Sara Baras ignites Sadler’s Wells in her return to London’s Flamenco Festival
Vuela, which means fly in Spanish, marks the 25th anniversary of the Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, named for founder and lead performer Sara Baras. It also happens to be 25 years since she first performed at Sadler’s Wells. Dedicated to the late master guitarist Paco de Lucía, the show is a journey from life to death, mourning to jubilation. Thematically and narratively the show is flimsy. There are short segments of narration with vagueries regarding memory and death, empty chairs are a recurring motif. But the beauty of Vuela doesn’t lie in the act of memorialising those who have gone, rather in the joy of celebrating the talented artists of today.
In the wake of the loss of de Lucía there is a treasure trove of musical genius among the gifted players of the musical ensemble. Guitarist Keko Baldomero plucks out dizzyingly articulate melodies in his lonely soleá. Singers Matías López and May Fernández bare all with their raspy Andalusian keening, uprooting their lilting tunes from deep within. The ensemble of the ballet adds to the rhythm section as an earth-shaking masse. While the wall of sound of the dancers does get the goosebumps going their choreography never feels truly emotive, reading more like smiley numbers from Hollywood’s heyday than a spiritual journey.
The show comes alive whenever the maestra herself is at the helm. Baras’ curling fingers are always reaching out for something intangible, she holds her heart and shuts her eyes. When inspiration hits her feet strike the floor with unrelenting force, pounding out rhythms that reverberate through the theatre. Her musical and choreographic talents are evident, but
it is her sense of duende — impassioned performance — that elevates her to the supernatural level. One frequently has the sense that while watching Sara Baras we are watching a living legend.
The performance’s final act themed around the flight of the spirit is a real crowd pleaser. Baras asserts her prowess in the fandango, playing with her musicians through extended contrapuntal challenges while the audience eggs her on. The exhausted Baras has nothing to prove at this point but continues to whip up new frenzies of movement, she is seemingly always looking to surpass herself. For her sweat she is rewarded with four curtain calls, igniting the English audience to roar at their feet for more.