Nuevo Ballet Español Returns to Flamenco's Traditional Roots

The dancers of Nuevo Ballet Español.

Miami's cultural landscape is beginning to wake up from the summer daze. Miami-Dade College's 2012-13 MDC Live Arts performance series opens soon with the first of many stellar bookings. On October 5 and 6, they present the U.S. premiere of acclaimed Nuevo Ballet Español's Cambio de Tercio.

Based in Spain, Nuevo Ballet Español has maintained a solid affection for flamenco and Spanish folklore, while embracing the full potential of contemporary dance. Now, after 15 years, the company's founders Angel Rojas and Carlos Rodriguez have pared down to the basics with a strictly flamenco project.

We spoke with Rojas about the merits of keeping it simple.

New Times: Tell us about your upcoming show.
Rojas: Cambio de Tercio is the most flamenco show we have made. We have done a lot of things... funky, jazz, contemporary dance, street dance. We are in the new generation and we study different kinds of dance, like contemporary, et cetera, and we need to include our knowledge in our shows. But after 15 years, we decided to close the circle with a return to the roots -- flamenco. To close the circle and start something new.

Do you bring the more contemporary styles into your movement?
In this case we didn't include anything new. We tried to do the real original movements of flamenco. But we included new concepts for the audience. For example, we created choreography for the musicians, parallel to the dance choreography. They move around the stage. The violinist dances with one of the dancers, playing violin at the same time. And the guitarist and the singers dance with Rodriguez during his solo. This is the concept for Cambio de Tercio. It's a mix of classical movement with new possibilities for the show and the stage.