FUEGO ESPANOL
Teresa y los Preferidos at the Harold Washington Library Auditorium October 16, 17, 22, and 23
Much of the Spanish and flamenco dancing in “Fuego Espanol” has this feeling of dancing in the village or in the local taverna. In a tango choreographed by the renowned dancer La Tati, an older, more experienced woman (Teresa) teaches and challenges a younger woman (Madeleine Gomez). The older woman moves more subtly than the enthusiastic younger dancer, who wastes her energy with flashy movements of her skirt. The battle between young and old, and the iron hand of the old in Spanish society, are clearly delineated.
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The flamenco dancer Manolo Rivera was one of four dancers featured in the “Festival of Percussive Dance,” a concert organized by the Old Town School of Folk Music featuring dance in which the dancers make rhythms with their feet. Percussive dance ranges from Appalachian clogging and Irish step dancing through tap and flamenco to Indian kathak and South American gaucho. Wherever music sets toes tapping or feet stomping, there’s probably a folk tradition of percussive dance.
Irish step-dancing rhythms are much more regular than flamenco or tap, and Harney taps out a steady stream of 16th notes, using the different sounds his feet make to form an interesting rhythm. Liz Carroll on fiddle and Marty Fahey on piano and accordion add the headlong rhythmic rush of Irish fiddle music.
