An American flamenco artist enchants audiences here and in Spain
By Linda Chase
Duende!
In Spanish folklore, duende is a supernatural spirit. In the flamenco tradition, it refers to passion and inspiration creating that moment when, through some mysterious alchemy, the dance transcends mere choreography and creates a profound experience.
For Lakshmi Basile, it’s all about the duende.
With her dark hair and expressive features, Basile radiates intensity as she dances, arms waving gracefully, body swaying, and hands clapping in time with the guitar. She strikes her heel rhythmically against the wooden floor, slowly at first, then faster, faster. Shouts of “Olé!” echo through the room. The air is charged with electricity. Dancer and audience are joined in a moment of shared passion and feeling — duende.
That was the scene at her recent performance in Santa Barbara, and those attending her show in San Pedro’s Grand Annex on Aug. 24 had the same kind of mind-blowing experience.
Basile, who goes by the stage name “La Chimi,” is a San Diego native but looks as though she just stepped out of a tablao in Seville. Her fluency in the art of gitano, or gypsy, style of flamenco has convinced even the most dubious Spanish critics that la Americana belongs in the pantheon of the world’s most accomplished flamenco dancers.
The quintessential Spanish art form known as flamenco originated in the Andalucía region of southern Spain in the 18th century. Its roots are found in the gitano (gypsy) culture that migrated to the area from India, along with Jewish and Moorish influences. From these simple folk beginnings, flamenco evolved into a complex layering of song styles, or palos, with each province developing its own distinctive version.
Flamenco is an intricate blend of el cante (the song), el baile (the dance) and el toque (the instrument). The songs, with their haunting modalities, evoke sorrow, heartache and lost love. Though not introduced until the early 20th century, the zapateado, or footwork, has become a signature element of the dance. The guitar is another relative latecomer that has become an integral part of flamenco.
The guitar is sometimes joined by castañuelas and drum boxes to accentuate the driving rhythms. In today’s eclectic interpretations of flamenco, you might also hear a violin, a flute, a saxophone, even a piano or flamenco harp. No flamenco performance would be complete without el jaleo, the raucous clapping (palmas), foot stomping and shouts emitted by performers and audience.
Lakshmi Basile’s gitano style of flamenco is rooted in tradition while allowing freedom for spontaneity and improvisation. Her earliest memory of flamenco was when she was about 3 and stood holding her mother’s hand while seeing nothing but the polka-dot ruffles of three flamenco singers. They were friends of her parents who were performers and founders of a band called the Electrocarpathians.
Literally following in their footsteps, Basile started dance lessons at 12. At 15, she had an epiphany. “I knew that flamenco was the one dance form that would allow me to fully express myself,” she said in a recent phone interview.
At 20, Basile followed her passion to Spain, where she encountered resentment from some of the other dancers. Que paso? they wondered. How did this upstart Americana get the solo gigs that by all rights should have gone to them?
“It was not an easy path,” Basile recalls. “I tried to be who I am and let go of the rest.”
More often, she found the exact opposite: acceptance, admiration, love. La Americana found herself welcomed with open arms in other circles and communities, in particular Los Gitanos. Enemies became friends, doubters turned into believers.
Basile was among the first foreign artists to win the coveted Concurso de las Minas de La Unión. Her performance at the Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Córdoba was described in a review as “un desgarrador homenaje a los románticos de lo jondo” (a heart-wrenching homage to the romantics of pure flamenco).
The ultimate benediction came from Ángel Ojeda, former Minister of Culture of Andalucía: “La única cosa americana que tiene es su pasaporte” (the only American thing she has is her passport).
Today Basile travels regularly to Spain to maintain her connection with the people and their passion for flamenco. Back home in San Diego, she teaches flamenco classes, along with private lessons and workshops. The mother of a two-year-old daughter, she is an avid practitioner of the martial arts and a believer in self-care who practices yoga and meditation.
Still, she felt something was missing. “I had to bring flamenco to me,” she realized, so she founded Alama Flamenca, a nonprofit that she hopes will help inspire a younger generation to fall in love with flamenco. Peña Flamenca Carmen Amaya, the club that it sponsors, holds monthly flamenco events in the San Diego area.
At her performance in San Pedro, presented by the Los Angeles International Flamenco Festival, La Chimi will be joined onstage by singer Pepele Méndez and guitarists Juan Medina and Pablo Heredia. Together, their formidable talents, displayed with imagination and improvisational flair, will work to create a memorable experience for the audience — moments of duende.
Linda Chase is a freelance writer based in Santa Barbara. She writes on the arts, travel, lifestyle and other topics. This feature is produced by the Journalism Arts Initiative, which is underwritten by donations from arts organizations and others interested in supporting excellence in arts journalism.