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The Grande Passion
Sue Stack
She looks like a Spanish Flamenco dancer but she was actually inspired by the Mexican Folkloric Ballet…
Imagine this…
A group of dancers are on a wooden stage, their feet stamping in quick firm steps, so vigorous that they set the whole stage vibrating; the dust motes making patterns in the air, the sound reverberating throughout your body, breaking down the walls of your heart.
Before your eyes unfolds the history of Mexico in dance… the Aztecs in their feathered outfits, the peasants dancing the seasons and love, then the Spanish influence – the wide skirts swirling and swishing; abrupt powerful movements conveying emotion… and all through this the feet stamping the rhythm of life.
In this postmodern age where we are constantly reminded to respect and honour the difference between one another and between different cultures we often end up emphasizing those differences, rather than finding that which is common.
As my heart opens to the energy of the dance I feel a collapse of time, space, culture. In the ancient rhythmic stamping of the Mexican peasant expressing the ebb and flow of courtship and relationship is the flamenco of a world away.
For me, this lady is a celebration of life and heart in a way that transcends all differences and can speak to the soul within us all.
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