Flamenco’s Boundaries Crossed

If dancers who specialize in antique idioms sometimes feel imprisoned by rigid historical styles and forms, the variety and vitality of contemporary flamenco should show them that artists can dance in and of their time without trashing their heritage.

The latest example: “Tradicion y Vanguardia,” presented by Maria Bermudez’s Sonidos Gitanos/Gypsy Flamenco company Friday in its fourth engagement at Hollywood’s John Anson Ford Amphitheatre.

In Act 1, images of flamenco icons filled a giant slide-screen, and the performances reflected the stylistic legacy of Jerez de la Frontera (one of Spain’s prime flamenco enclaves). In Act 2, electric guitars and music informed by rock and blues accompanied the dancing as the nine-member Jerez band Navajita Platea put a bold, exciting spin on Gypsy culture.

The program also provided several family reunions. Veteran dancer “La Curra,” for instance, is the mother of Navajita Platea lead guitarist Curro Carrasco--and the lead singer of that group, Pele de Los Reyes, is Bermudez’s husband. Moreover, her brother, Trinidad Bermudez, brought his background in ballet and modern dance to an evening already rich in cross-cultural influences.

But don’t be in a hurry to label the result “fusion,” for everyone seemed far more comfortable on his or her home turf than when exploring what’s been called border art. Certainly Maria Bermudez, the link between all the idioms on the program, danced with far greater authority in her traditional “Siguiriya” solo than when trading steps with her brother in their hands-across-the-sea duet “Illora” or her Act 2 hellion-in-leather solo “Hablando en Plata.”

Technically secure and distinctively gutsy, she seemed challenged to greater spontaneity in her Act 1 duet with Juan Tejero, a spectacularly volatile flamenco dancer inclined to whiplash turns and sudden-death lunges at every opportunity.

His own solo matched powerful heel work with a lock-up-your-daughters feral edge that formed an intriguing contrast with the supple, sensitive dancing of Trinidad Bermudez in his “Poeta en Marakech” solo.

In this American debut performance, 2001 Latin Grammy nominees Navajita Platea proved just as persuasive in subdued, acoustic selections as in its more assaultive rock anthems--and memorable as much for the inspiration it offered the dancers as its own skill and creative dynamism.

Along with Sonidos Gitanos guitarists Jesus Alvarez and Jorge Gomez, singers Antonio de la Malena and Ana de Los Reyes (another member of the Reyes/Bermudez clan) added their artistry to this Fountain Theatre production.