Flamenco Is In Its Element

FOR MIGUEL MARIN, flamenco is not merely song and dance, it's a way of life.

"Flamenco is a lifestyle," says Marin, who grew up in Carcabuey, a small village in southern Spain. "It's social and cultural. When people get together in Spain at family reunions and social occasions, after dinner they sing and dance. That is really their lives."

As a producer and promoter, Marin spends months at a time in and around Madrid, Cadiz and Jerez unearthing Spain's hidden dance treasures, which he then introduces to audiences around the globe. This week, the fifth installment of his stellar Flamenco Festival comes to Lisner Auditorium with four programs of dance and music that kick off Wednesday with an opening gala introducing four celebrated dance artists.

Tracing flamenco's circuitous evolution is mostly cultural guesswork. Dating back centuries, to a period when Gypsies, Muslims and Jews lived in proximity on the Iberian Peninsula, it is the result of a simmering multiethnic stew. Nomadic Gypsies traveling the region's trade routes brought back a step here, a flip of the wrist there. As a result, flamenco's songs and rhythms draw from Middle Eastern, North African and even the Far Eastern tradition.

Since the commercialization of flamenco in the late 19th century, many artists and aficionados have sought to rediscover the form's past traditions, what acolytes call flamenco puro. Many, but not all. "I don't like this term 'flamenco puro,' " Marin says. "Because what is pure and what is unpure? Flamenco is the result of the mixing of many, many musics and cultures. Arab music, Jewish music, Christian music, the music of the Gypsies. In that melting, what can we say is pure?" As Marin sees it, the old-style, traditional flamenco prized by purists is just as contemporary as the innovative flamenco of today's young artists.

Traditional flamenco, though, does follow rules. Marin describes two types of dances, alegrias and soleares. The first is a happy, quick-tempoed dance that ends with a flourish of fast beats. The lyrics typically describe Cadiz, the town in Andalusia where the style was first documented. The soleares is a slower, moodier dance. Although performed in 12-beat phrases like the alegrias, the soleares is a dance about depths of feeling. "It's when the artist gets naked and his soul is coming through the dance," Marin says.

Opening the festival's four programs, "Los 4 Elementos" features a quartet of dancers both traditional and contemporary. Carmen Cortes, one of Spain's great Gypsy dancers, personifies fire with her scorching footwork. Rocio Molina, who at age 21 epitomizes the new generation of flamenco stylists, dances an undulating solo that alludes to water. Choreographer, teacher and performer Alejandro Granados articulates the dance's earthy qualities, while Carlos Rodriguez, co-founder of the Nuevo Ballet Espanol, presents a balletic solo that represents air.

Sara Baras, one of Spain's most beloved dancers, returns to Washington with the same program of traditional flamenco that garnered critical acclaim in 1998. "Sueños," which unfurls on an empty stage, without narrative or contrivance, lays bare the emotions of the dancers. Marin calls it pure emotion and passion, danced.

The coming week's music programs highlight flamenco's virtuoso guitarists, particularly "Cañizares and Jose Maria Gallardo: Mano a Mano," which pairs one flamenco and one classical musician. Singers and musicians are joined by dancer Rafaela Carrasco for "Crossroads," the festival's closing program, which follows flamenco's Gypsy-like journey from past to present. Performers will offer both traditional flamenco cantes (songs) and contemporary songs, ranging from Argentine tangos to Broadway show tunes such as "Hello, Dolly!"

"In the past five years we have broken many preconceptions about what flamenco is," Marin says. "Sometimes [outside Spain] it's hard for the performers to communicate because the language is different. But people are getting closer to flamenco." Spain will forever remain the home, the heart and the soul of flamenco, but, Marin believes, there's nothing wrong with bringing a little Spanish soul to the rest of the world.

FIFTH ANNUAL FLAMENCO FESTIVAL -- "Los 4 Elementos," Wednesday at 8; flamenco lesson on the Lisner stage, Thursday at 7; "Sueños," Feb. 5 and 6 at 8; "Cañizares and Jose Maria Gallardo: Mano a Mano," Feb. 9 at 8; "Crossroads," Feb. 12 at 8. Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. 202-397-7328.