FLAMENCO: ORIGENES at the Etcetera Theatre

★★★★

“The costumes are dazzling and thoroughly authentic”

It’s been a particularly wet and cool summer so far in London, and if you’ve not had a chance to escape the rain, let me suggest a trip to Flamenco/Orígenes. This show is currently playing at the Etcetera Theatre as part of the 2023 Camden Fringe Festival. There, for a brief hour, you can sit and imagine yourself, without much difficulty, in Seville, perhaps, or any other Spanish city fa-mous for its small dark spaces where you can crowd in to see authentic flamenco. It’s a treat to climb the steep stairs at the Etcetera Theatre, and be part of an enthusiastic sold out house that knows how to appreciate good music and good dancing.

Flamenco/Orígenes, presented by the Lourdes Fernandez Flamenco Company based here in London, is not just about the dancing. There’s a story attached to the seven pieces performed in this show as well. Each dance, or palos, presents a piece of the history of flamenco. From its earliest origins in India and North Africa, the Company moves through the contributions of the indigenous peoples who gave us what we now recognize as flamenco. There’s even several changes of costume to emphasize the visual component. It’s quite a feat to pull this off in such a small space (and there is a moment when a spinning shawl catches a music stand and it goes flying) but the Company manages the whole show with style and confidence. By the time the show ends with a bravura presentation of modern day flamenco, it is not just the dancers and musicians who are clapping and stamping their feet with enthusiasm. The audience has caught the energy as well, leaping to their feet with applause and cries of “Olé!”

“You are about to be transported to the warmth of another world”

This talented company consists of two dancers including Lourdes Fernandez herself, and a very accomplished band of singer, drummer, violinist and guitar. Singer Mónica García in particular captures the unique sound of flamenco, and she is very ably supported by the other musicians. The costumes are dazzling and thoroughly authentic, including the brightly coloured shawls that the dancers manage so adroitly. In short, there’s plenty of feast the eyes and ears in this show, even if it’s sometimes hard to see the footwork when seated more than a couple of rows back. I suggest sitting in the front rows, and as Lourdes herself recommends, placing your drink well back under your seat so it doesn’t get upset in all the excitement.

Flamenco/Orígenes is well worth sixty minutes of your time. It’s a welcome escape from Lon-don’s shivery summer, for an absolute bargain of a price. You may need an umbrella to get to the 2023 Camden Town Fringe Festival, but once you are inside the Etcetera Theatre, fold it up. You are about to be transported to the warmth of another world that is the unforgettable beauty of flamenco!

Flamenco: Origenes

★★★★

Etcetera Theatre

FLAMENCO: ORIGENES at the Etcetera Theatre

★★★★

“The costumes are dazzling and thoroughly authentic”

“You are about to be transported to the warmth of another world”