 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Walking in the shadows of some major theatrical interpretations of Bizet’s ‘Carmen‘ throughout Australia recently, Yasmin Amber will be dancing alone as Carmen, in a cast of one come March. “A bold move,” you might think, especially if you were lucky enough to catch Opera Australia’s lavish production, complete with live horses, flamenco dancers, bull fighters and pyrotechnics. Even the Queensland Ballet’s production – with its flamenco enriched choreography – will set your standards high. But the Adelaide Fringe Festival has always been about encouraging independent artists to take risks and present unique and fresh ideas.
So for three nights only (March 5th, 6th and 12th), Yasmine Amber will interpret the legendary gypsy who submits to no man. An iconic character of tragedy whose outcome is so well-known, that it now takes something special to entertain you along the way; however, Yasmine does not come to this story empty-handed, she toured with Opera Australia’s production of Carmen, in the role of Flamenco Dancer and as one of Carmen’s fellow gypsies, she was on stage for the whole show. Francesca Zambello’s Carmen toured with Yasmine to the Sydney Opera House, the National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Centre in Taipei and the National Theatre in Taiwan. Starting at 17 years old, Yasmine has been studying flamenco dance for 10 years now and has also performed in several productions with Teatro del Mundo (Liana Vargas) and Velada Flamenco.
Returning from a tour of Istanbul, Belgium & Abu Dhabi with the Turkey based dance group Fire of Anatolia, Yasmine returns to the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2010 to combine flamenco dance with electronica in a very personal interpretation of the Carmen character in a cabaret setting.
Yasmin Amber is no stranger to the gypsy lifestyle, her family traveled around Australia and Papua New Guinea finally settling in Adelaide when she was 13, and now the life of a performer is taking Yasmine further abroad. “My Mum and Dad were real hippies when I was younger and freedom is something that is ingrained in me from the way they tried to live,” explains Yasmine, “freedom and free-thinking is something that I value highly, and that I strongly identify within Carmen’s persona.”
Asking Yasmine about her preparations for the upcoming performance we discover she has been inspired by generations of strong women in her family, and has had a long fascination with the Carmen character believing that, to a flamenco dancer, Carmen is omnipresent. “The wild gypsy girl who lives and dances with abandon is an idea that’s very attractive to us flamencos,” states Yasmine. “So she’s always been there and at some point you have to start asking yourself why she is such a powerful character for us and so universally loved and recognised.”
Having witnessed the opera version over fifty times from onstage and in rehearsals. For her production, Yasmine started with Merimee’s Carmen (the original novella from 1845), but she remains strongly influenced by the countless interpretations of the Bizet opera (written in 1874). Bizet based his opera on just one of the four chapters (Chapter III) in the original novella and Merimee, before him, got his inspiration from a Russian poem written in 1824 (“The Gypsies” by Alexander Pushkin).
Pressing Yasmin on her emotional connection to the character we uncover a mature understanding of the balance between the romantic characterisation of old and the more realistic preference of today’s TV audiences, answering, “when I first came across the idea of Carmen I was struck by the passionate woman that lives in the moment and follows her own heart in life. I admire that quality and it certainly makes for a fascinating character. However, in life, and obviously in fiction that can be disastrous if that does not extend to a respect for others’ freedom as well. Carmen is ultimately a tragic character, though she remains free until the end, and in that regard her tale is a positive one, as she always remains true to herself.”
Influenced by many interpretations of Carmen that focus on her earthiness and her sex appeal, Yasmine will underline those two aspects with Carmen’s fundamental demand for freedom. “Freedom and the euphoric state that it can induce is what I believe to be so attractive about Carmen. There are so many sexy women, so many earthy women, but it is very difficult to live with absolute freedom. There are always traps set for us, by society or by individuals that try to limit our sense of freedom. Carmen really tries to defy anyone who attempts to take that freedom from her. She is very courageous in that regard and I think this is where her power comes from, and her beauty; she is untamable!”
Carmen, at the Adelaide Fringe, will be a blend of flamenco, contemporary dance, song, theatre and text supported by a variety of music styles including live musicians. Paul Hilton has composed original music for the production, arranged the traditional gypsy songs (sung by Yasmine Amber) and will also play keyboard, flute and synthesiser along with Adrian Van Nunen on Cajon and percussion.
Facebook comments:
I want to thank the write very much not only for this post but also for all previous efforts. I found Flamenco Australia to be very interesting. I will be coming back for more information.
Yasmine’s study of Carmen certainly reflects her creativity and intellect that I have previously enjoyed in her previous choreographed works.
This fresh perspective of the favourite Carmen is one that I am certainly looking forward to!
Nicola