Conté de Loyo has been told she has a bewitching face, a face that embodies the mysticism, the sensuality and the spirit of independence of the people of southern Spain, whose dances she has performed around the world.
When she steps on to the tablao flamenco, her regal bearing and movements speak of centuries of sun, blood, wandering and passion that make up the life of the gypsies.
Although Ms. de Loyo is not of Spanish descent - her family comes from Serbia - she is able to convey through her dance "the deepest sorrow, the greatest joy and everything in-between" that characterizes flamenco.
"It is not the step or the music that influences you," she says. "It is an expression of the soul, an expression of truth, an expression of light, an expression of love, divine love. You draw from this inspiration so that no matter how you end up, it is always divine."
Ms. de Loyo, founder of Conté de Loyo Flamenco Theatre, Dallas' premier flamenco company, first fell in love with the Spanish dance and music as a teenager. Her father, a musician and singer, took her to a flamenco performance given by Carmen Amaya, the "Queen of the Gypsies," in New York.
She was totally electrified by the dance and felt as if she had been "taken by the throat and throttled." Ms. de Loyo, who had always been certain she would be a dancer, had at last found a venue for her talent.
After a few years of lessons in New York and San Francisco with Ciro and with Pepa Reyes, Ms. de Loyo traveled to Spain to trace the source and learn - the Andalusian gypsies. She also developed her dance style to the point where Spaniards debated whether she was from Madrid or Córdoba.
"After I got over the culture shock - my life had been so protected - I began eating everything up, drinking it in, from the way their eyes twinkled to how they pushed their hair back," she says.
Soon she was training with some of the most important flamenco companies in Spain and experiencing the gypsy lifestyle, traveling constantly while trying to keep up with her lessons.
In addition to the steps and rhythm, Ms. de Loyo learned from the gypsies the passion and mysticism that mark a person as a true dancer. She felt the music coursing through her body and taking over her every movement, creating the bewitching and sensual dance that has made flamenco famous. Ms. de Loyo calls these experiences "being there."
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She has "been there" several times, including during a performance in New Orleans, where she "was not cognizant of the physical while performing." "I was suddenly up there watching me dance," she recalls. "It didn't last long, but while it did, there was no measurement of time and space." In another instance, at the first strains of the guitar, she felt disembodied and moved with such passion that people in the audience were in awe. When she finished, she was shaking uncontrollably because of the intensity of the experience. As draining as reaching that level of connection with the music can be, it is the ultimate goal of a flamenco dancer, she says. And until a dancer achieves that loss of control over the physical, he or she cannot understand the depth of feeling that has moved the gypsies for centuries, she says. "Most people are interested in the step routines," Ms. de Loyo says, "Few are interested in learning what the art means so you can truly express yourself. I tell my students to listen to the music because it talks to them." Through her company, Ms. de Loyo teaches children and adults, who perform at local venues such as schools, theaters and community events. Prior to moving to Dallas and founding her nonprofit company in 1984, Ms. de Loyo lived in California. She spent little time in one place because, true to the gypsy way, she was constantly on the road. Now she would like to continue to teach, choreograph and bring flamenco companies from Spain to perform in Texas through grants, with donations, and the help of ticket sales. To Ms. de Loyo flamenco is more than an art form, it is her life force, and although "40,000 words flow into her mind to describe how (she feels) about it," joy is the one that encompasses the most. "Yes, joy, because (flamenco) offers me an opportunity to experience everything I could ever feel," she says. ~ back ~ |