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The newly situated Peña Flamenca La Perla de Cadiz is relatively large and often used by flamenco dancers to practice with their groups. If you are lucky one early evening you can just wander in and catch a close up dance routine!

Apart from local flamenco clubs in summer when there is little going on, there are two main outside flamenco venues in the old part of Cadiz, both close to each other and virtually overlooking the Bay of Cadiz:

Baluarte de la Candelaria

Teatro de Verano

Jueves Flamencos Cadiz
Flamenco Thursdays from mid July to end August 2002 (10pm)

Jueves Flamencos (Flamenco Thursdays) are organised by the Peña Flamenca el Mellizo de Cadiz (Flamenco Club) together with the Town Council each year.

The Jueves Flamencos are held in the Baluarte de la Candelaria, through the old town across the cobbled stone roads, but keep the Bay of Cadiz on your right.

An extended seven thursday nights were scheduled for year 2002 with numerous established and new artists. Most perfomers were of course singers, but each night had excellent dance as well. Soin future it is worth sitting up late on the ubiquitous hard wooden chairs, sipping a sherry and crunching a tapa. Only 10,- Euros to get in.

Teatro de Verano

Saturday 3rd August 2002

The Teatro de Verano is set in beautiful botanical gardens and occasionally hosts flamenco dance and song.

The final of the Alegrías dance competition is considered to be of very high standard and prestigious for any who reach it. This year the finalists were 5 solists and 5 groups.

This year it was the choregraphy that won!

winner of the free dance category prize for her interpretation por Tarantos

The winner of the solo Alegrias dance category:

Luisa Palacios, a young dancer from Estepona, Malaga, who presented her dance por Alegrias with white bata de cola. Her backing group were the reputable Milagros Menjibar from Sevilla, singers Juan Reina and Paco Sevilla and accompanying guitarist, Rafael Rodriguez. Milagros is well known for her insistence on maintaining the feminine dance style especially with bata de cola. Her pupil, Luisa, certainly demonstrates all that is elegant and feminine in her dancing, manoevering the trailing dress with great style and security.

The other finalists were:

click image to enlarge

Susana Casas from Sevilla who came second, but was also awarded the prize for the best free dance presentation of Tarantos. This is the first year that an extra prize has been awarded for a dance other than Alegrias. She is really an excellent dancer, already mature in her choreography and always inventive. I hope we see more of her in the future.

Jesus Helmo from Cadiz capital, received the third prize for his Alegrias. He is just like a young bull let loose on stage. All fire and passion. During the group number, the audience held its breath as the stitches parted on his pants... this only made his schoolgirl fans scream louder at the end. He is a popular boy.

Ana Belen from Cadiz and Merche Alcala from Algeciras came in fourth and fifth respectively.

Temperamento Calé

The winners of the group category:

Temperamento Calé from Cadiz. Five girls and one boy dancer (Jesus Helmo - himself the winner of the third prize as soloist.) Their presentation was bright and very well rehearsed in an interesting mix of choreography, while holding to the tradition of what makes Alegrias so typical of Cadiz.

It is pleasing to know that group dances of Alegrias are not falling into what can be called formation dancing, mathematically numbered and devoid of sensuality. That was not the case on this cool starry night. It shows that flamenco dance is coming to terms in its homeland with the idea of a group performance of dancers on stage, though neither would it be described as flamenco ballet (a lamentable term used rather too loosely to mean a fusion of ballet with flamenco.)

Remedios Amaya

The warm personality of gypsy singer Remedios Amaya allowed everyone to relax and just listen to quality entertainment after the nervous presentation of prizes. To punctuate some songs she would stride to the side of the stage and dance a few steps barefoot, allowing her pink chiffon dress to catch the wind.... Then the whole family joined her as an accomplished backing group. Even one of the youngest girls stole some applause. "You see this blond girl who looks like a foreigner..." bellowed Remedios Amaya towards the end, "well she can dance Bulerias for us..." and dance she did, in the expected style of a gypsy.

II Certamen de Cante Joven

por cantiñas

(young singers competition but there will also be some dance)

Thursday 25th July 2002 at 10pm in Baluarte de la Candalaria

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