‘Noche Flamenca’ heats up Memorial Hall

The heat in the full Memorial Hall already started before the show. It perfectly complemented the passion that the dancers of “Noche Flamenca” conveyed in their two-hour show Friday night.

All through the performance, the crowd looked astounded and intrigued at the whirling dancers on stage.

The passion and intensity of the show was inextricably connected to the dance that they performed. Flamenco is known for its strong emotions and the use of dance and music for storytelling.

Its roots are in Andalucia, a region of Spain that is home to many different ethnic groups, of which various have had to endure forms of oppression or exploitation. Flamenco is the accumulation of all their fears and tragedies, and it is for this reason that the music and cantes are so abundant in emotion.

The setting was simple yet intimate: the only props on the stage were chairs for the guitarist and singers.

The show opened with guitarist Eugenio Iglesias performing his “Solo de Guitarra,” and it was fascinating how just one guitarist could silence the whole crowd. His crying guitar gave goosebumps and set the tone for the evening.

Noche Flamenca effectively used light to structure its show: the spotlight dimmed after an act was finished and focused on the main performers of the next song to indicate a reprisal of music and dance. The other players on stage were left in the dark when they were not performing, creating a mysterious setting.

The artists were mainly dressed in red and black, emphasizing flamenco’s link with love and tragedy. The guitarists and singers were dressed in all black, which made the dancers all the more distinguishable for everyone in Memorial Hall, even in the seats further removed from the ends.

Dancer Rebeca Tomás stole the show with her “Sueño.” She wore a gorgeous, draped red dress that accentuated her swift, passionate movements to the guitar sounds.

The audience gasped at the emotional expression that her dance was able to convey. She was given a standing ovation, and when she and the music halted for a brief second, the crowd burst out in applause. In one quick move, she would grab and lift her dress, giving the audience a look at her dancing feet.

The audience was relieved from the intense concentration and passion when a staff member removed a few chairs from the stage. The out-of-form man performing this task stood in strong contrast with the toned dancers.

But even after this, the dancers captured the attention of the audience within seconds when they resumed. Nobody wanted to miss a second, and words such as “aggressive,” “ fierce” and “ intense” were used more than once by the appreciative crowd.

Noche Flamenca is an authority in the world of flamenco, a world previously absent from Memorial Hall. But after Friday night’s show, flamenco is no longer a foreign treasure, and Noche Flamenca is to thank.



Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.