Flamenco finds its Nijinsky
It takes a very brave dancer to make a radical departure from generations - from centuries - of flamenco tradition. But as Israel Galvan says in the most forthright manner: "I felt suffocated by traditional flamenco and I needed to get back to an earlier era to reinvent myself and, as it were, to breathe easier."
None of this was easy, Galvan says. It required a massive shift in attitude, a rethinking, retraining "and much exploration via classical ballet, Butoh (a Japanese multi-functional dance movement which dates back to the 1950s), movies and reading".
Galvan, who has been called the Nijinsky of flamenco, says his fascinating and unexpected ideas often come from within, or the welcome product "of inertia, luck or chance". But wherever they originate, the end result is, more often than not, a revelation for those fortunate enough to experience his unique take on flamenco.
Perth audiences will be able to see for themselves when Galvan makes his exclusive Australian appearance at the Perth International Arts Festival.
Many of the ideas which trigger Galvan's creativity relate to boyhood preoccupations, such as boxing in general and Muhammad Ali in particular. And one of his choreographies focuses on precisely simulated right hooks and uppercuts. He says there's some art and a lot of dancing that happens in the boxing ring which he so artfully translates to the stage.
Galvan has a unique way of sensing choreographic possibilities in the most unlikely of activities, such as all-in wrestling and stamping his way out of an upright coffin. It takes a very gifted and very brave dancer to break startling new ground and it is this that makes him the most fascinating male flamenco dancer on the international scene.
Galvan is also a fan of the Rocky movies. "I'm a Rocky freak. Rocky is a great film," he says. And fascinated viewing of these films has triggered any number of choreographic ideas. For Galvan, dancing in childhood: "was a game but later it became a profession". He comes from a deeply religious background. Both parents are devout Jehovah's Witnesses.
Seville-born and raised, 40-year-old Galvan says that the flamenco staples of singers and guitarists are not routinely incorporated into his dance ideas. In his Perth recitals, for instance, guitars don't feature at all. Instead we will hear flamenco played on the piano with added percussion.
While this is increasingly used around the world these days in flamenco productions, it may well be a new experience for some flamenco followers in Perth. Galvan frequently dances to music provided by instruments not traditionally associated with mainstream flamenco.
Even more unusually for so noisy an art form as flamenco, Galvan says: "I like to dialogue with silence" which is at odds with mainstream flamenco. For Galvan, silence is as important as sound; time and again, critics have commented on the extraordinary power of these episodes where movement is everything, where no sounds of any sort - other than of flamenco heels and the faint rustle of clothing reach the viewer's ears.
The Real, which focuses on the mass murder of gypsies by the nazis during World War II, is one of Galvan's more recent choreographies which, as ever, has become a talking point not only for dance enthusiasts but those interested in one of the most discussed Spanish dance presentations in recent years.,
Dancing is clearly in the family genes. Galvan's sister Pastora is a flamenco dancer of high reputation, as are his parents, Jose Galvan and Eugenia de los Reyes.
"I understand that when they see my radical approach, people are turned off," Galvan says. "I realise that half the audience will leave when they see me but that's the approach I want to use."
La Curva explores flamenco dance in conjunction with contemporary music. It might offend the flamenco purists but for those prepared to come to a Galvan performance with an open mind, the end results can be wonderfully satisfying.
