If you have not experienced a night at the Fountain Theatre you are missing what is easily one of the very best Flamenco Performance venues in the Los Angeles area. I was lucky enough to be invited for the October 30th, 2005 Forever Flamenco show by Producer Deborah Lawlor who by the way was a lovely host for the evening. The intimate stage and seating arrangement puts you up front with some serious Flamenco talent and makes for an unforgettable evening.
Getting to the Fountain Theatre was pretty easy although I do recommend getting there a bit early to get good parking but if you are on time or a bit late don’t worry as there is a plenty of street parking which is what I ended up doing. Paco Arroyo (Guitarist) and Yolanda Arroyo (Dancer) were performing this evening. These two veterans of the Flamenco world are phenomenal performers and not to be missed. Along with Paco and Yolanda Arroyo were Charo Monge (Singer), Juan del Valle (Special Guest Dancer) and Cristina Villalobos (Dancer).
After a brief introduction from Deborah the lights dimmed and the mood was set. A pleasant surprise to my left was a whole row of young Spanish ladies who were really excited about the show and helped get the crowd into the mood of the evening with palmas and shouting traditional sayings. The show consisted of eight performances split into two halves with a brief intermission in the middle to stretch and have a chance to blink. Opening the first half of the performance Paco Arroyo wasted no time getting the crowd worked up with super clean falsetas and a Tangos medley including “Cachito de Pan†and “Solo quiero caminar†sung by Charo Monge.
The second song performed “El Farol†left a strong impression largely due to the excellent performance by Cristina Villalobos. The special something people talk about when performers manage to capture the song and interpret the mood was definitely present in Cristina’s dance. Precise, powerful and beautiful Cristina is a dancer who is well on her way to becoming one of the very best.
Juan del Valle was next up performing to Alegrias giving us a performance truly of International quality. You could see in the details of his performance the experience and talent that have taken him around the world performing in famous tablaos, televised concerts and prestigious theatres.
Things really picked up after the intermission when Paco and Yolanda Arroyo stole the show. Now for you guitarist out there who are all about super fast picado or complicated falsetas Paco showed why you need to develop all your skills especially if you ever want to perform. Exchanging percussion rhythms with the cajon player and eventually taking over the percussive beat while still playing the song was amazing. But if I could pick out one detail about Paco’s playing that was truly great it wasn’t how fast or how complex but its how clean he plays. Every note is heard clearly even when it’s a super fast arpeggio or Falseta. Paco has all the tools at his disposal Alzapua, Picado, Arpeggio, well you get the picture. He combined with his wife Yolanda for a memorable performance were Yolanda’s dance shoes became a blur as she exchanged beats and syncopated with Paco and the cajon player. Yolanda then called out proudly one by one her student dancers who attended the performance. At this point the crowd was really into it and a great time was had by all.
I have to thank the staff at the Fountain Theatre for a truly memorable evening and once in a life time experience. Don’t miss out, you can check performance schedules at the Fountain Theatres website (http://www.fountaintheatre.com) don’t forget to mention that you heard about them on Falseta.com.
Paco Arroyo (Guitarist) Paco began playing the guitar at the age of seventeen in his native Barcelona. He has performed in Spain at the tablaos El Cordobes and Los Tarantos with such artists as Camaron de la Isla, El Turronero, Tomatito, Manuela Carrasco, El Farruco, El Guito, La Susi and La Marelu. In 1992, Paco and Yolanda performed together at the Café de Chinitas in Venezuela, and on international tours including performances in Japan and in France with Camaron de la Isla. They later came to Los Angeles where they were featured at The Espartacus Fiesta, El Cid and El Barcelona. Since his arrival in America, Paco has performed with all major flamenco artists here. These include Roberto Amaral’s Fuego Flamenco, Juan Talavera’s Los Hombres de Flamenco, and Charo Monge’s Embrujo de Espana.
Yolanda Arroyo (Dancer) By the age of nine, Yolanda was already dancing. She has performed in various penas flamencas and tablaos in her native Spain, including Los Tarantos and El Cordobes. She has performed with Maruja Garrido, Manzanita, Enrique el Extremeno, El Lebrijano and many others. Here in America, in addition to performing with the companies of Roberto Amaral, Juan Talavera and Charo Monge, she and her husband, Paco, have created their own show, Herencia Flamenca, for the Fountain Theatre. Yolanda conducts a school of dance, with student groups that perform throughout the year. She genuinely loves teaching and her students.
Juan del Valle (Guest Artist – Dancer) Juan was selected to dance in the premier performance of Israel Galvan’s Torero al Lucinogen at the Teatro Central in Sevilla, Spain, in March of 2004. Concurrently he performed a five month run as a soloist at the famous tablao, La Carboneria in Sevilla, with shows televised in New York and Europe. Juan has also traveled as a guest of the Chinese Government to perform in the internationally televised Culture Festival of Beijing. He has performed throughout the United States with companies including Romeria Flamenca of New York, and Yaelisa’s Caminos Flamencos of San Francisco. In October of 2004, Juan performed La Vida Breve with Carmela Greco and Grupo Andanza. For two months this summer, Juan will be performing with Maria Benitez prestigious Teatro Flamenco in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Cristina Villalobos (Dancer) Cristina was born in Argentina of Spanish parents. She was influenced by and drawn to Spanish music and dance at an early age. Her dance studies have given her a wide exposure to various styles, from which she has extracted her own. She has had the pleasure of performing with such companies as Ballet Espanol de Los Angeles and Soniquete Flamenco, and with the companies of Roberto Amaral, Lola Montes, Lilia Llorens, Chata la Faraona, Lina Vega, Yolanda Arroyo, Laila del Monte, Maria Berbudez and Juan Talavera. Her desire is to convey and share the enjoyment which Flamenco inspires in her.
Related posts:
- Fountain Theatre Forever Flamenco May 2007
- Fountain Theatre June 2007
- Flamenco Dance & Guitar Classes with Paco y Yolanda Arroyo
- Paco Pena Requiem for the Earth
- Paco Pena Performing in New York!