Rafael Amargo: "I'm in the second half of the game of my life, and I just want to score goals."

BarcelonaAfter being acquitted of the charge of selling drugs in his home, the dancer Rafael Amargo is returning to the stage: he performed at the Tablao Ópera Flamenca in Madrid for two weeks in April and from June 5th he will be performing at the Byron Teatre with a small-format show accompanied by guest artists, including singer Montse Cortés, the guitarist Eduardo Cortés, the singer Joel de Pepa, singer and reciter Vicky Duende, pianist Melodie Gimard, and percussionist Israel Suárez. "I'm in the second half of the game of my life," says Rafael Amargo. "In the first half, I've done everything: I've won, I've lost, I've had more than I thought, they've freaked out more than I thought... But what I like most is that now the second half of the game of my life begins: I just want to score goals," explains the artist.

From the new show, titled Flamenco. Light and fireAmargo explains that he will "review the flamenco anthology" based on his knowledge, but is aware that he must get back on track because he still feels "very vulnerable." "The most elegant and prudent thing, what I feel in my heart, is to start from where I am. I haven't put on my boots for four years, so I can't do any jumping jacks."

For Amargo, Barcelona is a special city. He started at the Capitol Theater with María José Balañá and has a lot of respect for the local audience. "The show was called Tablao"I didn't have any pretensions, but I did have a lot of fury, a lot of fury for wanting to wake up. In Barcelona, people don't lie. If they applaud you, it's because they liked the show; if not, they bow their heads and keep quiet. And then they love you, because it's a very loyal audience," says the artist.

The Byron Theater (in the Byron bookstore; Casanova, 32) has a capacity of about 90 people, and Amargo considered using all the available space and bringing in new guests weekly: rehearsing with them from Monday to Friday. He explained that he's concentrating on dancing from "restraint" and distilling tradition, rather than from virtuosity and exploiting a very personal language. "I always like to bring the audience into the stage, so the stage will be in many places. "What I like is that people come back, because it means they've had fun or want to come back to see what happens," says Amargo. Starting in September, he also plans to hold morning shows more geared toward the tourist crowd.