In the same space in which Patricia guerrero He performed his latest proposal with the Ballet Flamenco from Andalusia a few days ago, one of its previous members, the Granada dancer Agustín Barajas, delighted a supremely devoted audience with its premiere, with a minimalist yet avant-garde work with nods to the masters of earth dance. It was in the courtyard of the Santa Cruz la Real College, in the heart of Granada's Realejo neighborhood, in the main cloister. The space alone invites you to enjoy the architecture, which had little to do with the architecture of the Barajas dance. If the physical location dates back to the time of the Catholic Monarchs, the construction of the flamenco dancer's show was based on a sketch of the future. Contemporary flamenco dance embraced with expressive freedom the new trends that came from the heart of this artist, not so with the cante In general, certainly immobile and besieged by those who want it to be a musical tomb.
Agustín Barajas is a long-established dancer with decades of stage experience, and he presented a complex creation. He cannot separate himself from the most universal poet of Granada who ever existed, even if he wanted to, hence his tireless use of his figure and his poetics, in a truly Manichean, Lorca-like position, to embellish everything he is capable of showing on stage.
Sleep is the title of this new project that combines, according to the program, The recreation of a world of surreal beauty, a profound introspection, where the main character confronts the emotional self and the rational self. A nocturnal journey through the senses, connecting emotions with the stages of rest. Anything can happen with that description. You can understand everything and nothing. Therefore, all you have to do is enjoy the dance and the choreography to at least understand the inner workings and concerns of a dancer in full bloom.
A clock and a background jingle rang out in the silence of the cloister, to the beat of some bells that gave way to the voice-over of Camarón de la Isla with the Lullaby of the Big HorseThe members of the musical group, the guitarists, timidly appeared Ruben Campos y Mark Palogoals, the singers Aroa Palomo y Martha the Little Girl, the percussionist Michael the Cheyenne and the trumpeter Erik Sanchez Behind some screens that served as a stage prop for Agustín in other later prints. Dressed in green, with a Nazarene attire, cape and hood with his face uncovered, the dancer's voice-over was heard as he began the recreation of his personal self and his rational self. Contemporary dance with retintes flamencos in the background that gave way to the operatic lullaby singing Go to sleep kid already the depth of Sánchez's trumpet evoking a certain transitory madness in the dance. Agustín knew how to hold the silences, fill them, tame them with a good use of his arm movements. He recited part of the Gypsy Zorongo de García Lorca and gave the signal to Sergio Gomez The Redhead, who invited him to dance alegrías. The use of stage props, doors as a backdrop through which the performers entered and exited, provided ample scope and consequently helped to convey the plot Barajas wanted to convey, although it wasn't always easy to discern.
"Agustín Barajas presented a complex creation. He cannot be separated from the most universal poet of Granada who ever existed, even if he wanted to, hence he tirelessly resorts to his figure and his poetics in a truly Manichean, Lorca-like position to embellish everything he is capable of showing on stage."
Miguel Poveda He was one of the special guests who, from the gallery of the cloister on the first floor and at the rear of the stage box, launched the echo of the Silence, a poem by Lorca to which Barajas dedicated his most intense image, internalizing the cante and feeling the poet without any filters other than the love at first sight of the message.
The change of third brought the image and likeness of a horse on the stage, neat in white with a mask on its head and cante Through Farrucas del Colorao. We were able to see a tour of the dance's history. flamenco Granada with nods to classics such as Manolete o Mario Maya combined with the renewal we will see on stage in a few years. Agustín also played with the space, with his image reflected in the mirrors. He speaks to his other self, and it is here that the audience can begin to understand the meaning of the work without reading the program. There was also a tribute to another great, Don Enrique MorenteRubén Campos and Marcos Palogoals perfectly copied Montoya's rondeña to which Morente put lyrics in the Little Clock with the enviable interpretation of Colorao por granaínas with Lorca-esque lyrics, again, and which gave way to the taranto as recorded by Morente in the Language of FlowersThe leading role was given to Alberto Selles to the dance, dressed in black and with transparencies. He was forceful, at times manly, at times diverse, excellent in verticality and mannerisms. Agustín took the lead again with seguiriyas, those of Silverio Franconetti Or rather, Poveda's, or rather, Lorca's; in short, it was all three of them, because Poveda sang the poem to Silverio de Lorca in seguiriyas. The earthy nature of the dance was accompanied by the expressive power of the lyrics and music.
To close the circle of the different I's that Agustín wanted to show, the red of his pants and the gauze cape he used to move around the stage in soleá with absolute dedication, almost entranced and forgetting that there was an audience, triumphed. Long ovation and long applause for the outstanding student of the great Mariquilla who leaves his mark on this first biennial of flamenco grenadine.
Credits
Sleep, by Agustín Barajas
I Biennial of Flamenco from Granada
Santa Cruz la Real College, Granada
11 September 2025
Dance: Agustin Barajas
Cante: Marta the Girl, Aroa Palomo
Guitars: Rubén Campos, Marcos Palogoals
Percussion: Miguel el Cheyenne
Trumpet: Erik Sánchez
Special collaborations: Miguel Poveda, Alberto Sellés
