Un homenaje a la reina del cante flamenco |
Péinate tú con mis peines,
Que mis peines son de azúcar.
La gachí que se peina con mis peines
Hasta los dedos se chupa |
You, comb yourself with my combs
For my combs are made of sugar.
The girl that combs herself with my combs
Will lick her fingers |
In the flamenco project Pastora, five flamenco artists pay tribute to female flamenco singer Niña de los Peines.
Pastora Pavon, la Niña de los Peines (1890-1969), is considered to be the greatest flamenco singer of the 20th century. Her interpretation of the archaic cante jondo has so far remained unsurpassed and seen her 50-year-long career and her huge repertoire, she is often told to be the connection between the Edad de Oro – the golden age between 1850 and 1920 – and the modern flamenco.
In “Pastora” the artists take on a united quest for their own relation to the great cantaora. Singers Ana Gómez and José Ligero present a selection of the styles which have made Niña de los Peines famous: soleares, siguiryas, peteneras and cartageneras. They are accompanied by guitar player Alexander Gávilan, as dancer La Greca translates a number of cantes into movement. With the help of several anecdotes, the key-moments from La Niña’s life are told. Furthermore, a detailed program book contains both the translation of her songs and some interesting information on her bio- and discography.
“Pastora” allows the spectator to get to know the singer’s oeuvre in a spontaneous and direct way. The program ends with a Juergo por bulerias, a feast in honour of flamenco in itself and one of its grandest personalities in particular: la Niña de los Peines.
Duration of the performance: 2 x 45 min. |
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Vocals: Ana Gómez / José Ligero
Dancing: La Greca
Guitar, concept: Alexander Gavilan
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Female singer Ana Gómez stems from Arcos de la Frontera, a flamenco centre in the province of Cadiz.
She took up a love for flamenco from early childhood. At the age of only 14 she started to perform in public: at first in her home town, but soon all over Andalucía.
At the Fundación Cristina Heeren de Arte Flamenco in Sevilla, Ana enriched her knowledge of the flamenco repertoire under the guidance of such masters as José de la Tomasa, Paco Taranto and Esperanza Fernandez.
Ana performed in numerous well-known Peñas, as there are: peña Camaron de la Isla (San Fernando), peña de la buleria, peña Antonio Chacon (Jerez), peña Enrique el Mellizo (Cádiz), peña flamenca de Ubrique,
peña flamenca la feminina (Huelva) etc.
She has collaborated with cantaor Nano de Jerez and shared the stage with artists such as Tomasa la Macanita.
Ana Gomez is furthermore an often-invited Saetera (singer during Silent Week). She participated at the semana santa in Sevilla and Arcos de la Frontera and she had her part in recording the CD Saetas y Saeteros. Her powerful and unique voice can also be heard on the CD of Esperanza Fernandez.
In 2003, she won the first prize in the discipline “Alegrias y Cantiñas “at the renowned Cadiz flamenco competition. |
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| José Ligero was born in 1972 in an artistic family (known from Miguel Ligero) in Sevilla. As a child, he learned the cante flamenco in its purest form from his father and other masters from the Trian gipsy quarter. At the age of 13, he came to Brussels with his parents. Ever since José started singing professionally about six years ago, he has become a much sought-after and highly appreciated flameco artists. Next to performances in Germany, France and Spain, he has collaborated with all the good flamenco ensembles in the Benelux, both as a solo singer and in larger ensembles (among others Sumari, Compania Sofie Yero, Marisol Valderama, Frederico Ordoñez). With his pure and slightly hoarse voice, he interprets martinetes, siguiryas, tandangos and particularly the soleá de triana in the typical style of the singers from Triana. He can be heard on the CD Quernando Voy (with José Toral and Miguel Fernández). |
Katerina Giannakopulou “La Greca” is of Greek origin, but was born in 1982 in Esslingen (Germany). From the age of 5, she took up ballet and folk dancing classes, later followed by jazz dance. In 1999, she started her training at the Contratiempo flamenco school with Tomás Zybura and Cristina Haas in Cologne. As to further develop her extraordinary talent, she also went to Granada, Jerez and Sevilla, where she among others took classes with Ana Kali, Javier Barón, Merche Esmeralda, Matilde Coral, Mercedez Ruiz and Manuel Reyes.
In 2005, the young dancer graduated at the Schule für Bühnentanz & Tanzpädagogik Leverkusen with Karina Maczkowiak. As a member of the Hasseler Showtanzgruppe, she toured in Turkey, Mexico, Greece and Egypt and she danced with the VIDAS group in Toronto, Canada with Esmeralda Enrique. La Greca collaborated with several flamenco ensembles, such as Compania Tomás Zybura and the LOBO Dance Theater (e.g. Flamencofestival Düsseldorf 2003 in Tanzhaus NRW).
Ever since September 2005, she is staying in Sevilla and taking classes with Manuel Betanzo, Adela Campallo and Juan de los Reyes. |
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| Alexander Gavilan, guitar |
Flamenco guitar player Alexander Gavilán (°1969) started with his guitar training at the age of 11 with Thomas Seda in Cologne. From 1990 until 1998, he accompanied the dancing classes at the Cologne flamenco school Contratiempo (accompaniment of among others Andrian Galía, Fernando Galán). Furthermore, he perfomed nationally and internationally with several flamenco ensembles (e.g. in Filharmonie Krakow, Die Kuppel in Basel, Pole Pole Festival in Ghent, Tränenpalast Berlin) and he composed music for flamenco shows of the group Amanecer. Alexander made the theatre shows Salome – Theater und Flamenco (’95) and Unter freien Himmeln (’97) and he collaborated in
CD recordings for: Levendas (’99) of the fusion group A Touch of Flamenco and Amanecer Life im Senftöpfchen (2002). In 1998, he moved to Ghent and since then, he has regularly been cooperating with artists from the Belgian flamenco scene. Alexander studied flamenco guitar at the Rotterdam Conservatory with Paco Peña, Ricardo Mendeville and Hans Van Gogh and he obtained his Bachelor in Music in 2004. With a scholarship from the Fund for Stage Arts, he commenced his second-fase-training with a six-month stay in Sevilla. There he studied at the Fundación Cristina Heeren de Arte Flamenco, taking classes with among others Niño de Pura, Miguel Angel Cortés and J.L. Postigo. Since September 2005, Alexander is a teacher in flamenco guitar at the Rotterdam Conservatory. |
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