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Research inspired by the exposition La Nuit espagnole at the Petit Palais
Antonia Mercé - La Argentina
Antonia Mercè was born in 1888 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She adapted the name of her country of birth into her stage name, La Argentina. She was also known as the Flamenco Pavlova and the Queen of the Castanets.
Her parents, Manuel Mercè and Josefina Luque, were Spanish and were both accomplished and professional dancers. Her father was from Andalusia where the people were known for their natural grace, extension, range of motion and musicality. Antonia’s mother, Josefina, was Castilian, known for their powerful presence and strong sense of style.
Her parents realized they had a prodigy on their hands in Antonia and set out to cultivate her talents. Antonia’s father had started her ballet and dance instruction at the age of four. She made her ballet debut with the Royal Opera Theatre in Madrid, Spain at the age of nine and was dancing lead roles by the age of eleven. At the age of fourteen, Antonia’s father passed away and she turned away from ballet in favour of the traditional dances of Spain that her mother loved and which had always fascinated Antonia.
In 1905 Antonia left the Madrid Opera to pursue her love of the traditional dances of Spain. She assumed her professional name of La Argentina and, from that point on, the only dances she performed were the dances of Spain. She was 17 years old and turning her back on the assured money and fame of ballet.
The roots of flamenco are with the poor and hard pressed Gypsy-Andalusian people. Flamenco itself is a combination of the song, el cante; the dance, el baile; and the guitar playing, el toque. The power of the flamenco is in its duende. This is a name given to describe the deep, primal, mysterious emotional charge that is the soul of the flamenco. It has been called the “final blood filled room of the soul” by Spanish poet Garcia Lorca. To perform true flamenco in its purest form the artists must be genuine, expressing the powers of pain and sincerity from deep within the soul while drawing it through the body, starting at the soles of the feet. The goal is to dance for yourself and not for the audience.
Carmencita
Carmencita was apparently an very interesting and colorful character, a highly spirited Spanish Gypsy Dancer who performed all over Europe and on the east coast of the United States.
Vicente Escudero
Vicente Escudero is one of the best Spanish dancers and he was also considered one of the best in the world for some time, the years of his success in the United States, France, Great Britain, Cuba…, between 1929 and 1936. They are also the years when Escudero came into contact with vanguardism in the world of arts (Cubism, Surrealism, Dadaism…), especially in literature and painting, and he managed to transpose it into his dancing. Throughout his artistic trajectory, he took his shows around the hallowed temples of international dancing. El Amor Brujo (1934) and his Bailes Flamencos de Vanguardia (1930) were very successful.
Vicente Escudero’s dancing was always characterised by a great austerity and sobriety, possibly a reflection of his Castillian character. He always struggled against barroque trends,which he believed had impregnated flamenco, and against the mechanical bailaores who simply limited themselves to repeating schemes, without leaving any space for improvisation. Cubism, which he was able to integrate very well with his art, strengthened his quest for simplicity. The crowning achievement of his theoric efforts was a decalogue of flamenco dancing, that was made public in 1951, in which he reveals the indispensable requirements for dancing flamenco in a pure manner, very significant with regards to his views dancing as a male, to put an end to the effeminateness that was prevalent in male dancing.
DANSE magnet 1.0: 21 Juin 2008, Fountain St. Michel – Paris, Fête de la Musique
Thanks to Anne Cremieux for filming and Becca Blackburn for holding down the fort with the stereo!
DANSE magnet is an on-going project which will continue to evolve each time it is done. The basic concept is to take some time from your everyday life and dance to celebrate life and eachother. Isn’t everyday life a good reason to celebrate? I’m not a performer. I’m an artist but I’m also a DANSE magnet. You’re a DANSE magnet too. We all are.
DANSE magnet 1.0 – Fountain St. Michel, 21 Juin 2008, Fête de la Musique
amber says: argh.. I don’t want to write my blog post.
Ya Mong. says: about your dance magnet video ?
amber says: oui.
amber says: everyone is asking me how it went
amber says: from back home
amber says: and I just want to go into a hole.
Ya Mong. says: like a little mouse. :)
Although there were the inevitable scares before hand, everything came together and I top-sized from the Metro with my friend, ghettoblaster, and dansing shoes just before 15H (3pm). I was surprised to see three other performances going on at the same place!
I set up the ghettoblaster, and soon Anne arrived to record the event. Valerie and Lucien were there as well to cheer me on – they are the mother and boy of the family I work with.
As I planned, I played the first song to draw a crowd. Although there were tons of people around, no one “gathered”. After the song, I said a version of the speech I prepared and commenced dansing to Devendra Banhart – Carmencita. The response?
nothing.
It was difficult to get people to danse with me. There were a few brave souls, and plenty of people watching me – but there was a real large barrier between me and “the public”. To my surprise it didn’t stop me. I had prepared for this. I tried to bridge the gap by going up to people, but I was met by embarrassed or inpatient folks. Finally the song ended and that was it. I clapped with my friends and then we huddled to discuss.
The experience was wonderful. I learned that I’m VERY comfortable performing. There is an inner exhibitionist in me, which will not come as a surprise to those of you who know me. I also felt extremely fulfilled to finally danse in a public setting. It was beautiful and freeing. I want others to have this experience as well.
Going forward I see that DANSE magnet will change depending on each performance – and there needs to be MANY of them. I plan to keep this piece going and hope to inspire others to do this as well. For the future, I will need a louder music device, a more restful place to perform, and I think a longer danse track.
The video is coming soon, so you can all see for yourselves.
to read about the inspiration check out the afterbirth.
amberlauletta