The Regeneration of the Flamenco Clothing of the National Ballet of Spain. The Decimononic Archetypes of «Zaguán»

Abstract

The general aim of this article is about contemporary flamenco costumes at the National Ballet of Spain (BNE), based on the revision that is carried out in the work Zaguán (Antonio Najarro, 2015). It is a flamenco ballet, which makes up a suite of choreographies by different references of current flamenco and which includes a testimonial legacy of Blanca del Rey's emblematic «Soleá del Mantón». From the particular prysm of the benchmark designer of stage costumes, Yaiza Pinillos, a transmutation is perceived in current flamenco aesthetics, in its design, elaboration, treatment of fabrics, research, etc. This production involved a complex process of metabolism, which returned flamenco clothing to the dawn of the 19th century, in a stylistic synthesis from a new perspective. A brief tour is made of the most significant contributions of different designers throughout the history of the BNE, considering the significance and impact of their proposals, and highlighting the complex process involved in costume design stage for a large format dance company. For this research, a documentary review has been carried out and used qualitative data from semi-structured and validated interviews carried out with six personalities related to Spanish dance and the BNE, of recognized prestige, which have been analyzed through open coding in the NVIVO10 software.

It is concluded that the flamenco stage costume, in the trajectory of the BNE, undergoes an evolution as a result of the transformations experienced in the aesthetics of the flamenco costume, influenced by the designs of fashion as an expression of its time, as well as by the development of the processes of research and production of costumes, and the variation in the way of dancing in the last fifty years, being Zaguán a clear exponent of this not fickle revolution in the national scenic imaginary.