London Flamenco Festival: 13 Mar. Israel Galvan

It was the show to which I was looking forward the most, but it wasn’t for others - the balcony seats were almost empty. I could have a seat in comfort, being free from pressure of a crowd, and fully enjoy the show.

When you see flamenco shows in London, whether it’s in a restaurant or theatre, you will hear the audience whistle and applaud for the dancer’s footwork. They seem to assume that a performance is over as long as the dance part ends, even though the music has not finished completely. Even if you want to enjoy the music till the end, it might be lost among the noise. If you notice, the guitarist and singer might be confused or even disappointed by the treatment. Although the audience don’t at all mean any harm but just want to show the simple fact that they are enjoying the performance, it often distracts and disappoints me… I have even seen some people busy chatting, ignoring the singer’s singing a solo between dance performances.

For this Israel Galvan’s first appearance in London (am I right?), however, there were luckily quite a few flamenco-literate people in the audience. So, instead of ill-timed whistling and clapping, their jaleos and even laughter came at perfect timings during each performance. I could also enjoy the ‘right’ responses from the audience as well as Israel’s magnificent dancing itself.

His style is absolutely unique and might look even weird. His movements are in a way Byzantine fashion, intricate, avant-garde. For me, however, his flamenco style as such seems to be based on something very simple and pure. His dancing is complicated and simple at the same time - I think his talent makes it possible very easily. The stage itself was so simple as well, with a dancer (Israel), a singer and a guitarist only. Usually I’m not very interested in male dancers, but Israel is special for me. His rhythm, timing, movements, shapes, sounds… everything is perfectly flamenco. I felt very refreshed and happy after seeing his performance.

Comparing to other events at this Flamenco festival, the audience was obviously smaller, and I got worried if he wouldn’t be invited to London again. But he turned out to be audience’s favourite – they requested ‘otra’ twice! Even at ‘Mujeres’ they didn’t call for an encore. It seemed as if they didn’t want to let Israel go home yet.

For encore, I was wondering why Israel sat on the left hand side from the audience. I should have predicted what was going to happen… The guitarist murmured something and passed his guitar to the singer, and the singer started to play the instrument as well as a professional. Then… Israel started to sing! It was a buleria. His voice was so sweet. While we were still excited at seeing such a sport, the guitarist stood up, started to dance, like Israel! I mean, he couldn’t or didn’t obviously dance like Israel, but he showed some ‘Israel-like’ movements on purpose, which entertained us so much. Ole!

Israel somehow reminds me of my flamenco teacher in Japan. When I see them dancing, tears and laughter come out. They make me overwhelmed by a flood of emotions, laugh by showing some comical sides. I feel as if I am experiencing a great world, greater than any existence in this world. Still, both dancers are not intimidating but purely entertaining. Their styles are not the same or similar; Israel is in a way anti-traditional, my teacher, on the other hand, respects the old style of flamenco. Israel shows eccentric movements, while my teacher likes indigenous choreography. Nevertheless, similar emotions swell inside me when I see their performances. I would feel refreshed and warm, as if I’m saved from something negative.