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panish flamenco company La Fragua opened Jakarta's seventh annual Anniversary Festival on Wednesday with a bang, a stomp and a chorus of ol*s.

The show began quietly, with a solo Tango Flamenco by singer Juan Luis Trinidad Angel, known as "El Trini." Shoulders squared, hands moving expressively, he stood alone at the edge of the stage, singing a passionate song of lost love.

Flamenco emerged from the cultural melting pot of Andalusia, in Southern Spain, and its rhythms and tones carry clear traces of the Gypsy, Arabic, Andalusian and Sephardic Jewish communities that once made their homes in the region. The quaver in El Trini's voice, and the pacing of his singing are reminiscent of the Azhan, and also of Hebrew and Aramaic devotional songs. But his attitude, a particular mixture of pride and grief, was distinctly flamenco.

When guitarist Jose Manual Tudela and percussionist Raul Fernandez Rodriguez joined in, the music took on an even more unmistakably flamenco flavor. Tudela's playing was full of the taps - known as golpes - and rolling, flicking rasqueados that shape flamenco guitar's lightening-fast, multilayered sound.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, was seated spread-legged atop a wooden box called the cajon, which gives flamenco percussion its bright, almost metallic slapping sound. Sending a cloud of dust flying off the stage with each strike of his hands, Rodriguez tapped out the 12-beat measure of a Solea por Bulerias, calling the dancers onto the stage.

As the music crescendoed, dancers Jesus Herrera and Lola Rodrigues Jaramillo took the spotlight. They entered slowly, circling each other flirtatiously, looking almost as if they would take each other's hands, before erupting into a fiery dance.

Jaramillo's arms and hips swayed hypnotically and her skirt flew, while her fast footwork stayed in time, hammering out a counter-rhythm. Herrera, a vigorous and energetic dancer, executed rapid turns, his wet hair flying and sending a spray of water with each spin.

The two continued their dance of mutual seduction until a third dancer, Lucia Alvarez, emerged from backstage, looking foreboding in a black dress and red shawl. Slowly, dramatically raising her arms above her head, she stood proudly and alone, then exploded into rapid, percussive footwork that sent the other dancers offstage.

Alvarez, known as "La Pi*ona", stayed on for two phenomenal solo dances, shawl flying, feet almost a blur, hiking her skirt up her legs to show off her intricate steps, completely lost in the dance.

"When I really get to the state where I'd like to be, I don't think at all," she said after the show. "It's like being in a trance. It's like being out of this world."

La Fragua's performance was so smooth it could have been choreographed, but in fact, El Trini says, much of the show was improvised. "We always have something planned, and there's always a bit of improvisation," he said. "It's about half and half."

Like jazz musicians, flamenco performers rely on subtle cues and shared knowledge of forms to communicate with each other as the show unfolds.

Every performance is different, and even the artists never know exactly what to expect. "I mean, five hours ago, this guy was on an airplane," laughed El Trini, gesturing toward Herrera.

Considering the distance they had just traveled, the show was particularly remarkable. The musicians and dancers seemed tireless, breaking out style after dazzling style, showcasing each performer and working seamlessly as an ensemble. Flamenco aficionados describe a particularly soulful performance as having duende, being possessed by the spirit of flamenco, and La Fragua certainly had it. The audience at Gedung Kesenian seemed transported too, giving the group a standing ovation.

"The audience in Indonesia is very good," said Herrera. "They are very respectful, very attentive."

The group has been to Indonesia once before, for the Spanish Culinary week in November, and was scheduled for a second performance Thursday.

After just two nights in Jakarta, they returned home to Spain, a grueling, 30-hour trip through Amsterdam, Madrid and Seville.

"It's a long time to be on the plane," said Alvarez. "But it's worth it."