The urgency of information due to the loss of Luis Soler Guevara has obviously made us neglect the immediacy of the thirtieth anniversary of the farewell of Antonio Ruiz Soler placeholder image, the great Antonio, who left us on February 5, 1996 in Madrid, an oblivion that brings us face to face with reality.
In contemporary times we pay homage to him in the XIII Cycle: Getting to Know the Flamenco, from El Monte, during the first quarter of 1998. It was perpetuated in the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville by Andalusian Dance Company, with the address of José Antonio, on November 13, 1999; he became linked to Professional Dance Conservatory of Seville, when on November 3, 2006 he was baptized with the name Antonio Ruiz Soler, and, likewise, we witnessed, back in October 2021, the commemoration that in Granada, anticipating the centenary of his birth in Seville, was staged by Ballet Flamenco Andalusia under the direction of Ursula Lopez.
Today we remember him in ExpoFlamenco Because we are obliged to remember what we were in order to know what we want to be and how far we can go. This is the aphorism we cling to in order to remember Antonio, the great figure of that era of dance that spans from the Spanish Civil War to the 1970s.
Among his achievements is the unmissable reference point of the Seville street of Rosario, which he shared the stage with the master Rosario For 22 years, he nurtured the learning of classical Spanish with the Master Oterobowling school with Angel Pericet y flamenco to Bottle capHe also excelled in film and created the Antonio's Balletnotable for the first-ever recording of the martinete dance to the rhythm of seguiriya, filmed under the Arco del Tajo de Ronda, which would be followed by the editing of the Suite of Sonatas, from the Father Antonio Soler, The Three-Cornered Hat o Spanish whim.
In 1956 he premiered his most accomplished flamenco creation at the Palace Theatre in London. The bull tavernwhere her sister danced Encarnacion to the rhythm of Chano LobatoTwo years later he appears in the film Honeymoon (1958) of Michael powellwhere Antonio brings to life the specter of El amor brujo and from which I highlight her footwork and the taranto, being moreover the one who delivered to Antonio Mairena la II Golden Key of Cante in the Alcázar of the Christian Kings, in Córdoba.
On June 16, 1978, a farewell tour began at the Lope de Vega Theatre in Seville with the show Antonio and his Theatre Flamencowhich forced us to review his choreographic work, of which, apart from those mentioned, we note his versions of stick dances such as the Stolen Bolero, Half-step bowling alleys and Malagueñas bowling alleys; Sonatina y Galactic Fantasy, both of Ernesto Halffter; Playing bullfighting, Christopher Halffter; Concert Allegro, Enrique Granados, Serranos de Vejer, García Soler.
His creative genius also shines through in the Fandango de Candil and Dances V, X and XI, from Granados; Flamenco print, Step to four, Sorozabal; El amor brujo y The short life, Manuel de Falla, and Suite Iberia, Albéniz, in addition to The unfaithful married woman, which he did for Maria Rosa, for whom he also choreographed the Sevillian symphony of Turina, Dew, one of his last creations premiered on April 23, 1987 at the Monumental Theatre in Madrid.
"From a strictly flamenco perspective, Antonio made possible for the world the gestation of cante "Behind, as well as the newspaper in the Guajira, the use of the cape for the cane... (...) He was the first to choreograph the martinete and left a style of footwork that, due to its sound and virtuosity, has remained as a model for history."
An exceptional set designer and lighting technician, Antonio brought Spanish ballet closer to classical ballet, while demonstrating an unusual mastery of the Spanish and flamenco schools. His ballet company, which was called in successive stages Antonio Spanish Ballet, Antonio and his Ballets of Madrid or Antonio RecitalsFor more than six lustrums, it was the most prestigious show in Spain and the world, incorporating the most important figures and making such a terrifying display of creativity that it had no rival.
We elaborate on this because he forged an unusual language for the appropriation of stage space. He championed discipline and elegance to strengthen dance aesthetics. He popularized mastery of arm raises and waist movements in men, and, in short, he created a unique school that, even starting from classical principles, incorporated Spanish ballet – folklore, flamenco, bolero school and classical– to the category of international ballet.
It was erected, precisely, in the most complete dancer of all timeSince, with his imposed discipline and his stage presence, he personally led the direction, the staging, the production and the choreography of his ballets with an impressive balance of artistic, musical and visual participation, while also presenting the most accomplished innovations of the second half of the last century.
From a strictly flamenco perspective, Antonio made possible the world's creation of cante Back then, as well as the newspaper in the Guajira, the use of the cape for the cane, of unparalleled inspiration, and his miller's farruca, from The Three-Cornered Hat, which premiered at the end of 1958. He was the first to choreograph the martinete, his most fruitful creation already mentioned, and left a style of footwork that, due to its sound and virtuosity, has remained as a model for history.
His contributions also include tanguillos, alegrías, tangos from Cádiz and Triana, taranto, serrana, Silverio's cabales, seguiriyas, soleares, caracoles, the zorongo in the style of a slow tango, fandangos in the verdiales style, lullabies, and the saeta. He also established the custom of ending festive dances with bulerías, making it his own style, a procedure he later followed with the rumba, and so on, contributing a considerable number of pieces that constituted, for more than twenty years, the most prestigious Spanish artistic and musical show that has toured all five continents.
And Antonio, who in his time was a king without shadow, was considered as "the dancer of the Franco regime," hence we had to wait until that February 5, 1996, when he said his last goodbye, to see how Spain mourned his absence, as evidenced by the posthumous tributes or the honors in his later years.
I also agree that the Ministry of Culture The Spanish government did not deign to award the National Prize to the greatest creator of the past century because in doing so it would be honoring a rebel, while the Junta de Andalucía It failed to grant him the first one in 1995 Golden Key of the Flamenco and never proposed it for the Medal of AndalusiaPrivate patrons, such as the group CRUZCAMPONor were they able to urge the jury to award him the Compass of the Cante, a trophy to which he refused to be listed as a member and in which he was a finalist in 1988 and 1993.
Seville, however, refused to allow its most universal son to be condemned to unjust oblivion, hence its naming him a Favorite Son in 1983, in addition to other honors. Aside from his eternal Seville, only a few artists and some analysts concerned themselves with the flourishing of his art. The rest learned to forget in order to feel better. Opportunity after opportunity, his name faded from their memory. To surrender, then, on this thirtieth anniversary of his passing, to the doubt as to whether the patrons of Culture were aware of him, is like cultivating uncertainty in the cork oak of ignorance. ♦
