Carmen Flamenco dance burns Xiamen Cangjiang Theater

On September 29th, the classical Spanish flamenco dance from Seville, Carmen, debuted in Xiamen’s Cangjiang Theater. The colourful costumes, powerful drums and solo fire dance shocked the whole venue.

The opera Carmen is the culmination of Georges Bizet’s work. In the original, it was two Frenchmen who restored a traditional story of the Spaniard and  his wife.

Antonio Andrade and his Spanish flamenco dance troupe have inherited the essence of flamenco and, infused with Arab dance, jazz and salsa, showing a newly classical Carmen in many important art stages around the world. The company has taken their show to Japan, China and Russia as well as many other countries such as Panama, Turkey, Morocco, Syria and Canada.

On the night of September 29th , the precise choreography and powerful flamenco dancing burned a flame into the hearts of the audience. The climax of the show culminated in the hero's solo. In the end, everyone stood up and offered long rounds of applause.

Antonio Andrade, who takes a leading position and is the chief in this group. He was born in La Puebla de Cazalla near Sevilla, an Andalucian village full of tradition in flamenco and singing. He grew up in a family of “aficionados”, that’s what they call flamenco-lovers there. His leader from the start was his uncle Jose Menesea, a living legend in matters of flamenco-singing. It was a matter of course that Antonio started to play the guitar from a very early age as a child. What’s more, he was also a contributor in productions of other flamenco producers like “Megneten”, lead by the famous Andre Heller and groups like “Music Ensemble of Benares” of India and also the “Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco”.

This time, he came to China with his eight-year-old daughter. He told the reporter that, after the shows in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Xiamen is the third station for him and his troupe. Later they will go to Shanghai Oriental Art Centre and to the Peking Mei Lang Fan Grand Opera. “I do like Chinese food, it is really delicious!” Antonio said.

By Echo