When is flamenco a flamenco show?

Everyone has their ideas of "pure" flamenco and what "rules" you can and can't break.  And the artist's role is to ignore all that and just break everything, right?  Kind of.  I think.  I don't know.  Flamenco puts everything into a different realm. 

I saw José Barrios at Benaroya Hall on Friday night in Seattle and a theater venue like that allows you to do a totally different kind of show than you would do in a tablao or a restaurant.  The dancing and music were amazing, there were deep traditional elements, but it was also a show.  There was a cheezy intro with an old recording of someone talking about a flamenco scene, and José had lights attached to his arms and shoes, which were the only things the audience could see in the dark.  Creative, yes, but it didn´t quite work for me.  And I'm not sure why.  I will have to think about it more. 

Flamenco from Spain rarely travels to Seattle so it was great to see a show that was well put-together and truly leaps beyond the technique and style that many local shows are going to display.  And it's just great to see as much flamenco as possible.  I've seen it fused with circus elements, with tango elements, with fadó, with jazz, with ballet, everyone searches for the most creative fusion.  Sometimes it works and sometimes not.  The important thing is that we get to drink it in and keep thinking.  Flamenco is traditional, but I love that it's a living art and evolving the way every art does.  "Flamenco puro" is always a problematic phrase.  José Barrios put on a great show, and in addition to a few cheezy moments, there were some really moving moments, and I gave more than a couple "olés".