The opening section of Sara Baras’s new work is a wonder. After some atmospheric shapes thrown by her supporting dancers, men and women wearing suits, tilting microphones under conical spotlights, the star herself steps through a beaded curtain and into the limelight. In a slinky, spotty dress she crosses her wrists high above her head and then begins to dance.
She is imperious as she moves, her feet beating out rhythms with heel, ball and toe, so quick they seem impossible, arms in sinuous curves that whip across her body, turning her on her axis. She has extraordinary control of every fierce movement as the geometric shapes of the light in which she stands are cut into softer, more human curves by the sway of her body, the bend of her back. At one moment she is making thunderous sounds; at the next, her footwork fades into absolute soft silence.
At 52, and with a wealth of experience behind her, Baras has the audience in the palm of her outstretched hand, playing with their knowledge and their expectations, smiling with pleasure at her ability to entertain and dazzle. It’s a breathtaking display that gets the annual Flamenco festival at Sadler’s Wells off to a world-class start.
Alma means soul, and it combines bolero and flamenco in tribute to Baras’s father, Cayetano Pereira, who died in January. The forms combine to create a two-hour show of contrasts, of music beautifully played and sung, of dances switching between group efforts for five women and one man and individual displays of technique.
As music director, composer and guitarist, Keko Balodomero provides a score of varied moods, from melancholy to vibrant, played by an exceptional five-piece band. But although everyone plays a strong part, it is Baras who electrifies the show. She dances solo and with different partners – a man (Daniel Saltares), a saxophone player (Diego Villegas) – mirroring her moves to theirs in intricate patterns.
In her hands, even a shawl becomes a speaking thing as she hurls it in the air so it wraps her like an eagle’s wings, or pulls it around her like a second dress, straightening her body to its full height. The power and fluency of her movement is mesmeric. The warmth of her personality is infectious. She utterly owns the stage.
At the close, after several encores and much laughter, Baras was presented with the Olivier award for outstanding achievement in dance, which she won in 2020 but couldn’t collect because of Covid. It was a triumphant ending to a memorable evening.
