Flamenco, Hot and Spicy
Caminos Flamencos
Café de la Paz, Berkeley
July 18-20, 2003
reviewed by Rachel Howard
Aside
from the venerable old Theatre Flamenco, Caminos
Flamencos may be the most prominent flamenco
troupe in San Francisco right now. The company's leader,
the mono-monikered Yaelisa, founded the country's second
largest flamenco festival, which kicks off its third
season at Southern California's UC Irvine this week.
She's established a training ground with classes for
all levels at the San Francisco Dance Center, one of
the city's dance hubs, and her company performs once
a month at that other main hub, ODC Theater.
She's also choreographed several evening-length, ambitious,
and highly laudable if flawed works for the proscenium
stage. Ensayo, mounted at the 785-seat Yerba
Buena Center for the Arts Theater in 2001, featured
stunning photographic projections and lighting, a core
of young but passably professional female dancers, and
some seriously silly and overwrought flamenco-modern
fusion.
 But
its greatest moments were all about Yaelisa. Tall and
slight of frame, with a long, handsome face, she has
a deliciously down-and-dirty style, with indecorous
hands and wagging hips. I've never had more fun at a
flamenco show than while watching her infectious tangos,
and the pleasure is only compounded up close, as last
week's Caminos Flamencos performances at the intimate
Café de la Paz proved.
The company's been performing monthly at the Berkeley
"gourmet ghetto" eatery since May, but the
late July/early August dates were billed as a special
restaurant "anniversary celebration," and
advertised with a "distinctive Latino Nuevo cuisine
menu." The food was lukewarm and lacking flavor,
but the dancing got hot and spicy so fast that a fan
was quickly dragged in to cool things down.
Good flamenco dancing is inextricable from fine musicianship,
and that was the certainly the case Thursday. Two singers
from the Jerez region of Spain were promised; due to
visa tie-ups only Manuel de la Malena delivered, and
with his echoing, plaintive sound he was voice enough.
Caminos's music director Jason McGuire lent his virtuosic
and jazz-tinged guitar work while tabla-player turned
flamenco-apprentice Sudhi Rajagopal slapped happily
on the cajon and the affable Roberto Zamora supplied
handclaps, abundant "Olés!" and good
will.
Most exciting of all to dance fans was Yaelisa's rhythmic
contribution: her rapid-fire, exquisitely musical footwork.
It came out in force at the finale of every song she
danced— two tangos and an allegria—and the
only evidence of improvisation as she sped tempos up
and pulled them down was the intense connection between
her eyes and the musicians', and the suspense in the
air.
I kept waiting for Zamora to jump in, but the only other
dancer was the very beautiful Julianna Dreschel, who
is remarkable for having a style so distinct from her
mentor's at such an early point in her development.
Her fine-boned face, too young for the wrinkles of grief,
nevertheless grimaced with convincing pain in her bulerias.
She was all quickness and clarity, with sudden lunges
and bends like a striking viper.
The show was only half an hour long, which coupled with
the mediocre food surely disappointed a few patrons
who had ponied up $60 a head. But Yaelisa's let-loose
spirit always leaves them wanting more, and the performance
left little doubt that shouts of "Olé!"
will fly freely when her company visits Southern California
this month.
copyright 2003 by Rachel Howard
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