THEY COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT
Once a month at the Fountain Theatre, Deborah Lawlor presents Forever Flamenco!, an assemblage of the greatest flamenco artists anywhere. Programs change each time, but based on the show I saw last Sunday (which had two different artists than previously announced) it would be impossible to have a tepid experience at any edition: Lawlor has been doing this for years and has the cream-of-the-crop at her behest. Each show features a roster of world-class dancers, singers and musicians drawn from the rich pool of 
flamenco artists in Southern California, with additional guest artists brought from around the country and Spain. And with only 78 seats in four rows, the Fountain is an astoundingly intimate venue to view flamenco.
This show was subtitled “Por pintar a una mujer” or “To Paint a Woman,” during which we were treated to an all-male performance. Inspired by a fandango verse about the idealization of women, the evening began with painter Roderick Smith studying a canvas, or rather creating a relationship with the canvas. All of flamenco is about relationships: Whether with the music, the instruments, or each other, these artists actively give and take, either with acute listening or commanding attention. Smith perused his canvas while we heard an older recording by Paco de Lucia and Porrina de Badajoz; the sung verse is translated as:
To paint a woman
A crazy man was given the notion
To paint a woman
And once he had the painting finished,
He placed a sign at her feet…
“Now you have me as you have always wanted!”
Smith would, in the span of two hours, paint an incredibly lovely water color of a dancing woman surrounded by the musicians on stage. As Smith painted stage left (which was mesmerizing enough) the artistic director of the evening, guitarist Ethan Margolis (of Arte y Pureza), played a soulful “The Artist.” He was soon joined by upright bassist John Leftwich (of the Hubert Laws Quintet), who added a jazzy feel to the proceedings. While the fusion of jazz and traditional flamenco was wholly successful, Margolis’s use of synthesizer felt out of place. Still, with knuckle-rapping from the glorious gypsy soul-singer, Antonio de Jerez, and palmero Luis de la Tota, this opening number was infectious. Margolis also brought whimsy in a song that stated, “You look like a rose and you smell like one, too; But you don’t cook, so what are you gonna do?”
A palmero is a hand-clapper, but de la Tota is much more than that. This native of Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, is also deft as a flamenco cajonero (or percussionist) and as a festero extraordinaire. Outside of flamenco, a festero is usually someone who organizes festivities. If you watched the mischievous yet loving de la Tota have a playful rapping conversation with a female member of the audience, you will more than likely think of a festero as a Party Animal.
Speaking of animals, dancers Manuel Gutierrez and Oscar Valero heated up the room with a combination of passionate tapping and intense concentration. These athletic men seemed to be telling stories with their sensual stepping, but there also appeared to be friendly competition and brotherhood. But nobody performing flamenco is in it to win anything; they are there to celebrate life. I loved the way Valero finished an intricate tapping routine with frenzy and then sauntered off stage like Gene Kelly with his jacket slung over his shoulders. The fiery Gutierrez is a consummate performer, but never does it look like he is showing off. As he did in Forever Flamenco! at the Ford earlier this year, he displayed a crackling tap and pedal pyrotechnics the likes of which confirmed why Flamenco is so compelling. The comment my companion said after the Ford concert still holds true here: “That’s it. I’m booking us on the next flight to Seville.” Fortunately, you only have to go to the Fountain Theatre to feel like you’re in Spain.
photos from previous shows
Forever Flamenco!
presented by Deborah Lawlor
Fountain Theatre
played on September 15, 2013
next Forever Flamenco! plays on Sun October 13
Dancers: Fanny Ara, Misuda Cohen
and Manuel Gutierrez
Singers: Jose Cortes and Antonio De Jerez
Guitarists: Alfredo Caceres and Antonio Triana
for tickets, call (323) 663-1525
or visit Fountain Theatre
