in pseudo-Spanish style. Flamenco's distinctive footwork was combined, especially in Lola's solos, with high-kicking ballet battements. Even worse, the dancers were not permitted simply to dance. Instead, they were trying—without much success—to act out stories, with plots long on atmosphere but short on development. "When do they start the Spanish dancing?" one observer huffed. Something was being lost in translation. Dance as the universal language? No comprendemos, the audience seemed to say.
Not until
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