LUCERITO DE LA MARISMAS GIVES A DYNAMIC AND ENGAGING FLAMENCO PERFORMANCE AT THE ‘TEATRE TALIA’

As the audience excitedly bustled to their seats in the historic Teatre Talia, Valencian flamenco artist Lucerito De La Marismas waited behind the curtain, ready to deliver an exquisitely entertaining performance of song and dance, brimming with emotion and excitement. With this being only the second performance of the Panorama Flamenco’s thirteenth season, the standards have been set high.

Flamenco is characteristically an intense and emotive art form, and Lucerito encapsulated this perfectly. The audience oscillated between dancing and cheering in delight at the upbeat performances, to sitting still in a melancholic trance as Lucerito dedicated performances to his abuelos and sang passionately about his relationships. Lucerito’s powerful and mesmerising vocal performance was aided by the talented Juan de Pilar on guitar and Manuel Quintero on percussion, violinist Isabel López Láuzara and the great pianist Pablo García Berlanga.

Lucerito has been a dancer in many styles from a young age, but has told interviewers before that, “flamenco has always been part of my essence.” This proclivity for the flamenco style of dance was clear; Lucerito’s movements were strong, clean and extremely expressive. Lucerito’s movements were traditional, encompassing perfectly executed florea (hand and finger movement) and taconeo (heelwork).

Lucerito’s love for interacting with the audience was clear, dropping in occasional jokes and prompting an eruption of laughter. The audience soon grasped onto Lucerito’s interactive nature, and exclamations of ‘Guapo’ and ‘¡Olé!’ rang through the theatre.

The audience witnessed three costume changes which combined new elements of flamenco with a more traditional style. Lucerito began in a bold red shirt and fedora, before disappearing to change. After guitarist Juan de Pilar distracted the audience with an entrancing intermission, Lucerito returned to dazzle spectators with a sparkly mesh top. Towards the end he engaged in a more traditional flamenco performance by acquiring a handheld fan and draping himself in a flamenco shawl, which added another dynamic layer. Lucerito uses a fan in his performances, despite the fact that some say that it’s for girls. He has stated, “It doesn’t matter to me. I do what I enjoy and people enjoy watching me have fun.” Lucerito is correct, the audience were enamoured by his performance and responded with a standing ovation at the end.

Report by Polly Watton