The darkness of the mine flooded the stage. A creaking sound, like a taranto, descended the stairs, illuminated by a lantern. They were the deep echoes of Manuel Tañe, irremediably flamenco, resounding, colossal. It was accompanied on stage by the lullaby of the Morón melismas of Jesus Flores and six divine strings that made the blackened guitar trill sweetly Ramon Amador, pregnant with sensitivity. Thus began the courtship. The dance dawned. Whims awoke.
The pas de deux of the taranto of David Romero y Susana Casas It was the very evidence of the incorporeal presence of art, which moved from elegance to flamenco, strolling between the two bodies of these dancers who brought a piece of Seville to Jerez. The poignant gestures, the firm steps, the pain in a fist, the tight heels, the defined passes… Two souls as one, intertwined by a thread that sewed the left sides of two chests that vibrate with the same heartbeat, drew upon the wooden floorboards of La Guarida The scent of heartbreak and the Levantine ducas. David danced with turns and graceful steps. And Susana began to weave the idyll, her hips swaying to the rhythm of her neighbor's advances. She searched in the aching core for what drives the body to truth, when one has what it takes to deliver the blows that this stunning woman of simple proportions unleashed. Twisting thrusts and a commanding presence sealed the taranto. Her prodigious figure and penetrating gaze captivated me, drawing me into the ritual that her performance on the 'outlawed' stage had become.
Ramón melted in the honey For those who leaveStripping bare its essence, tempering itself slightly with its caramel-like throat, cooking the syrup. He surrendered to inspiration in its clean tremolos, to the musicality of the bass strings tuned to the tonality of a rondeña. And he made me fall in love again with the same chords, his extraordinary harmony, his rich melodies, the similar and the different. Because every time he plays, he rises and reaffirms himself as one of the best guitarists of the present. Neat, original, fresh yet timeless. With refined technique, but under the yoke of transmission. Ramón's guitar corners you and caresses you. And it doesn't let you escape. The poison stings. You're lost.
"The sorrowful gestures, the firm marking, the pain in a fist, the clenched heel, the defined passes... Two souls in one, intertwined by a thread that sewed the left sides of two chests that vibrate the same heartbeat, drew on the timbers of La Guarida the smell of heartbreak and the Levantine dukes"
Tañé evoked the sounds of Juanito Villar, preluding some swaggering tangos that served as a prelude to Susana's seguiriya. The old-fashioned toná threw the dance into the arena. The Sevillian woman clung to the lament and wept with her body, with the castanets, with elegant promenades, strength in her heelwork, bursts of passion, the flowers at her hips, an exquisite arm movement, good enough to be addicted to. With her beautiful figure, she painted the painful tears of the seguiriya, stopping time, disfiguring herself without stridency, with poise, snatching from Undibé heaven's infinite talent. Susana danced deep and very feminine, flamencoOne like no other. Writing with her scratches the secrets of relief. She danced with rage, squeezing out her torments. Undeniable, with a crack and powerful.
The little window of joy in Ramón's hands was a cone of garlands that he continued to bestow. The airs of Lebrija entered Tañé's chest, which he resolved with masterful skill to let them out. Manuel and Jesús battled with rhythm aplenty. As was Romero, who splashed the stage with foam and sprinkled it with salt, lavishing flattery, grace, and picanteHe danced on the commandments of Cádiz, with his eyes and gestures, from his bangs to his heels. His feet were precise on the footwork, restrained in the silences, with the spirit of Cádiz in the bulería.
A few more steps brought the explosion to a close. They locked the doors. They gathered their cheers, the incessant applause, and left. David and Susana were crowned again. It was here at La Guarida.
Credits
Dance recital by David Romero and Susana Casas
XV Jerez Off Festival of La Guarida del Ángel
Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz)
February 24th 2026
Dance: David Romero and Susana Casas
CanteJesús Flores and Manuel Tañé
Guitar: Ramon Amador
