GIPSY PASSION in the Point Theatre last night, is first and last a vehicle for the overhyped talents of Joaquin Corte's. From the moment he entered through the audience, stripped to the waist, to his final spot, he milked the audience shamelessly until at the end he got the response he wanted.
It was noticeable, however, that the greatest spontaneous reaction came after the zapateado of Cristobal Reyes's piece of pure flamenco in Yearning. Corte's, of course, seeks to extend the traditional flamenco of the Andalucian Gipsy into which he was born by combining it with ballet, and his choreography was most successful in Ambiguity, with the 16 women in Armani suits, and in Irradiate, when they wore magnificent black velvet dresses with white underskirts from the same designer, though truth to tell the ballet used was more akin to that of revue than of the opera house.
Partially successful was his choreographic collaboration with Marco Berriel in Bitter Romance. This was a dramatic piece, with Corte's as Death claiming Berriel, who choreographed the piece except for the farruca danced by Death, but it was marred by the conditioned audience reacting to each flourish as if to a variety act. Aida Gomez was fine in the little solo work she was given, but possibly the best thing about the whole show was the wonderful singing of the female soloist and the music, composed by leading guitarist Pepe "El Montoyita" and flute player Juan Parrilla. Even this, however, suffered by over amplification, to go with the rock concert style production, with its lighting in vivid reds, greens and purples.
A disappointing evening, with a great deal of artistic talent sacrificed for misguided self promotion.