'Imbued with flamenco': Spain's Farruquito takes Hong Kong stage

His real name is Juan Manuel Fernandez Montoya, and at 41, he has followed the steps of his grandfather, legendary dancer El Farruco.

"I was born imbued with flamenco because my family is one of the important houses of flamenco, the Farrucos," Farruquito tells AFP in an interview, beaming with pride.

"My grandfather -- the maestro -- my mother, my aunt, my brothers, my cousins, my father who sang. I was born and the soundtrack of my days was flamenco."

Now he's bringing that soundtrack -- and his impassioned stage presence -- to Hong Kong, where his show has three performances this weekend as part of an arts festival.

Visiting the city for the first time, Farruquito said his performance in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre would hold some traditional elements, "but with a modern update".

An art form that fuses song, dance and emotive showmanship, it was declared by UNESCO an intangible cultural heritage for Andalusia, a region on Spain's southern coast.

But the dance waltzes across borders, attracting aspiring foot-tappers to popular classes from Bangkok to Tokyo -- and now drawing curious audiences in Hong Kong.

"There are a lot of people from Asia who do it very well because they are very disciplined. They have a lot of respect for it."

But to truly experience it, one must be "up close to it", he said.

"Flamenco is not just a music -- it is a culture, it is a way of life."
'Stay on stage forever'
Born to a Romani family full of artists and musicians, Farruquito was declared a child prodigy when he shared the stage with his grandfather on Broadway in New York at the age of five.

By 18, he was declared "one of the great flamenco dancers of this new century" by The New York Times -- and anointed the presumptive heir to El Farruco's legacy after his grandfather passed away in 1997.

But his meteoric rise came to a sudden halt in 2004 when he fatally ran over a pedestrian in Spain and fled the scene.

Sentenced to three years in prison, he was released in 2010 -- and fearful for the end of his dancing days.

"For a long time, they erased me from the map. But it was understandable at that moment," he said.

The dancer has since rediscovered his place on stage, though he still feels the responsibility of his grandfather's legacy -- and pre-performance nerves -- three decades into his career.

"There are times when right before going on stage, I want to go home and go to bed," Farruquito said.

"But there are other times when I want to stay on stage forever -- I want to die there."