Mythology, Humanity And Flamenco Converge In ‘Circe’s Chords’

Centuries of mythology and dance combine in Circe’s Chords, a deeply feminine dance show inspired by The Odyssey’s most famous sorceress told through the power of flamenco at The Pavilion Performing Arts Centre in Sutherland in March, courtesy of the Chachy Peñalver Company. 

The production, spearheaded by Venezuelan flamenco dancer Chachy Peñalver, has already been seen across New South Wales in the Central Coast and Brunswick Heads. But speaking to City Hub, Chachy explains that a venue like The Pavilion is what Circe’s Chords was designed to be performed in. 

“The show was conceived to be played in a venue like this,” she says. “All the features they have there greatly complements what we do. The narrative, the moments that we create there on stage; I think it’s a great place to put on this production!”

Marrying the tale of Circe with the artform of flamenco has been on the back of Chachy’s mind for a long time, with the goddess taking root in her mind ever since she first read The Odyssey. “I’ve always been drawn to mythological characters because of the plurality they bring in terms of picturing human nature,” Chachy says. 

“Circe in particular is such an interesting character,” she continues. “She felt deeply… When she got mad, she transformed people into animals, but when she felt good, she was the most sweet and tender lover. I was mesmerized by embracing all that makes us human in a single character.”

How Circe’s Chords mixes myth, history and dance

For Chachy, this made it a perfect story to tell with flamenco, with its history of strong female performers: “It’s been cooking for many years, but I’ve always thought it couldn’t be more real onstage for flamenco. It’s how we see women and how we see humans, basically, because even the male figure will go to the same places to show and embrace what makes us human.” 

There’s also a deeply historical element to Circe’s Chords that ties it into mythological history and the history of femininity as a method of survival. “The show opens with a piece called No todo lo que brilla es oro, which in English means ‘not everything that glitters or shines is gold’. In its lyrics, it talks about the first encounter between Spanish people and Latin American people,” Chachy explains.

“When we were colonised, the majority of those stories speak about a very idealistic kind of love, and many people really did fall in love. But there was another narrative happening at the same time; the narrative of the abuse of women who used their femininity as a weapon to survive through dance.”

Chachy continues: “There’s another piece called Ten cuidado (‘Be careful’), which tells the story of a woman and she decides to embark on a journey of dangerous, unreliable love for the pleasure of it. And that reminded me of Odysseus and Circe, because he was warned this was dangerous territory and went in. The show reflects and speaks about a lot of these stories, which reflect on the nature of these characters.”

The team behind Circe’s Chords

Helping to bring Circe’s Chords to life are a number of Chachy’s longtime collaborators, including dancers from her company Xara Zaineddine, Michelle Cervonaro and Rachael Melky and the Arrebato Ensemble, who Chachy has been working with since she came to Australia 13 years ago. 

“It’s been a long journey of collaboration between us all,” Chachy says of her relationship with the Arrebato Ensemble, which features Greg Alfonzetti (guitar), Byron Mark (percussion and keyboard), Zoe Velez (cante/vocal) and Kieren Ray (guitar). “For years I was a dancer with them, and when I decided to start my own company, we just continued to collaborate on ideas.” 

Chachy has a similar history with Xara, Michelle and Rachael, saying they’ve “all basically been raised in my school. I opened a school when I moved to Sydney, and they started to take classes with me, and they’ve been working with me now for 13 years.”

That level of collaboration has made Circe’s Chords a dream come true to work on for Chachy. “For years I was trying to get into a production of this scale, and having the right people for it,” she says. 

“I have the dream team with me”

“That’s why it took me such a long time to get it to this point – I knew I had to slow cook it, build the right team and my own skills, so I can get to the point where I will be satisfied. I think I have the dream team with me, and I cannot be more excited to present this to Australian audiences and my community, who have always been super receptive here.” 

Chachy hopes that, when people in Sydney see Circe’s Chords, they’ll embrace the universality of the material: “I have dedicated my life to flamenco, but I find the more forms of art I use to reach people, the more that humanity resonates on the other side. It builds more bridges and brings out more humanity. 

“Circe’s Chords shows how close we are to each other, the sense that we are the same. We feel, we love, we hate, and the important thing is that’s what makes us human.” 

Circe’s Chords is playing at The Pavilion Performing Arts Centre in Sutherland on Saturday March 29th, 2025.