The Jump

"The capital’s hottest dance event returns this summer to Sadlers Wells, London with twelve dance and music shows. The aptly dubbed ‘Catalan virtuoso’, Jesús Carmona, returns to Sadler’s Wells with his signature elegant, powerful choreography in tow. The former principal of the Ballet Nacional de España is trained in multiple genres, from flamenco, ballet and tap, to 17th century Italian court dances – expect a show that crosses genres and styles, pushing the boundaries of flamenco in this brand-new piece. The Jump explores art’s ability to affect personal growth, as Carmona looks at his own journey around masculinity in the 21st century."

"Sadler’s Wells Artistic Director Alistair Spalding said “I’m delighted to welcome Flamenco Festival back to Sadler’s Wells this summer with a fantastic range of contemporary and more traditional flamenco performances. The festival makes a triumphant return for the first time since 2019, with the most shows ever! It offers something for flamenco aficionados and newcomers alike.”

The opening scene begins with and all male cast in long traditional skirts, waist down, bear chested which was extremely eye catching and thought provoking.

They captivated us with their movements of wide skirts and elegant dancing to music that drew us in.

The next scene was a three piece with lead dancer Jesus Carmona, guitarist Juan Requena and singer Jose Valencia. This piece pulled on our senses as we heard the guitarist tune his guitar while Jesus mesmerised us with flamenco dancing, to which the speed of his feet were in sync along-with the singer and guitarist, who took us on a journey, enticing us to want more, engaging all our senses to go on that journey.

This flowed seamlessly to the next scene of 7 men with a wall of swinging chains as the backdrop, a modern injection of anger and passion rolled into one.

A dynamic percussive backdrop with Manu Masaedo followed on with a solo dancer and chorus of men, with bike helmets and boxing gloves, incorporating their vocal sounds and gloves tapping and banging as they went, engaging and attracting us on the whole time. Utterly Outstanding

The stage transformed with a spot light directed on a solo dancer. One soon become three and then the fourth dancer bounded onto a chair, each dancer bringing their own personal skill and flare as they danced with a passion that embodied what Flamenco was about. Traditional met modern, contemporary captivated us. Traditional vocals of The Flamenco Culture in a circle, the rhythm held by hand clapping and feet tapping - absolutely magical.

The last piece brought an element of surprise and nudity with the full cast in nude jockstraps huddled together at the back of the stage while Jesus did a final solo dance expression where he removed his under garments, his bare bottom facing the audience for a brief moment, until he joined his cast in the centre embracing each other all looking up, lights out which bought this captivating experience to a close.

The Jump was a fantastic creative, expressive cultural show with a full house of appreciation which deserved the full standing ovation that it received at the end.

Review by Muna (Marcia) Escoffery On Behalf of TurningPoint: Your Lifestyle, Your Well-Being Muna (Marcia) Escoffery is an award-winning singer/songwriter, coach, mentor/workshop creator and facilitator Sound healer/therapist founder of Angelicus Sanatio (Angelic healing).

www.sadlerswells.com