Impulso

The spectacular avant-garde choreographies of flamenco dancer Rocío Molina push at the boundaries of dance and the visual arts. She travels the world to perform her partly improvised impulsos at unusual venues such as modern art museums. This bio-doc follows Molina in the months leading up to a new show at Chaillot National Theater in Paris. Rehearsals and performances alternate with interviews with family members, friends, colleagues and accompanying musicians. Her mother explains how as a small and somewhat stocky girl wearing a pink ballet outfit, Molina found herself in Madrid surrounded by stylish flamenco dancers dressed in the more traditional black costumes. But from there she rapidly rose to the peak of her profession. Molina wants to give flamenco a sense of contemporary urgency. She wears plastic wrap rather than the classic voluminous, spotted dress, as she stamps and sways her way across the stage floor like a giant insect. This powerful dancer exudes an utterly original creativity and infectious energy in performances that give full vent to the primal power of flamenco.