by Xochitl Campos
Daily Lobo
Flamenco dancing is all heart - the wail of the singer and the pound of the dancer's determined steps are the heartbeat personified.
Yjastros: the American Flamenco Repertory Company is a group of flamenco dancers run by one of the few flamenco families in the United States. Director Joaquin Encinias works alongside his mother and sister, co-directors Eva Encinias-Sandoval and Marisol Encinias.
The company performed at the National Hispanic Cultural Center's Roy E. Disney Theater to sold-out crowds over the weekend.
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Encinias-Sandoval said the dance is a deep translation of emotion.
"It is a very visceral expression of human emotion that is a very raw and incredibly deep investigation of expression," she said. "It is not necessarily meant to be pretty, but it is meant to be evocative. I always say that it is not pretty, but it is deep."
Alexa Miton, a member of the company, said Yjastros is a branch of the National Institute of Flamenco, headed by Encinias-Sandoval.
"I think that flamenco is very much like any other performing art form where you have to spend a lot of time perfecting your technique," she said.
Flamenco is a traditional dance from the southern region of Spain, known as Andalucia, Miton said. Contemporary flamenco is an American adaptation of the dance that is performed in its most traditional form on street corners in the Spanish cities of Granada and Sevilla.
"More than anything, the flamenco that we do in a repertory style format is revolutionary in a way, because flamenco was traditionally danced in a very small circle," Miton said. "That brings in the aspects of a big production that is not so traditional. I would say that is the most modern
aspect."
Traditional flamenco work involves a solo dancer and a guitarist, Encinias-Sandoval said. The flamenco performed by her company involves bigger numbers and is theatrical compared to the traditional dance in Spain.
Encinias-Sandoval said her son and daughter became interested in flamenco as children in the studio started by her mother.
"Joaquin is the director, and he started dancing as a child," she said. "Even though he may experiment and play with the dynamics and the stylistic choices, he is still a flamenco dancer to the core."
Miton said the dance is an exhibition of expression and
vitality.
"It is almost a very raw and sincere way of living," she said. "It is one of the only (forms of dance) that allows the dancer to be expressive in the way that they want to be."
The facial expressions made by the dancers are not always aesthetically pleasing,
Miton said.
"I think that they can be seen as being really grotesque, but that is the beauty in it." she said. "It is real, and that is beautiful."
Monica Aguilar and her family went to one of the performances over the weekend as a way to expose her children to the performing arts.
She said her 3-year-old daughter Emily is a part of the baby program at the company.
"It's just a fun family event exposing them to our culture," she said.
Eduardo Arturo, a guest dancer with the company, said he takes his dancing seriously, particularly in the way he influences children in the audience.
"I feel responsible to leave a good impression for the young kids to pursue this art form and for the adults to come back and support the arts," he said.
