Flamenco Men Part 2 of the Fuego Flamenco Series at GALA Theatre
It has taken Edwin Aparicio 18 years to craft a world-class flamenco ensemble right here in the nation’s capital. Credit GALA Theatre for having nurtured this project for so long and continuing to present Edwin & company to audiences at their theatre. The latest Aparicio confection, ‘Flamenco Men’ made its debut at the theatre on Friday, November 4 for one weekend only.
Flamenco Aparicio Dance Co. presented a solid, authentic and daring show. The group consisted of the soulful singer from Malaga, Amparo Heredia, with the wonderful nickname ‘La Repompilla’ and the equally remarkable voice of Francisco Orozco, ‘El Yiyi’, who sang marvelous flamenco renditions while playing the ‘cajon’, a typical percussive instrument in the flamenco idiom. The troupe added a piano player who also doubled on the cello, Gonzalo Grau, somewhat innovative and outside the normal flamenco instrumentation.
The dance ensemble consisted of four male performers. Aparicio, who appeared in a few of the group pieces and performed one major solo toward the end of the show, the short, curly haired powerhouse, Ricardo ‘El Niño’ Osorio, a veteran of the company, whose performance of ‘Ambiguo’ with Aparicio was perhaps his most impressive rendition. The other two dancers, Ivan Orellana and Gabriel Matias were mesmerizing on stage.