Rafael Amargo

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Rafael Amargo (2019)

Rafael Amargo (born January 3, 1975 in Pinos Puente , Granada ), actually Jesús Rafael García Hernández , is a Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer .

Artistic career

The beginnings

Rafael García began his dance training with Ciro and Alejandro Granados. Soon after, he danced in renowned companies of well-known choreographers such as Antonio Canales , Mario Maya , Luisillo , Maria Rosa , Rafael Aguilar and La Chunga . He chose his stage name Amargo , the bitter, in the early 1990s after a literary figure by Federico García Lorca . In 1995 he spent six months in New York, where he continued his education at Marta Graham's school. He choreographed for Yoda and Chizuko Yuriko at the prestigious Tablao El Flamenco in Tokyo .

After returning to Spain in 1997, he founded his own company. Together with Eva Yerbabuena he presented their joint choreography La garra y el ángel as a dancer at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid . The choreography pointed beyond the tradition of pure flamenco. The dramaturgy, designed by Ariadne Isabell, is more reminiscent of a piece by Pina Bausch than of a flamenco performance - according to the co-producer Victor del Campo. The first scene in particular presents itself with extraordinary stylistic devices, while the variants of classic flamenco predominate in the following part.

To try out and present other styles of modern dance beyond flamenco is a basic attitude of Rafael Amargo. It was also reflected in his subsequent productions.

Rafael Amargo (2014)

Amargo followed in 1999 . The piece did not meet with unanimous approval. At the 2001 Jerez Festival, Ángel Álvarez Caballero reprimanded the loss of taste in costumes, the lack of simplicity in the group dances and a failed female solo performance. Rafael Amargo won the Premio Max de las Artes Escénicas as an outstanding male dance performer.

Productions from 2000

In April 2002 Un poeta en Nueva York premiered at the Teatro Lope de Vega in Madrid. With this piece Rafael Amargo interpreted one of the most difficult works by Federico García Lorca, his collection of poems of the same name published posthumously in 1940. The production with more than 100 participants combined dance, verbal presentation and film performance. He was supported in this by the large production company Cie España , which had previously staged musicals such as La bella y la bestia and My fair Lady . Seven musicians, four singers and several Latin American theater ensembles participated in the production. Flamenco formed the musical framework, but jazz, folk and Latin American pieces were added. He then went on tour with the piece in many countries. Currently (as of July 2015) it is performed at the Alhambra in Granada.

In 2003 Rafael Amargo directed El amor brujo , a classical dance piece by Manuel de Falla . He wrote it in 1915 for Pastora Imperio . It tells the story of a lover who is haunted by the ghost of a former lover. The piece was lost in the 1920s and remained so until the musicologist Antonio Gallego rediscovered it. It has been performed several times since then. Amargo's interpretation of the play went beyond the pure love drama and in particular staged its magical elements, the spells and prophecies.

Amargo dedicated Enramblao from 2004 to the Ramblas , the quarters of the big cities:

"He querido hacer un homenaje a las grandes ciudades como espacios multiculturales y multirraciales donde emergen muchas culturas"

"I wanted to pay homage to the big cities to create multicultural and multi-racial meeting places where many cultures arise"

- Rafael Amargo

Enramblao shows elements of street culture : living statues, street music, prostitution, street vendors, breakdancing and travesty. It is not a merger, the term scares him, so Amargo. It wanted a festival where different arts came together. Enramblao uses pieces of music by Flavio Rodriguez , Shrimp Pitita and Edith Salazar and themes by Jacques Brel and Maria Jimenez . In 2008 Amargo took up the topic again in the production of Enramblao 2 .

DQ ... Pasajero en tránsito pays homage to the tragicomic hero Don Quixote for the 400th anniversary of the novel by Miguel Cervantes . Together with Fura dels Baus , Amargo created this multimedia show of dance, theater, film and new technology in 2005. The musical spectrum ranges from classical music by Henry Purcell and Isaac Albéniz to flamenco and rap.

He dedicated Tiempo muerto from 2006 to cabaret and the dancer Lola Flores . With this piece, Amargo turned back to the original art form of flamenco: singing, guitar and dance with a small ensemble on a small stage, with more personal contact with the audience.

In 2009, Amargo again dedicated himself to the poet Federico García Lorca with La difícil sencillez . In 1933 he organized a congress on the subject of flamenco in Buenos Aires and Havana . La difícil sencillez revolves around these two congresses.

In 2010 three productions followed:

  • Rosso combined flamenco and Neapolitan dance in one performance. The piece was performed both in Spain and at the dance festival in Naples .
  • Princesas del Flamenco was a flamenco evening with leading flamenco dancers: Susana Lupianez and Carmen Rivas .
  • Solo y Amargo was a retrospective of various dance pieces that Rafael Amargo had presented since 2000.

At the Casino of Barcelona in 2012 he played a major part in the cabaret dinner show Casino Burlenco Carrusel and, as the El País critic pointed out, the best part of the evening. In addition to Amargo, the critic highlighted the achievements of the guitarist Eduardo Cortés, the singer Genara Cortés and the dancers Yolanda Cortés, Vanessa Gálvez and Fabián Thome. The show culminated in a mixture of flamenco and breakdance .

International appearances

Rafael Amargo has performed on world-class stages and festivals, including the Chinese National Opera in Beijing , the Bolshoi in Moscow, the New York City Center , Carnegie Hall , the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Sadler's Wells in London, the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto , the Teatro Ópera in Buenos Aires, the Auditorio Nacional of Mexico, the Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon - and of course the major theaters in Spain such as the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and the Teatro Real in Madrid .

Awards

Rafael Amargo and his performances have received numerous awards including:

  • Four times the Premio Max de las Artes Escénicas for the best male dance interpreter: twice for Amargo , once for Poeta en Nueva York and once for El amor brujo .
  • The important Italian Premio Leonide Massine de la Danza as a dancer and choreographer; Rudolf Nurejew , Carla Fracci , Maurice Béjart and Alessandra Ferri, among others, have received this award.
  • The APDE Prize ( Asociación de Profesores de Danza Española y Flamenco de España ), which Antonio Gades and Matilde Coral received , among others .

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c Rafael Amargo. Joven creador, bailarín y director de flamenco. In: Danza.es. Retrieved July 26, 2015 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ Marta Sandoval: La danza hace que todo sea sueño. In: El País . August 18, 2007, Retrieved July 26, 2015 (Spanish).
  3. ↑ a b Elisa Silió: Rafael Amargo coreografía 'Poeta en Nueva York' en un espectáculo que mezcla el baile, el cine y la palabra. In: El País. April 5, 2002, Retrieved July 26, 2015 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ a b c d e Biografía. In: website of the artist. Retrieved July 26, 2015 (Spanish).
  5. ↑ The Claw and the Angel
  6. ^ Miguel Mora: Eva La Yerbabuena y Rafael Amargo bailan "La garra y el ángel". In: El País. September 11, 1997, accessed July 26, 2015 (Spanish).
  7. ↑ Roger Salas: Hijos prógigos. In: El País. October 4, 1999, accessed July 26, 2015 (Spanish).
  8. ↑ Ángel Álvarez Caballero: Amargo, amargo ... In: El País. March 13, 2001, Retrieved July 26, 2015 (Spanish).
  9. ^ Noelia Núñez: Rafael Amargo muestra su 'Poeta en Nueva York' en la Alhambra. In: El País. July 26, 2015, Retrieved July 26, 2015 (Spanish).
  10. ↑ Maribel Marin: Amargo lleva la magia de 'El amor brujo' a Zugarramurdi. In: El País. August 12, 2003, accessed July 27, 2015 (Spanish).
  11. ↑ a b Rosana Torres: Rafael Amargo incorpora en 'Enramblao' la cultura callejera. In: El Pais. May 17, 2004, accessed July 28, 2015 (Spanish).
  12. ↑ Rafael Amargo, de nuevo 'Enramblao'. In: El Mundo . Retrieved April 12, 2008, July 29, 2015 (Spanish).
  13. ↑ Kenny Cabrera: Rafael Amargo prepara junto a La Fura dels Baus un espectáculo basado en el 'Quixote'. In: El País. May 31, 2005, Retrieved July 28, 2015 (Spanish).
  14. ↑ Carmen del Val: El delirio de Rafael Amargo. In: El País. August 20, 2005. Retrieved July 29, 2015 (Spanish).
  15. ↑ Amargo regresará a Barcelona with the espectáculo flamenco 'Tiempo Muerto'. In: El Mundo. May 12, 2007, Retrieved July 29, 2015 (Spanish).
  16. ^ Roger Salas: Regreso de Amargo al Canal. In: El País. August 16, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2015 (Spanish).
  17. ↑ Rafael Amargo abrirá el 6 de octubre la programación de danza el Arriaga con 'Rosso'. In: El Mundo. September 16, 2010, Retrieved July 29, 2015 (Spanish).
  18. ↑ RAFAEL AMARGO, Princesas del flamenco. In: redteatral.net. Retrieved July 29, 2015 (Spanish).
  19. ^ Rafael Amargo habla de (princesas del flamenco). (Video) In: Youtube . June 18, 2010, accessed on July 29, 2015 (Spanish, short interview with Rafael Amargo).
  20. ↑ Carmen del Val: Resurrección. In: El País. May 11, 2001, Retrieved July 29, 2015 (Spanish).
  21. ↑ Carme del Val: Sin miedo. In: El País. January 27, 2012, accessed August 24, 2015 (Spanish).
  22. ↑ Max Prize for the Performing Arts

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Amargo, Rafael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES García Hernández, Jesús Rafael (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd January 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Pinos Puente