Returning to Mechanics Hall Tuesday night following a triumphant initial visit in 2005, the Spanish troupe Compañia Flamenco José Porcel put on a performance that was all the more enthralling than before
This was dance as high art and excitement, a rare phenomenon to get in step but Porcel, his dancers, musicians and singers delivered in a way that might have had the close to sell out house of 1,200 shout “jaleo.”
“Jaleo,” we learned from the program in a glossary titled “Talking Flamenco,” is an expression of encouragement and approval. There were other interesting things to be found in the glossary.
The word flamenco might conjure images of men with roses in their teeth and stamping feet and bailaoras (female dancers) with castanets, but the dance form is so much more intriguing, and explosive, than just that.
That’s because the roots of flamenco go back to time immemorial with gypsy, Jewish and oriental influences. Porcel, who danced his way to fame in Spain then formed his own Spanish based company, has soaked it all in. And rather than have the glossary just talk the talk he and his troupe danced the dances in a way that was hypnotic yet vividly entertaining.
The performance, which was — as was the case in 2005 — presented by Music Worcester Inc. — began with the sounds of slow, evocative guitars and then deliberate movements by eight dancers who took the stage. You could guess that the dance, “Aire Fresco,” was going to speed up, and indeed it did. But the energy, while explosive was controlled; the choreography blazing but precise; the gestures appealing but noble. Many of the eight dance numbers ended with a gentle fade out of the lights and the dancers disappearing, rather than appealing for applause in a blaze of spotlights.
Porcel had two solo spots that shone with dignity and duende. He’s tall, but the first image was of him sitting on a chair, with a brooding look. He knows how to strike a pose. And if the character he was portraying had recently been jilted, few people have looked more lovelorn and determined to express love, angst and regret on a stage. You could tell right away that he looked like he meant it. Moving around the stage he gave matters a real stamp of authority.
If flamenco is a dance of the oppressed, then Porcel performed a captivating yearning to be set free.
In an improvised solo dance in the second half of the performance, Porcel began with a few stutter steps that gradually evolved into something plaintive and thunderous all at once. The singing/chanting of Caridad Vega added an otherworldly texture to the spell-binding proceedings.
That was true, too, in sequences such as “Union,” a dance duet of beautifully measured sensuality. In “Mujueres” four female dancers flowed in visual harmony across the stage, their castanets not a loud kind of drum beat but a gentle evocative accompaniment.
The finale, of course, was a rousing affair, yet expertly planned out and performed. There was a fade out again, but the dancers came back to the lights, the stage and a standing ovation.
