La Chana, a legendary flamenco dancer from the 60s, came out of retirement to headline a show that was a mixture of the sublime and the mediocre at Sadlers Wells. Although now in her 60s and despite being unable to walk unaided, La Chana still incredibly manages to dance an intoxicating flamenco whilst seated. Her footwork is still quick and precise and combined with her expressive arm movements La Chana managed to produce an engrossing, entertaining, yet somewhat unlikely performance from a chair.
Sadly the same could not be said of the first two performers that preceded her. First to dance was Gemma Moneo who while undoubtedly a talented technical dancer was to robotic to be completely enjoyable and wore one of the worst dresses in Flamenco history. The follow up featuring Antonio Canales was also a disappointment. He may be a Flamenco legend but those days are behind him and here he delivered a a pedestrian performance that wouldn't have disgraced a pub dancer. In fact the only interesting part of his performance was trying to figure out whether the ludicrous multi coloured Swarovski crystals he had swinging around his neck were part of his costume or a piece of tasteless statement jewelry stolen from a Russian oligarch.
Thankfully La Chana then showed the world that she still had it and demonstrated that technique and passion are not mutually exclusive. Fortunately the concluding performance was from the always impressive El Farru, appearing without his equally incredible brother, he delivered a masterclass in what Flamenco should be. At times mesmerising the audience with is footwork, at others tantalising with his perfect body control.
Overall the bad outweighed the good but perhaps La Chana deserved a better supporting cast. 3/5
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