Watch the Dot Dot Dots #flamenco #dance
Noemi Luz with bata de cola in Dot Dot Dot’s production ‘No Frills’ (c) Carole Edrich 2014
I’ve been following Dot Dot Dot for a while, having come across Yinka Esi Graves while researching one of the long term projects I have on the burn. They’re an interesting group, fronted by three fantastic flamenco dancers all of whom are English.
Flamenco is a hard and unforgiving world. Put aside the inevitable inequity between those who grow up in the culture and those who come to it late (late in this case can mean as young as seven because even if those in it aren’t interested in dancing or the music themselves, the rhythms and movements embed themselves in a type of cultural osmosis), it’s still an uphill struggle for anyone born away from access to so many teachers.
Yinka Esi Graves (left) in Dot Dot Dot’s production ‘No Frills’ (c) Carole Edrich 2014<
While it’s possible, by dint of passion, hard work, discipline and drive to become a good flamenco dancer if you come from other countries, make no mistake that it is extremely hard. That reason, and a certain amount of cultural snobbery, is why old-school flamencos feel justified in dismissing anyone not from a small set of families, a specific area, or at least from Spain, before giving them much of a chance. Now consider three young dancers, each demonstrably good in their own right, each with a different and complimentary forte (which can be expressed in terms of flamenco puro and therefore identified by aficionados and casual flamenco enthusiasts alike) who are able to get together and produce a spellbinding performance without props, flash fusion formats or clever ways to divert the audience’s attention from the quality of their work and you’ll start understanding their appeal.
Dot Dot Dot in rehearsal, left to right Yinka Esi Graves, Magdalena Mannion, Noemi Luz (c) Carole Edrich 2014
I keep a ‘recommendations’ photo album on facebook where I post an image of the productions I don’t think my friends should miss. Dot Dot Dot’s London performance is one of just 7 recommendations from last year out of the 70 or more that I’ve seen. This is what I said; “Go see Dot Dot Dot tonight at The Lost Theatre, Wandsworth Road. It’s a superior well thought-through production with better pace and audience engagement than I’ve seen for years.. even at Sadler’s Wells.”
Keep an eye out for this group, they’re going places. Miss them and you’ll regret it.