By Liana Wilson-Graff
Sergio Bernal Dance Company marries Spanish cultural pride, theatrics, and humor with ballet
classics to create a truly unique night of dance. The company’s namesake, Bernal is a prolific
Spanish dancer and former ballet principal dancer highly trained in flamenco. He brings together
an ensemble of dancers, musicians, and a vocalist to plumb the depths of his many artistic
desires, cultural roots, and ultimately wondrous accomplishments. With this run at The Joyce,
the company performs their first evening-length work; it packs quite the punch with a whopping
11 pieces. Rather than dragging, the company ignites and drives a strong current, pulling us
along with them as we experience the range of what they are capable of as acting and dancing
individuals and as a deeply connected and joyous ensemble. The dancers and musicians takeus through original works as well as fixtures of the Spanish repertoire such as Antonio Ruiz
Soler and Manuel de Falla’s, The Three-Cornered Hat and Ravel’s, Bolero.
The pieces slide to and from ballet and flamenco, at times beautifully combining the two.
Beginning the night with the high drama of Bernal’s original work, Orgia, we immediately see
why these two styles of dance, in a way are meant for each other — they lend themselves
equally as much to soft and tender intimacy just as much as they do to bravado, posturing, and
energizing competition. Bernal and the outstanding Carlos Romero, fight for the attention of the
alluring and poised Cristina Cazorla — all of whom are award-winning flamenco dancers. As
they move through the space the humor of this piece emerges and eventually spills out so that
as an audience we break through the customary wall of silence and can’t help but laugh and
experience the fun of the piece.
As the night continues we experience the raw power of Desiré Paredes’ flamenco singing accompanied by the gorgeous sounds of Daniel Jurado’s acoustic guitar, and Javier
Valdunciel’s percussion. Most of the songs tap into the combative nature of flamenco, drawing
out the drama and pain, using fighting as a metaphor and vehicle through lyrics and sound to
bring a visceral emotional response to even the audience member who doesn’t understand a
lick of Spanish. Sometimes taking the stage on their own and often accompanying the dancers,
there is a clear connection established and practiced throughout the performance between
musicians and dancers. They understand how this genre of dance and music cannot exist
without the other and perform in reverence to that, to each other’s talents and humanity, and to
their appreciation for all of us who witness them. This is a company that is absolutely loveable.
They are endearing but powerful, passionate, and quite cutting. Above all, they are so clear
about their performance, clear on what specific facets of emotion they express while moving,
clear about the styles and qualities of dance they embody and when. Their limbs caress, mold,
and slice through the space around them as they activate every cell in the room. Sergio Bernal
Dance Company is not to be missed.
Sergio Bernal Dance Company’s A Night with Sergio Bernal is presented by The Joyce
Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) and is playing at The Joyce Theater
from October 23-27. Tickets, ranging in price from $12-$72 including fees, can be purchased at
www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are
subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street.
More information.
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