Juan Siddi speaks Spanish, German, Italian, and English, but like most dancers, he communicates best without words.

Using his neck, shoulders, and torso; the controlled motions of his arms; the powerful grace of his legs; and the fiery concentration in his eyes, the young flamenco artist speaks clearly of love, longing, loss, and triumph. Mix in his vibrant collaborating guitarists and singers and the fluently energetic dancers in his troupe, and you have an ongoing, tremendously potent play without dialogue — the embodiment of the inspired passion known as duende.

Beginning Tuesday, June 23, Siddi and his company return for their second summer season in the María Benítez Cabaret at The Lodge at Santa Fe. In this intimate space where Santa Fe icon Benítez presented her own flamenco company for decades, the company performs Tuesdays to Sundays through Sept. 6 — a run of 11 weeks, compared to just five in 2008.

La María stepped back from the stage in 2007 to devote herself to teaching her Next Generation company of young dancers — and to the Institute for Spanish Arts, which she co-founded with her husband and artistic collaborator, Cecilio Benítez, years ago. She passed her torch on to Siddi, who was principal dancer for two years with her company.

"My mother is from Barcelona," Siddi said during an interview in his quiet home near the Santuario de Guadalupe. "She left Spain with her sister in the Franco years and met
my father — he is Italian — in Germany, and that was it. My brother and me were born and raised in Frankfurt.

"They liked lots of flamenco in the house," he added as he stroked a handsome, dignified cat beside him on the couch. "Nothing professionally, but for the parties and so on." In effect, the house and neighborhood and neighbors formed a peña, a group and locale devoted to nurturing Iberian culture. In that environment, Siddi started dancing. "When I was a kid, I started making my own money when I was very young, 12 or 13 years old," he said. "I was always dancing in bars. Germans love flamenco!"

Siddi had been working professionally in various companies and touring Europe for some time when his first link to Santa Fe was forged through a flamenco guitarist friend. "Through a recommendation by him, María called me," Siddi recalled, his eyes sparkling. "We met in Madrid. I was getting ready for a show for a tour in Europe; we had been rehearsing in Sevilla. Then we took the train, and I met María and Cecilio in Madrid at dinner. I had all the [publicity] material and my little video with me. The same night, we signed the contract. That was early spring, the end of winter in 2002. I came here that summer for the first time."

He liked Northern New Mexico on first sight, too. "It is so different and so far away from Spain, but this reminds me of Andalucía; the landscape is so similar. Like the dry lands. When you drive, you see the bushes all over," he said, gesturing as if pointing to the side of the road, "and the mountains. It's just in a smaller version there. But here, it is immense!"

The 2009 repertory was still being finalized when we spoke, but it will involve some set pieces and new ensemble works under such general titles as Angel de la Guarda, Encuentro, Nataraj, Pasión Flamenca, and Sabor Havana. Within those broad parameters, room is being left for additions and improvisations. The main thing, Siddi said,
is to present as authentic a flamenco experience as possible, something for which the setting at The Lodge is just right.

"Flamenco in Spain, generally is in small tablaos, like the cabaret," he pointed out. "Big production numbers in touring shows are one thing, but real flamenco is a cabaret atmosphere. There is no space to talk about. You could dance on a table.

"We know each other; we have worked together for many years," he added, referring to his musicians. "We don't want to keep things too perfectly planned. Not everything clip, clip, clip" — he measured out on the table with taps of his fingers.

This year's company dancers are Keyana de Aguero, Kerensa DeMars, Stefania Narvaez, Cynthia Sanchez, and Katherine Taylor; Carola Zertuche, director of San Francisco Theatre Flamenco, is guest artist. The musicians are guitarists José Valle "Chuscales" and Ricardo Anglada; the singers are Francisco "El Yiyi" Orozco and Vicente Griego. "I did it the opposite way from María," Siddi said with a grin. "She was surrounded by men, though yes, she did have a couple of girls. I am surrounded by women.

"Last year I made a foundation. A beginning. I'm not done with it. Once you have the foundation, you develop it. You make the embroidery to make a carpet. Of course, there will be new ideas and new numbers. It's a bigger company. It's going to be with more group pieces."

As for performance length, Siddi believes in sending audience members away happy but not full to the brim. "There will be two 45-minute sets. You do not want to give too much," he cautioned. "You never give too much in everything you do.

"You go to a movie three hours long, it's like pffft." He rolled his eyes, shrugged. "You don't come back to see the movie again. But if you finish the movie and there is something still you want to see, ah! Then you may come back. I want to leave them hungry."

Like many flamenco exponents, Siddi is as devoted to teaching as to performing, and he continues to further his own studies. From 2001 through 2005, he worked with Kathak dancers and musicians from India in an international collaborative project that toured widely. He has taught flamenco in the U.S. and Europe and locally at Santa Fe Community College; currently he teaches and choreographs privately using the School of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet studios.

"Flamenco is very hard, earthy. But it's healthy! In class, we stretch, then we get in touch with mind, spirit and body," he said, as he touched his head, his throat, and then his chest. "In flamenco, you have to be careful to stay in line. The body erect. That comes not from here" — he touched his back muscles — "but here," indicating his thighs. "And it really all comes from inside, from down here." He indicated his hips and loins. "Even the musicians say that. It comes from inside, where we are born."

What about instilling students with duende? Siddi looked reflective. "It takes commitment for flamenco, if you are a very beginner," he said. "You need to do a lot of work, and you need good flamenco shoes. They're expensive! You should order them from Spain. They are the real, the best.

"When teaching class, the thing I'm trying to create in people is the feeling of Spain. I throw all kinds of music out — I tell them, this is very important. You have to listen to a lot of flamenco, if you are not familiar with flamenco. You must look for spirit and beauty that comes from inside. People say everyone in dance should be skinny and beautiful. But what is beauty?" He gestured broadly, showing that for him, duende and professionalism are not confined only to the tiny or thin.

Speaking of his position as artistic director, Siddi said frankly, "I have a big responsibility now; the whole responsibility now is on my shoulders." On the other hand, he admitted, that has benefits as well as challenges. "Now I can form the production the way I wish — to my idea, to me personally.

"Flamenco is in my blood. To me, it is very mysterious, elegant, majestic. The music, the singing, the women and the men dancing. I always loved it, I loved to travel, it was my dream. Here I am."

details
Juan Siddi Flamenco Theatre Company
8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, June 23-25; 8:30 Tuesdays-Sundays through Sunday, Sept. 6
María Benítez Cabaret, The Lodge at Santa Fe, 750 N. St. Francis Drive, 992-5800
$25-$55; discounts for students & groups; tickets available from the Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St., 988-1234