La Sangre de San Valentín
Sarah (Creative Director)
Well it's valentines day and I drew the straw that says "you have to write an article that sums up the love, passion and romance of flamenco." A bit of a leap for me, as I am usually just handed all the photo, graphic art and style-sheet assignments at <flamencoaustralia.org> and kept away from editorials and scheduling for a very good reason. So this will be a personal indulgence, just imagine me sitting back with chocolate, coffee, wine and waiting for a huge bunch of red roses as I indulge myself in a hot blooded moment of passion, watching tight flamenco buns on Youtube. I'm originally from London, and having seen them perform live, I have to admit that I have a long standing crush on Rojas and Rodriguez, something about their rugged six o'clock shadows and thick locks of black Spanish hair that turns me into a screaming groupie. Did I mention tight flamenco buns? Flamenco purists might want to tune out about now because these handsome boys are mixing it all up in popular culture and contemporary - music video style - dance. However their company 'Nuevo Ballet Espanol' are performing tonight as part of the London Flamenco Festival so there, at least, is my excuse for sharing my European 'boy band' like crush with Australian flamencos.With a hypnotic charm Angel Rojas and Carlos Rodriguez claim that what they do 'is pure flamenco', it's just not traditional. Hmmm, roll the first video, because after watching them I really don't care about words and semantics, I just know how they make me feel.Not many flamenco shows make me wanna throw my knickers on the stage... But certain hot blooded flamenco dancers (male and female) can turn me into a willing and loyal vampire bride. I don't think that's duende at work though, just pure hormones.The last time I saw Rojas and Rodriguez in the flesh was 'Sangre Flamenca' November 2008, which now makes me sound kinda tragic, and no I don't have their poster up in my bedroom! (It's safely sealed in acid-free plastic)I think I confused love and romance with lust on this assignment and I have probably blown my chance at being given serious editorial projects again. Oh well, I will still do my best to drag the boss out of the 1940's and keep him in touch with whats modern and hip. ¡Feliz día de San Valentín!