There is so much flamenco of so-so quality that you easily forget how good the good can be. Then you see Paco Peña, and you remember that flamenco is funny and clever and sensuous, and both a serenade and lighting conductor for our sorrows.
Peña's guitar playing is so sweet and subtle, so accomplished and true, it somehow sounds like we feel. Part of the reason is simply that Peña is so accomplished, and part is his low-key stage presence. Not for him the flamboyant style of some flamenco guitarists. Instead he sits at the back of the stage with his fellow musicians (two guitarists, two singers and solo percussionist), playing with them for the dancers, and then playing on his own.
This show at Sadler's Wells is based on Peña's visit to the Peacock Theatre last year although Charo Espino is a new female dancer with a slightly more formal style.
Angel Muñoz and Ramón Martínez are every bit as good as before, with Muñoz the more elegant dancer, and Martínez bringing a rumbustious elan to the stage. His final swaggering, staggering galollop - part gallop, part loll - perfectly catches the confident slur of a tipsy lover.
The only reservation is the singer Immaculada Rivero, who was much less good than last year. A rare off night for one of Peña's fine team.
Until Sunday 12 August. Information: 0844 412 4300, www.sadlerswells.com.
Paco Pena: A Compas! To The Rhythm
Sadler's Wells
Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4TN
