To the casual music listener or one less steeped in Iberian history, the pairing of flamenco dance with Arabic music may seem like stretching the cultural thread a bit.
Adva Yeremiahu – known abroad as Adva Yer – disagrees. And she should know. The Israeli flamenco dancer has been hitting the boards all over the world from her bases in Spain and Israel for a decade and a half now.
With Iraqi genes running through her veins, she is well-placed to have a balanced perspective on the gains that can be made from pairing traditional Spanish dance with Inta Omri, the easily recognizable Egyptian anthem classic with popular singer Umm Kulthum.
This confluence of cultures forms the nucleus of Yer's highly anticipated Havlaminca show that raises the curtain on this year's Dias de Flamenco (Flamenco Days) festival, 30 years after its founding, at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv (March 28-30).
A ceremonial encounter and an art form
The production's title combines the Arabic word “Hafala” – a party or celebratory gathering – and the original choreographic art form. “My grandparents didn’t listen to a lot of music, although they did listen to Umm Kulthum,” she explains. “Keep in mind that this production doesn't come directly from that [familial baggage]”.
Yer says she doesn't have to rely on her personal background to create work that aligns Inta Omri with traditional Spanish dance.
“The connection between Arabic music and flamenco is completely natural,” she points out. “It is an integrated relationship between musical scales, singing style, and musical accompaniment.” And she has some local collateral, close to home, to support this idea. “When we started working on this, my partner, guitarist and musical director for this project Manuel Casas, said, ‘Oh, these are two very similar worlds.’ They just go together naturally.
Yer backs this up with some factual content. “The roots of flamenco don't just come from old Spanish music. This isn't just… [the music brought by] Gypsies who traveled from India through France and reached Spain and Andalusia. It is the music of Andalusia [in southern Spain] “This is the cocktail of the Arab world – Al-Andalus,” evoking the Arabic name for the Iberian Peninsula.
The region in question, and the sounds emanating from the neighboring areas of Granada, Cádiz, Seville and others, ruled by the Moors between the 8th and 15th centuries, nurture a fascinating mixture of Christian, Islamic and Jewish sounds and cultures. Elements.
For Yer, her chosen style of dance and Arabic music are integral elements of the art form.
“This fusion – all these influences – is what constitutes flamenco. This makes the interface a natural fit.” There is some street-level evidence of that synergistic pudding.
“Flamenco has been linked to Arabic music many times in the past, in all kinds of ways, including Andalusian music, for example, [Israeli] Andalusian Orchestra [Ashdod]“Yer continues.
“There is one of the most famous singers in the history of flamenco music, Lola [Flores, who died in 1975]. She was from Seville and she [also] He sang in Arabic. This link has always been there. “We can see the Arab influence in places like Granada.”
Yer says it's not just about taking an instantly recognizable gem, with a prominent leitmotif, from the “Great Arabic Songbook” and mixing it with the seductive, sensual movements that are the trademark of flamenco dance.
“Taking Inta Omri and adding Manuel’s basic flamenco arrangements, along with all the artists involved, dancing over this Arabic song, there has never been a combination like this before.” They go into the brass rivets of the structural belly.
“We take Inta Omri's thematic musical phrase and work it into… [core flamenco tempo] 12-Rhythmic rhythm. We give it a flamenco-like touch while, for example, we write a message, which is a verse from a song in Spanish, over the melody colored by Inta Amri. We dance to it, but there is always a stick to support us all the way.
These feelings and the accumulated shared heritage find their way into the Havlaminka that includes, alongside Yer, Kaza, the world-famous Israeli singer Mor Karbasi, the veteran singer Yehuda “Shoki” Shoiki, the singer and dancer Tochfeld, the oud and violin player Eviatar Murad, along with, interestingly, Daniel Turn on the rhythm. The stylistic plot thickens. Dorr is best known as a jazz drummer.
“All this fusion is generating a very new sound,” Yer suggests. “It's very new and innovative.”
In a world where almost every culture's original musical textures, temperatures and colors have been stirred into an ever-full cauldron of multi-layered spiced brew played over the terrestrial airwaves and across the internet, this is quite a pretentious thing.
Yer says there is suspense, visual and musical excitement in store for the Susan Dilla Center, although she is aware of the current state of national emotional manipulation here.
“Right now, it's hard to call this production a festival, but Havlaminca is an Arabic party, and it's basically a flamenco festival — a flamenco party — all rolled together.” She feels that there is something to be said for this combination of disciplines, especially at this stage of our regional outreach.
“During these difficult times, I think this show connects people and cultures. I think that's an important value for us at this time.”
There is reliable empirical evidence for this hypothesis.
“The show premiered at AshdoDance in 2022,” she reveals, adding that the seeds of Havlaminka were planted by the head of this festival. “The artistic director of AshdoDance, Avi Levy, came up with the idea of joining Inta Omri with flamenco. “He came up with the idea and implemented it immediately.”
Yer admits that he has a special interest in the ongoing vibrant life of the Dias de Flamenco festival. “I am a member of the Amuta (non-profit) organisation. We are all flamenco women and artists,” she explains. “We run it in collaboration with the ADI Foundation.”
The Adi in question is Adi Agmoun, a passionate flamenco fan and talented dancer who died aged just 23. The institution was established in her memory by her parents Eva, David and Agmon, and for the past three decades, the festival has presented public-quality Israeli flamenco fare from here and abroad.
This year, in light of the ongoing security situation and patriotic mood, all performances were created here, with the participation of a number of Spanish dancers and musicians.
Hopefully, Yer says, the event will lift our spirits, as well as provide a feast for the eyes, ears and body.
For tickets and more information: suzannedellal.org.il/en/homepage/ and keren-adi.org/festival/
