Flamenco dancer S. Baras: Fiesta’s crowning glory / Foreign artists due

When the curtains rose, two guitarists, a violinist, a percussionist and two singer-hand-clappers were seated at the rear of the darkly-lit stage. They immediately infused the air with the mood and ambiance of Gypsy-inspired rhythms and music, thus preparing the audience for the stirring presentation.

Five female and two male dancers entered, all bearing long, wooden sticks they cleverly manipulated as they danced with remarkable precision and grace. The pounding sticks, the throbbing footwork, the percussionist’s beat came together excitedly against the handclapping and deep wailing of the singers.

The same group of dancers, the women in black, billowy gowns and huge capes (mantones de Manila) with their escorts also in black, came onstage for the second number. Again they moved in perfect unison, the women maneuvering their capes nimbly, while everyone engaged in rapid footwork.

Like an "apparition", Sara Baras, the evening’s slim, lissome, ravishing star, suddenly appeared on the stage bereft of any prop or setting which her magnetic presence did not need. She arrested attention at once even as she stood perfectly still.

Very slowly, she went into sinuous, graceful, measured movements of arms, hands and torso. Taconeos and zapateados are the very heart and essence of flamenco, and Sara’s footwork, already stunning, was but a preview of what was yet to come in the finale.

In her second appearance, dressed in black shirt and pants, her two male partners similarly garbed, the dance was languorously exotic and sensuous, with the audience shouting its lusty appreciation and admiration.

The finale was even more compelling. More enthralling. In a flaming red gown amid a red-and-white cape, the tempestuous Sara expressed love, anguish, passion, ecstasy, anger, hauteur, jealousy. In a word, life. Languid, fluid grace was combined with mind-boggling footwork, this evoking the prolonged battery of machine-gun fire or the thunder of horses’ hooves. With fantastic control, Sara would increase her pace to unimaginably frenzied speed, or decrease it in gradually slower, diminishing beats. Of the many flamenco dancers I have watched, Baras was the most fascinating and electrifying.

Lightning turns with her cape flying added visual excitement to the astonishing auditory experience, and when all musicians and dancers performed together, the effect was overwhelming, stupefying both eye and ear.

Sara’s partner engaged in an extended solo, demonstrating flair, skill, masculine verve and exuberance, while getting a roar of approval from the spectators. Intermittently, Sara would break into fiery dancing as one possessed, leading the audience into wilder and wilder approbation.

As the program ended, the entire ensemble took countless bows and curtain calls, later sitting on the floor. Each musician was then asked to exhibit his hidden talent for flamenco, and every demonstration of skill proved a delightful surprise. For the last time, Sara engaged in rapturous, passionate, incredibly brilliant footwork.

A standing ovation ensued, and the deafening applause reached the rafters. Smiling radiantly, blowing kisses and raising her arms, Sara thus expressed her gratitude to the audience she had held absolutely captive and mesmerized. Truly, her performance was the Spanish Fiesta’s crowning glory.

* * *

Before the curtains rose, and as the crowd milled in the CCP lobby, I thought for a moment that the Philippines was still under Spanish colonial rule. The entire hispanic community must have come, the Filipinos being obviously in the minority. The entire diplomatic corps must also have been present. Among those greeting Ambassador Ignazio and Aurora Sagaz were Swedish Ambassador Annika Markovic, Argentine Ambassador Mario and Sylvia Schuff, Portuguese Ambassador Joao Caetano and Ulrike da Silva and Brazilian Ambassador Claudio Lyra. Indian Ambassador Navrekha Sharma profusely praised the show.

* * *

German jazz singer Esther Kaiser will give a concert on Monday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at the RCBC theater to celebrate German month. Admission is free. She will also give a mini-concert on Oct. 16, Sunday at 7 p.m. and hold an invitational Music Workshop earlier.

Kaiser sang with the German Youth Jazz Orchestra, and was a founding member of the jazz quartet "Berlin Voices". She was among the top ten in Germany’s 1995 and 1997 National Musical, Chanson and Song Contests.

The Esther Kaiser Quartet, like other jazz ensembles, mostly performs works by other composers, including classics from the great American songbook, folk, pop, and light classics. Although a lot of these are not new, Kaiser’s arrangement of them certainly is.

On Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. Israeli Ambassador Yehoshua Sagi will present guitarist Yuval Avital at the Rizal Tower, Rockwell Center. Avital is an accomplished guitarist and concert artist whose range of musical styles and genres includes classic and contemporary music involving eastern and western approaches.

On Oct. 24, Portuguese Ambassador Joao Caetano da Silva will present percussionist Pedro Carneiro at 7 p.m. at the Intercon ballroom.

Carneiro, the only percussionist to attain world acclaim and stature, has won several competitions and awards, among them the Hattori Foundation award in London and a distinction from the Portuguese President. He appears regularly in international festivals and venues. Last season, he gave world premieres of several works expressly written for him. He plays on Malletech marimbas and mallets, and Zildjian cymbals.

* * *

In my last review, I failed to mention that in response to insistent clamor pianist Ingrid Santamaria, with the PPO under Eugene Castillo, gave an encore – the second movement (larghetto) of Chopin’s E Minor Concerto. It was unique, encores being usually given only by the soloist.