Think you know what flamenco is? Think again.
You may be familiar with flamenco’s energetic style, pounding footwork and dramatic guitar crescendos. But you may not realize flamenco is much more than dance. It’s an expression of culture and an exploration of humanity and more. It’s a way of life.
I recently sat down with Antonio Granjero, founder of Entreflamenco Company, and co-director Estefania Ramirez to learn more about flamenco dance and the El Flamenco Restaurant, performance space and school in downtown Santa Fe.
Antonio’s path to flamenco seems almost predestined. He was born in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, an area known as the epicenter of flamenco, where he began studying flamenco at the age of 10. “In my opinion, someone is born an artist but is shaped by what they are exposed to. Then, the artist has to develop his or herself. So where you’re from and who surrounds you influences you,” Antonio muses, and there’s no doubt his background and upbringing have shaped his love for flamenco. “Flamenco is a way of life,” he says. “I imagine other art forms are a way of life for people. But for Spaniards, any place in the world you are wrapped in flamenco. It’s hard to let go of it––it consumes you. I’ve never met a person who fully immerses themselves in flamenco and then leaves it behind.” Indeed, Antonio has spent his entire life “wrapped in flamenco.” He has studied the art form for decades and has performed across the globe in Israel, Italy, England, Switzerland, France, Japan and beyond. In 1998, he founded the Entreflamenco Company in Madrid, Spain, and through it, he has dedicated his life to sharing flamenco with the world.
Estefania’s journey to flamenco dancing, on the other hand, began later in her dance career. From an early age, she studied many different types of dance: jazz, tap, ballet and more, eventually earning a dance scholarship to the University of New Mexico, where she saw her first flamenco performance. She was instantly mesmerized. “I immediately thought, ‘This is it. That is what I want to do,’” Estefania says, and her lifelong love for flamenco was born.
Over tapas and wine, Antonio and Estefania share their passion for dance as they gently educate me on the depth, complexity and cultural relevance of flamenco and their intentions for El Flamenco.
The first thing I learn is how crucial the interactions between dancer and musician are in flamenco. “With other forms of dance, the musicians and the dancers stand apart,” Antonio says. He explains that flamenco is always performed with live music, because the performers respond and react to one another, so even when steps are predetermined, there’s a vital connection. That relationship is absolutely central to the Entreflamenco mindset; it’s even signified in the dance company’s name. Antonio points out, “The name itself grammatically should be Entreflamencos. But it’s meant to represent how even during a solo, it’s never one person alone. It’s always with the other artists: the musicians and the singers. If it was one person dancing alone, it wouldn’t be flamenco.”
Furthermore, unlike other dance styles, they explain, flamenco is not narrative: there is no story being communicated in flamenco. Rather, the performance is about pure, direct expression of emotion. “It’s a marriage between live music and dance,Estefania says. There’s a common vocabulary of movement in how we communicate; a common language which is specific to flamenco. But it’s not a narrative. It’s not telling a story.”
Instead of telling a story, flamenco represents the full range of human emotions, which flamenco calls palos. Palos are the sentiments expressed in a particular dance. A dancer may dance an alegrias, which communicates happiness, a soleá to convey loneliness, and so on. This pure, direct expression makes flamenco a very personal and intense experience both for the performers and for the audience.
This also means each performance is unique, and even when it’s choreographed and produced (as it is at El Flamenco), it will never be reproduced exactly as it was at that moment. “It’s always different. No two days are alike,” Estefania says. The singular, emotional quality of each performance is part of what makes watching flamenco so compelling. When asked what it’s like to perform flamenco, Antonio discloses, “It depends on the day. It depends on the palo, that’s the emotion you’re feeling, because you’re able to just live in that emotion in that moment.”
In a performance space like El Flamenco, the emotions are visceral for the audience as well. It’s modeled after the style of the María Benitez Teatro Flamenco, where Antonio and Estefania both worked for many years. Antonio was the featured male soloist choreographer to the company from 1996-2010 and toured extensively with them throughout the United States. One of Estefania’s first professional jobs as a dancer was with María Benítez Flamenco, and that’s where she and Antonio first met. After pursuing separate career paths for a number of years, in 2003, Estefania joined Entreflamenco and in 2013, the pair chose Santa Fe as the company’s new home.
They both greatly admired the work María Benítez had done to promote flamenco throughout the U.S. and they wanted to honor her by continuing that legacy. “María Benítez is the pioneer in North America and the Southwest. Flamenco would NOT be where it’s at in Santa Fe without her,” Estefania insists. With that in mind, they opened El Flamenco, a María Benítez-style performance space which gives people the full authentic Spanish experience.
In Spain, flamenco is usually performed in tablaos, small informal spaces where audiences can really feel the power of the dancer’s movements. They credit María Benítez with the concept of a polished and produced dance performance in this type of tablao space. It’s traditional, but elevated by additional production value, rehearsal and attention to detail. When Antonio talks about technique, the high standards he sets are clear. “You have to master the technique first, so that you can forget the execution and interpret the emotions with the other artists. It’s not only technical, but you do need that foundation.”
For Antonio and Estefania, it’s all about really immersing people in the culture on a deeper level than simply watching dance. “Flamenco has something to offer everyone. You’re going to get a personal experience from it,” Estefania says. To complement the dancing, El Flamenco now has tapas and wine available during shows. Antonio says, “Originally, we just had dance performances. We wanted to show what it feels like to be in Spain, and have that authentic experience. The experience was created from the stage outward, similar to Spanish tablaos.” Estefania adds, “We wanted people to have the option of a good wine, some traditional tapas, and provide the full-on experience as if they are in Spain. For people who have never experienced it, they often say ‘I was not expecting this.’ People who have been to tablaos in Spain will say it’s even better.”
Antonio agrees. “One thing we’re really proud of is that patrons—those who have been to Spain—will come to our performances and say, ‘This was even better,’” he says. “This doesn’t exist in Spain, it was created here in Santa Fe, and it’s something we continue to offer to those who visit.”
In addition to flamenco performances, Entreflamenco offers flamenco classes to children and adults. The very nature of flamenco is to explore emotion, and that’s one reason educational programming is so important to Antonio and Estefania.
Antonio explains, “I believe not only does dance help develop a person physically, but also emotionally. While dancing, you may discover emotions that you might never reach without dance. You can relieve that pressure cooker of emotions and explore those feelings. Dance has existed since the history of the world. Humans have danced throughout time, as a way to express themselves.”
Therefore, Antonio and Estefania believe the gift of dance should be available to everyone. “We intend that any child can come learn how to dance, free of charge. Any child. No child is turned away. We give the option that any child can learn and cost is not an obstacle,” Antonio says. Entreflamenco is able to offer the lessons free of charge due to funding from The City of Santa Fe Arts Commission, TOURISM Santa Fe, New Mexico Arts, the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Santa Fe Children and Youth Commission. “We want to express our gratitude to the organizations that help sponsor us,” Estefania offers sincerely, and Antonio echoes the sentiment, but laments the perception that when something is given freely, people may assume it has little value.
Nothing could be further from the truth. “Being able to learn and dance is great for social and emotional development,” Estefania explains. “Children learn to communicate verbally and non-verbally and interact with others on a team. It’s a great resource for young people to develop themselves. It can teach important morals and values. And here, they’re learning how they’d learn it in Spain being taught by Antonio, so they have the advantage of that cultural aspect.” After all, Antonio Granjero is the only native Spanish flamenco director in the United States. He’s been studying and performing flamenco his entire life, and he embodies the soul of flamenco dance, culture and lifestyle.
In the short time I spent with the folks at El Flamenco, I found their depth, gracious hospitality, and genuine devotion to flamenco utterly intoxicating. I, for one, am convinced: flamenco isn’t just dance, it’s life. So if you’re seeking inspiration, why not take this advice from Antonio, who with his characteristic warmth and enthusiasm simply says, “Venga ver a nos! Come and see us!”
El Flamenco Restaurant is located at 135 W. Palace Ave. in Santa Fe, 505.209.1302, entreflamenco.com.
Photos by Joy Godfrey