BALLET
Company of Spanish Dancers. (Sadler's Wells.) THIS should be a memorable month in the London dance-world, for at the Cambridge Theatre and at Sadler's Wells two unrivalled Spanish dancers are making their stage &but before English audi- ences. Happily, the presentations are different in scope and in style,
and therefore there is no temptation to weigh one against the other. Rosario and Antonio's is in the nature of a recital a deux : Greco's, with the exception that the music is provided by a single piano instead of an orchestra, is a full-scale theatrical performance.
Rosario and Antonio are a brilliant couple whose youth and freshness enable them to carry an entire and varied programme on their shoulders. Antonio must be one of the outstanding dancers of our day ; his virtuosity is unbelievable, but he never allows it to run away with him into the realms of trickery. He and his partner, with their modest charm and gaiety, make an irresistible pair.
About Greco and sonic of the members of his company I had the pleasure to write last December, when they participated in a private lecture-demonstration at Covent Garden, and since then we have longed for their return. As sometimes happens in such circum- stances, the opening performance contained an element of disap- pointment. The dancers had not yet got into their stride, and the programme held surprises which came as a bit of a shock, in that short ballets on Spanish themes were introduced among the tradi- tional items. When one is not deeply versed in a subject, any innovation is regarded with suspicion. But now that the hazards of a first night are over, and we have had a chance to reorientate ourselves, Greco's performances prove to be even more exciting and satisfying than one had Imagined. They are an experience that should not be missed.
Together with his wife and partner, Nila Amparo, Greco has gathered around him a company of dancers each of whom is a personality in his own right, from the splendid matriarchal figure of Francisca Gonzales—" La Quica "—who is the ballet mistress of the company, and incidentally a teacher of Rosario and Antonio, to the gipsy dancers Teresa and Juanele Maya. Spanish dancing, in contrast with ballet as we know it, revolves round the male dancer. He is the gem with the women as his foil, and therefore it is he who commands and holds most of our attention. Of Grew himself what more can be said than that he is a very great artist? An artist in his full maturity with all the dignity, refinement and power at his disposal to draw upon according to his unfailing sensibility. Like the superb master that he is, he understands to a nicety the arts of elimination and restraint, so that one always has that deeply satisfying feeling that however much he gives out there is still a wealth of reserve.
If one may venture two suggestions, they are that Bolero be dropped from the programme, and that the lighting be used with greater generosity and Jess dramatic effect ; for one cannot afford to miss even one of the hundred subtleties that go towards the making of this thrilling evening. LILLIAN BROWSE.
Previous page
