"carmen" by sara baras

i'm a very lucky girl. my first full day in madrid, i got invited to watch a sara baras performance of carmen.

it featured modern flamenco dance, and the first sequence alone had me gripped--men and women in black tapping their feet with red shoes on, dancing with flair.

each act featured raw, emotional dancing--every stretch of the arm, the contraction of every muscle conveyed pain and despair. i couldn't help but get carried away, especially when it was sara or the matador on stage. i was also impressed with the precision and control of the tapping. even more enthralling was the play with cloth, the manton. the shawl was swinging in waves, seducing the audience, even snapping me out of my jetlag. the skirts are hitched up, teasing you, then all of a sudden, they explode into a beautiful canopy.

the men dance just as enchantingly, seducing carmen (and eventually succeeding). carmen, in turn, responds with passion, baiting her men with fancy tapping and drawing them in with her heartfelt movements.

such a shame that i couldn't snap a photo--the entire performance was just beautiful. it lasted almost 2 hours, but i still wanted more. my trip to spain couldn't have been better. :)