Javier Barón

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Javier Barón (born July 1, 1963 in Alcalá de Guadaíra ), actually Francisco Javier Álvarez Rico , is a Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer .

Childhood and youth

The young Javier Álvarez was already enthusiastic about dance in his childhood. At the age of 6 he danced some Sevillanas with a girl of the same age for the final competition of his school class . This success spurred him and his parents on, and so they enrolled him in a dance academy. At the age of 10 he moved to Madrid to receive professional dance training “with the best teachers” under the care of his uncle Manolo Rico, a torero . This uncle also gave him appearances in the tablaos of Madrid, always associated with the risk of catching a criminal complaint for these appearances by a child. Luisillo discovered him in 1975 while performing at Tablao Los Cabales and hired him for his company . With her, accompanied by his mother, he went on his first trips abroad to Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Before Pope Paul VI. the company danced a biblical ballet, El convite , and received the papal blessing, which meant a lot to young Javier.

He then danced in the companies of Rafael de Córdova and Rafael Alguilar . Under the guidance of a number of excellent dancers, he perfected his skills, including Tomás de Madrid , Toni el Pelao , Faíco , Manolete , El Güito and especially Ciro . In 1977 he appeared at the national flamenco competition in Cordoba , where he received an honorable mention. In the following years he performed under the name Francisco Javier at flamenco festivals in Andalusia , for example at the Antonio Mairena Festival in Mairena del Alcor and at the Joaquín de la Paula Festival in Alcalá de Guadaíra. In 1980 he entered the Gente Joven competition at TVE . He won first prize with a farruca , a few alegrías , a taranto and a few tangos . He then performed in Monte Carlo for three months . In 1981 he was finally accepted into the Ballet Nacional de España , which was then directed by Antonio Ruiz Soler .

Artistic development

In his own words, he used the experience he made with the Ballet Nacional as the basis for his entire later career. There he expanded his repertoire to include a whole range of dance forms, in particular classical dance and bolero . However, this was somewhat at the expense of his perfection in flamenco, and so after a while his mentor Ciro advised him to leave the Ballet Nacional. In 1985 he followed this advice and joined Ciro's company. With his choreography Torero , the company performed at the festival in Jerusalem .

In 1987 he appeared again on TVE with a technically very demanding interpretation of some Bulerías por Soleá and Alegrías as well as a Farruca. On that occasion he took on his final stage name Javier Barón, inspired by Romualdo Molina, TVE's program director for flamenco.

In 1988 he won the competition for the Giraldillo Prize. To everyone's surprise, he prevailed against the competition from Isabel Bayón , Anunciación la Toná , Lola Flores , El Mimbre and El Mistela . The jury consisted of the respected critic Ángel Álvarez Caballero, Caracolillo , Juan Morilla , Manolo Marín , Manuel Ríos Ruiz , Mario Maya , Pilar López , Rosario and Teresa Martínez de la Peña . With this award he had proven his artistic perfection. The stages for his further career were now open to him.

Young career

In the same year Javier Barón accompanied Carmen Linares with his percussive foot technique on her CD Cantaora and a year later in the same way on Gerardo Núñez 's CD Flamencos en Nueva York . Together with the guitarist Serranito , he toured Poland , Czechoslovakia , Romania , Yugoslavia , Bulgaria and Hungary . The return to his home country at the festival in Mairena del Alcor was very important to him personally.

The 1990s began with intense work: in 1990

In the same year he was awarded the gold medal in his hometown Alcalá de Guadaíra.

His outstanding performances were in 1991 his performance in Estrellas de la Bienal at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, the opening ceremony of the Auditorio de la Cartuja in Seville and his participation in the festivals in Barcelona and Alcalá de Guadaíra. He appeared again in a TVE television program that year.

In 1992 he danced with Sara Baras at the Lyon Biennale and in the Paris Congress Palace . In the Biennial of Seville he took José Luis Ortiz Nuevos staging Mediterráneo in part, a drama of love and death, hope and despair, with Airs , fandangos , rondeñas , Malagueñas , Granainas , Tarantas , Cartageneras and Taranto. Javier Barón presented a Rondeña he designed himself on stage. In a delicate dialogue with his dance partner Milagros Mengíbar , the piece turned into a dramatic taranto.

In 1993 he continued his collaboration with Sara Baras. They danced at the Cáceres Festival . In the garden of the royal Alcázar of Seville they staged their show ¡Mira qué flamenco! Javier Barón danced as a solo number one Farruca, a Taranto and some tangos and together with Sara Baras one Caña .

In 1994 he went on tour with Paco Peña in Australia and Japan. He was then seen at the festivals in Mairena del Alcor and Seville. There he showed some outstanding Bulerías por Soleá, which he dedicated to Antonio Ruiz Soler. In 1995 he made several trips abroad. Among other things, he appeared on the occasion of the Spanish candidacy for the Winter Olympics in Japan and danced at the International Festival of the Prince of Monaco .

Your own company

In 1996, Javier Barón laid the foundations for a long-cherished dream: his own company. It began with a commission from Juan Antonio Maesso to direct a dance performance at the Centro Andaluz de Danza . Together with Ramón Oller he prepared Pájaro negro , which should appear on stage in 1997. However, he could not fully concentrate on the work with his dancers because he took over the management of the Compañía Andaluza de Danza for some time, representing María Pagés , who was on tour in the USA . That year he appeared as a soloist at the Flamenco de Caja Festival in Madrid, at the Noche de Contrastes Hondos in Seville, at the international dance festival Tanz 96 in Vienna , at De Joven Arte Flamenco in Graz and again at the Alcalá de Guadaíra Festival. On the occasion of the Seville Biennale he danced in Carmen Linares' show La mujer en el cante . At this very biennial he was seen on stage a second time, namely in Por aquí te quiero together with Rafael Campallo and Israel Galván under the direction of Manuel Soler. The latter piece caused a sensation and was performed in a number of centers of flamenco beyond the Biennale, from Córdoba, Jerez , Granada to Havana . Last but not least, Javier Barón went on a two-month tour to Canada with Serranito.

In 1997 he received financial support from the Andalusian regional government to set up his own company. For the choreographic concept, he worked with the innovative and risk-taking Catalan dancer and choreographer Ramón Oller. In July 1997, on the occasion of the Festival de Teatro y Danza in Niebla, Pájaro negro finally celebrated its premiere. The piece consists of two parts: The first part, Azul añil , does not contain any specially created innovations, but consists of finished individual pieces from the previous work of the two choreographers. The result is lively, modern flamenco dance theater. The second part, Callejón de los trapos , choreographed by Javier Barón, seems to be deeply rooted in classical flamenco. It is danced to the classic palos : Seguiriyas , Nanas , Martinetes , Soleares por Bulería, Tanguillos , Zapateados , Tarantos and Verdiales por Bulerías. However, these are enriched with Javier Barón's own, modern ideas. The joint interpretation by Javier Barón with Belén Maya , his prima ballerina , and the excellent ensemble met the high expectations of the audience in every respect. The piece made the rounds and was performed at major dance festivals, including 1998 in Barcelona at El Grec and 1999 at Madrid en Danza . Javier Barón ended 1997 with a contribution to a flamenco service, Gloria a la Gloria .

In 1998 he performed at the Vic Festival and the Celtic Music Festival in Glasgow . Above all, however, he created his second work for the Seville Biennale: Solo por arte . He developed the concept together with José Antonio , Isabel Bayón and Los Activos . It provided for the various dances to be seamlessly linked. Each Palo an invitation to the next dancer, flowing transitions between the rhythms, the emotions, the people, performed partly as a soloist and partly in a couple dance or in groups. José Helguera designed the dramaturgy. Isabel Bayón, José Antonio, Javier and the ensemble danced to the singing of Antonio , Cristóbal Carrasco and José Méndez . Javier Patiño and El Juani played the guitars and Gerardo Rojas the percussion . The evening became one of the highlights of the Seville Biennale. In particular, the couple dance of Javier and José Antonio, a Bulería por Soleá, tore the audience from their chairs. After the Biennale, the work could be seen on the stages of Segovia , Granada, Palma de Mallorca , Madrid, Holguín , Palma del Río , Córdoba and Jerez. It appeared on television to mark the anniversary of Canal Sur 2.

Tributes

In 1999 Javier Barón took part as an invited guest star at the Homenaje a Antonio Ruiz Soler of the Compañia Andaluza de Danza. For the choreography of José Antonio, he embodied the legendary dance couple Rosario y Antonio together with Isabel Bayón . He also choreographed Un ramito de locura for this company . The title refers to a popular little poem:

«A mí me daba, me daba | un ramito de locura | cuando de ti me acordaba. "

“You gave me, you gave | a twig of foolery | when I thought of you. "

According to Javier Barón, the piece is "dedicated to past, present and future love, the love we have all ever felt in our lives". Traditional Palos were danced to the guitar of Juan Carlos Romero : Soleá por Bulerías, Seguiriya, Jaleo , Alegrías, Tangos and Rondeña. Mariano Campallo and Paco Iglesias composed the music especially for the Granaína and Fandango .

Other important appearances in that year were his contribution as an invited guest star for the 20th anniversary of the Ballet Nacional de España and his performance at the Día Internacional de la Danza in Madrid.

At the Seville Biennale in 2000 he presented Baile de hierro, baile de bronce, a homage to Vicente Escudero : a respectful approach to the famous role model, but without attempting to imitate it:

«No pretendo bailar como él. [...] Bebemos de su espíritu de libertad. "

“I don't pretend to dance like him. (...) We drink from his sense of freedom. "

- Javier Barón

The impetus to study Vicente Escudero came from the España Abierta Association , which publishes La Caña magazine . She commissioned Javier Barón to provide suitable choreography for the opening ceremony of an exhibition on Escudero. Javier Barón took an interest in Escudero's ideas, looked at the records of his performances, read his texts and studied his drawings. This resulted in a detailed, almost academic reflection of Escudero's personality. Faustiño Núñez designed the music, Juan Dolores Caballero the dramaturgy and José Helguera the stage equipment. Documentary media recordings complemented the staging: voices and noises from the off, projections of Escudero's images, white boots like Escudero's used to wear, and sculptures in the style of his Cubist drawings. The dance interpretation was strictly based on Escudero's Decalogo , his ten commandments for “pure, male dance”. The introduction and conclusion of the production could not be anything other than the Seguiriya - that classic, tragic-dramatic song that Vicente Escudero was the first to venture into a dance-like interpretation. In between the Zambra , Alegrías, Zapateado, Farruca and Soleá por Bulerías came into play. Texts and verses written by Vicente Escudero complemented the performance.

Thematically, the piece was divided into five parts: The theory, the beginnings, the career, the excellence and the legacy. It was enthusiastically received by the audience and critics. After the Biennale, it was performed in Madrid, Paris, Santa Barbara , California and, of course, in Vicente Escudero's native city of Valladolid .

For the 2002 Biennale, Javier Barón brought Dime to the stage, a homage to Federico García Lorca . In the form of a relaxed divertiment , it showed the cheerful aspects of García Lorca's life and work. One wants to show a vital, cheerful person, not the poet of museums, anniversaries and the dead, said Javier Barón and his dramaturge Pepa Gamba. The action takes place in the Huerta de San Vicente , the summer finca of the García Lorca family. Six friends have come together in the garden, embodied by Javier Barón, Manuel Soler , José Luis Ortiz Nuevo, Diego Carrasco , Juan José Amador and Javier Patiño . Each of them embodies the poet in his own way and brings one of his cheerful summer nights to life. Some sing, some play the guitar, and finally everyone dance.

This performance also met with general approval. The critic Ángel Álvarez Caballero called it “a little masterpiece”. In the Diario de Sevilla, Rosalía Gómez called it a stroke of luck and a pleasant surprise to see such a cheerful performance in flamenco, and Marta Carrasco wrote in the ABC newspaper :

«Y nos ‹jartamos› de applaudir deseando que tal disfrute y goce siguiera eternamente."

"And we 'gushed' with applause and wished that this delicious treat would never end."

- Marta Carrasco

Dime received three prizes at the Biennale: the Giraldillo for the best original piece , the Giraldillo for the best accompanying group and the Giraldillo for the best dramaturgy.

Recent work

Javier Barón participated several times in the Flamenco cycle of the El Monte Foundation in Seville:

  • 2003 with Notas al pie at the side of Isabel Bayón as invited prima ballerina;
  • 2004 with Flamenco y punto;
  • 2006 with Dos voces para el baile .

Among other things, he performed:

  • 2003 at the Festival de Caja in Madrid;
  • 2003 with A corazón abierto in Madrid;
  • 2003 at the Ciutat Vella Festival in Barcelona;
  • 2003 at the festival in Mont-de-Marsan ;
  • 2004 at the Flamenco Congress in Mairena del Alcor;
  • 2004 at the Tokyo Opera.

At the 2006 Biennale in Seville, he won another Giraldillo for his appearance in Los Juncales . For the 2007 Jerez Festival he created Meridiana ; a lively, entertaining flamenco show. His second work from 2007, El Gitanito esquizofrénico , is based on a “danceable book”; a story by David Pielfort . It ironizes the schizophrenic relationship between the Gitano and the white Spaniard, who both want to slip out of their roles: The Gitano would like to be a fine gentleman and dresses accordingly; the white Spaniard and flamenco fan would like to be a gitano. The cheerful piece was performed at the 2007 Málaga Biennale.

In 2008 Javier Barón was awarded the Premio Nacional de Danza .

Since then he has been seen among others:

  • at the Jerez Festival 2012;
  • at Carmen Linares ' 2012 retrospective in Madrid;
  • at the Flamenco Days of Fuenlabrada 2012;
  • together with the singer Esperanza Fernández in Salvador Gutiérrez 'creation Arrabales at the Biennale 2012 in Seville;
  • 2013 in Seville with Barón y la música ;
  • 2013 in Córdoba at the International Flamenco Congress;
  • 2014 in La Unión at another retrospective by Carmen Linares;
  • 2014 in Madrid with the homage Morente vive to Enrique Morente ;
  • 2015 in Seville with Encuentro en el baluarte , his opening work for the newly founded, biennial Festival Septiembre es Flamenco;
  • 2016 at the Seville Biennale;
  • in August 2018 in Seville in El salón de baile by Rafaela Carrasco ;
  • most recently in September 2018 at the Seville Biennale together with Rubén Olmo and Tamara López in Rafaela Carrasco's production Una indagación espectacular.

Style and reception

Javier Barón is regarded as exemplary among the dancers of his generation. His dance combines skill and feeling in a harmonious way, wrote José Luis Navarro García about him. In El pájaro negro he showed that he had mastered the cheerful art of dancing, in Baile de hierro and baile de bronce he showed seriousness and rigor, and in Dime he let his creativity shine. In an exemplary way, he combines loyalty to tradition with a very personal style, with a naturalness that makes the most difficult things seem easy.

Ángel Álvarez Caballero wrote on the occasion of the Flamenco Festival in Fuenlabrada that his now advanced age did not necessarily harm Javier Barón. He still shines with his personal style, with pronounced foot technique, with the graceful play of his arms and hands.

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV.Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2010, ISBN 978-84-96210-73-8 , pp. 59 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 60 .
  3. ↑ a b Braulio Ortiz: Javier Barón. In: El Arte de Vivir el Flamenco. October 4, 2010, accessed October 6, 2018 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 60-61 .
  5. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 61 .
  6. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 62 .
  7. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 63 .
  8. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 64 .
  9. ↑ Carmen Linares: Cantaora . Grabaciones Accidentales, Madrid 1988.
  10. ^ Gerardo Núñez: Flamencos en Nueva York . DRO East West, Germany 1989.
  11. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 65 .
  12. ↑ a b c José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 66 .
  13. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 67 .
  14. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 67-68 .
  15. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 69-70 .
  16. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 70 .
  17. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 71-72 .
  18. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 72 .
  19. ↑ a b c José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 73 .
  20. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 74 .
  21. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 75 .
  22. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 76 .
  23. ↑ «the suerte de ver un espectáculo con la sonrisa en la boca»
  24. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 77 .
  25. ^ ABC, September 10, 2002
  26. ↑ a b c d e José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 78 .
  27. ↑ XI Festival flamenco Caja de Madrid 2003. In: horizonteflamenco.com. Tarsis.net, February 18, 2003, accessed October 9, 2018 (Spanish).
  28. ↑ Ciclo 'A corazón abierto 2003'. Javier Barón 'Dime' . In: Revista DeFlamenco.com . May 25, 2003 (Spanish, deflamenco.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  29. ↑ Festival Flamenco Mont de Marsan - 'Notas al pie' Javier Barón - 'Entre Lebrija y Utrera' Francia . In: Revista DeFlamenco.com . July 1, 2003 (Spanish, deflamenco.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  30. ^ 32nd International Flamenco Congress . In: Revista DeFlamenco.com . August 22, 2004 (Spanish, deflamenco.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  31. ↑ Los Juncales: Diego Carrasco, Manuel Molina, Tomasito y Moraíto Chico acompañados de Javier Barón. Festival Pirineos Sur 2007 - LaRepúblicaCultural.es - Revista Digital . In: laRepúblicaCultural.es . June 24, 2007 (Spanish, larepublicacultural.es [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  32. ↑ XI Festival Flamenco de Jerez 2007. In: Website of the city of Jerez de la Frontera. Retrieved October 9, 2018 (Spanish).
  33. ^ Marta Carrasco: "El gitanito esquizofrénico", un discurso nada oficial. In: ABC Seville. August 30, 2007, Retrieved October 9, 2018 (Spanish).
  34. ^ Carles Santos y José Luis Temes ganan el Nacional de Música . In: El País . Madrid December 9, 2008 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  35. ↑ Estela Zatania (interviewer): Entrevista a Javier baron. Premio Nacional de Danza. In: Revista DeFlamenco.com . April 23, 2009 (Spanish, deflamenco.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  36. ↑ EFE: Medio centenar de espectáculos y tres estrenos en el Festival de Jerez . In: El País . Madrid November 19, 2012 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  37. ↑ Ángel Álvarez Caballero: Una admirable carrera . In: El País . Madrid June 10, 2012 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  38. ↑ a b Ángel Álvarez Caballero: Virtuosismo . In: El País . Madrid March 4, 2012 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  39. ^ Fermín Lobatón: Un encuentro, dos recitales . In: El País . Madrid September 27, 2012 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  40. ^ Seville, no sin flamenco . In: El País . Madrid August 8, 2013 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  41. ^ Fermín Lobatón: Capital del mundo jondo . In: El País . Madrid November 10, 2013 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  42. ^ Antonio Parra: Carmen Linares deja ecos de grandeza en La Unión . In: El País . Madrid August 11, 2014 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  43. ↑ Camille Lavoix: Estrellas en familia para homenajear a Enrique Morente . In: El País . Madrid February 21, 2014 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  44. ^ Margot Molina: La Bienal de Flamenco expandida . In: El País . Madrid May 4, 2015 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  45. ^ Margot Molina: La Bienal de Sevilla y “The flamenco que sale del corazón”. In: El País. May 10, 2016, accessed October 9, 2018 (Spanish).
  46. ^ Antonio J. Mora: Música para las noches de verano . In: El País . Madrid August 24, 2018 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  47. ↑ Fermín Lobatón: Una indagación espectacular . In: El País . Madrid September 27, 2018 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  48. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 79 .
personal data
SURNAME Barón, Javier
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Álvarez Rico, Francisco Javier (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer
DATE OF BIRTH July 1, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Alcalá de Guadaíra