Upending tradition, men will be wearing dresses and shawls as part of Macho Flamenco: Boys Don’t Dance, Dallas group the Flame Foundation’s latest exploration of an art form that dates back hundreds of years to a time when gender roles were more rigid.
“Historically, what’s feminine, what’s masculine, has been present in flamenco,” says artistic director Delilah Buitrón Arrebola, who came up with the idea and is choreographing the show with her husband, Antonio Arrebola, the star of the production.
As part of the performance, he and an all-male dance ensemble plan to don the long batas de cola dresses and embroidered mantónes de Manila shawls typically worn by female flamenco dancers.
A native of Málaga, Spain, Arrebola began studying flamenco when he was 7, turning pro at 16. Now in his mid-40s, he recalls having only female instructors and very few male counterparts in class. As the subtitle of the show implies, not a lot of boys took dance lessons.
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Delilah Buitrón Arrebola is choreographing the show with her husband, Antonio Arrebola, the star of the production.
Justin Locklear / 2022 File Photo
When they did, the emphasis was on moving powerfully with their lower bodies, including forcefully stamping their feet. Women, on the other hand, focused on the delicate employment of their arms and hands.
“During that time in Spain, to see guys dancing was quite difficult,” Arrebola says in an interview at Woodrow Wilson High School, where the Flame Foundation is rehearsing Macho Flamenco. “You can imagine the influence that had. I learned to dance with both the upper and lower body.”
By that time, dancers like Carmen Amaya, a central figure in flamenco in the 1930s and ’40s, had broken the mold. She became known for the speed and intensity of her footwork. As flamenco evolved into a worldwide phenomenon, others built on her work to even include men in dresses and shawls. Still, traditions die hard.
“I was brought up with the same idea, that men dance a certain way. We’re strong,” says Macho Flamenco ensemble member Daniel Negrete, who teaches Mexican folkloric dance at Woodrow but started studying flamenco seriously only a few years ago. “We’re exploring the passive and dominant energy within flamenco to redefine what macho really is. … What barriers can I break as a male dancer? Can I use a mantón? Can I be in a bata de cola? Can I do movement that’s a little bit softer?”
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Macho Flamenco is built around a narrative being written and directed by Matthew Posey, artistic director of Ochre House Theater, which has been presenting annual flamenco shows in collaboration with the Arrebolas for years. A central theme is “anima,” a Jungian psychological concept recognizing the feminine part of a man’s personality and a broader idea of the irrational vs. the rational mind.
The dancing will be accompanied by live music from three Spanish natives now living in the U.S.: guitarist Juani de la Isla, singer José Cortés Fernández and percussionist-vocalist Francisco “Yiyi” Orozco. Macho Flamenco is a presentation of the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Elevator Project series of productions by local arts organizations.
Details
Macho Flamenco: Boys Don’t Dance runs Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at Wyly Studio Theatre, 2400 Flora St. $34.50. attpac.org.
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