Flamenco show electrifies audience

Lead dancer and artistic director José Porcel used his troupe of four women and four men -- including himself -- to present the percussive multicultural spectacle of flamenco dance Saturday at the IU Auditorium.\nDancers performed 10 pieces, stomping their thick-heeled shoes while twisting and spinning their arms, legs and torsos. This created an overall interesting visual interpretation of the music played by a line of musicians behind them. \nThe style of dance, like the music itself, incorporates various cultural influences that all congealed in the gypsy culture of 15th-century Andalucia, Spain. Flamenco is reputed to be the fusion of several styles of dance and music, including Indian, Jewish and Arabic.\nBehind the dancers sat the musicians, arguably the most essential part of the show. Two flamenco singers, a man and a woman, sat on chairs, almost motionless except for occasional hand claps. It was a shock to realize the eruptive howl, like someone calling down a mountain, was emitted from these still figures. Two guitarists each provided either a slow, tip-toeing rhythm as the dancers' delicate arm motions brushed the air, or they sent the stage into frantic seizure with chord-grating attacks meant to shake the dancers into such frenzy that every stomp and step became its own percussive beat.\nAs the night went on, Porcel and his crew grew with energy. Near the end of the show, Porcel, working without musical accompaniment, stomped sounds and rhythms from the stage with the intensity of a man possessed. It was as if he had been filled with energy and power beyond his control, and the only way to purge himself was to send that energy with both feet into the floor. \nDuring dances that included the whole crew, the intensity of motion and endurance could been seen from the way mists of sweat shot from the male dancers' heads every time they made a quick head jerk from side to side. Lucky for the females, their area of movement around the men kept them at least far enough to be out of the spray radius. \nPorcel might have had some mishaps with his art direction, however. While some dances used lighting and wardrobe to add to a certain mood, there was something slightly unnerving about Porcel's obsession with polka dots. \nSome of the other wardrobe decisions were simply distracting. For instance, early in the show during Porcel's first solo dance, he came out in a forest green velvet suit with gold trim and gold shoes. \nOverall, people seemed to be quite satisfied with the evening.\nBloomington resident Melissa McReynolds said the event was "enthralling." \n"I was absolutely amazed," she said. \nAndrea Siqueira, assistant director of the Center for Latin American Studies, brought her 9-year-old daughter Maira to the show. Maira said although she got tired a few times during the show, she liked watching the dancers and the colorful clothes. \nSiqueira said she hadn't seen this type of dancing since the last time she was in Spain. \n"I liked it all. It was all very beautiful," Siqueira said.