Flamenco Dancers

Flamenco Dancers: a History of Passion

It is impossible to give a full overview of all of the Flamenco dancers over the ages – names such as Eduardo Cansino Sr., Vicente Escudero, Anita Delgado, and Cristina Hoyos fall into the categories of accomplished dancers. Even contemporary actors such as Summer Glau have been featured performing flamenco. It has been used to convey passionate emotion and desire in movies for as long as the medium has existed, ranging from silent films to Mission Impossible 2.

However, through four performers with careers cumulatively spanning over a hundred years, it is possible to get an idea of the kind of discipline, passion, and lives flamenco dancers live.

Carmen Amaya

Born in 1913, Carmen was a child of the slums of Barcelona. However, she showed amazing talent from a very early age, beginning serious dance training at age seven and debuting in Paris at age sixteen to critical acclaim. At twenty-three she decided to bring her dancing to the silver screen of Hollywood, breaking box-office records of the time with Los Tarantos (an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet), and Danzas Gitanas, among others. Her fame was so great that both Franklin Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman invited her to perform in the White House. Upon her death, in 1963, she was buried with honor in her birthplace of Barcelona.

José Greco

Costanzo Greco was not a Spaniard; he was born in 1918, in Italy, and raised in New York City where he began dancing at the age of ten. In 1937, his skills were ready for a performance at Manhattan's Hippodrome Theatre. From then on he was partnered with skilled dancers almost constantly. In 1949, he formed his own company called the José Greco Dance Company. His long career of touring, dancing, and choreographing brought him movie roles, four honorary doctorates, and a Spanish knighthood. Not one to rest on his laurels, he formed the Foundation for Hispanic Dance as well as another dance company featuring his children, four of whom are dancers, and two of whom are composers. He died in 2000, still holding the position of Visiting Professor of Dance at Franklin & Marshall College.

Eva Yerbabuena

Eva learned her dance skills beginning at the age of 12, in Granada Spain, and later traveling to Cuba for choreographic training from Johannes García. She adopted the name "Yerbabuena", after a popular flamenco singer, at the suggestion of a friend. In addition to the many honors, such as the National Dance Award in Spain, she also has her own company called "Eva Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco". She has collaborated with world-renowned dancers and choreographers such as Mikhail Baryshnikov and Pina Bausch. Like her colleagues, she has also performed on film; most notably in Mike Figgis' documentary Flamenco Women, and with her husband, guitarist Paco Jarana, in Pulse: a STOMP Odyssey.

Laura Del Sol

Like Carmen Amaya, Laura Del Sol was born in Barcelona. Her dancing skill brought her to the attention of noted director Carlos Saura, who featured her in his film Carmen, in 1983. This led to many other film roles and performances including Saura and Antonio Gades' El Amor Brujo, and the Italian film Il Camorrista.

The Future of the Flamenco Dance

While flamenco dance itself has never reached the level of popularity of other Latin dances such as salsa or rumba, flamenco dancers have enjoyed the respect and adoration of millions over the years. Like middle-eastern dance, it is also often taught in multicultural dance centers as both a recreational and healthy pastime. Combined with musical forms that are constantly being revisited and adopted by artists all over the world, it seems certain that flamenco dancers will continue to have a place in the pantheon of great artists.