Arte Flamenco at Fells Point Fun Festival. October 3, 2010

Cori dancing tientos/tangos. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

It's 6am on Monday as I type these words. Surprise surprise...with the intent of catching up on lost sleep, I went to bed early last night so I got up early today. Still dark outside though.

Anywayz, here's a small selection of pics by Karl Sturzebecher from yesterday's performance at the Fells Point Festival with Arte Flamenco in Baltimore. Thanks again Karl!

Arte Flamenco dancers and musicians. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

In past years at this festival, I always relied on getting a ride with a dancer or guitarist friend. But this time, I took the train to Baltimore and got there especially early around 11:00am. We weren't going onstage until 1:00pm so I had plenty of time to chill and get some food!

My breakfast at the festival: chicharrón and Peruvian corn, yum!

The soundman was still setting up the stage. The various food kiosks were still cooking. And the large crowds hadn't arrived yet. It was very calming actually. It was the perfect transition in my half-asleep state. And later as the dancers started arriving, I was feeling pretty good. Got some food in my stomach. Got to chill for a bit and was now more awake and ready for the show!

Arte Flamenco director Natalia Monteleón. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

Of course, amidst the chaos of large outdoor festivals some tiny but important little detail gets lost in the shuffle. The dancers were promised a covered tent where they could conveniently change into costume behind the stage. But no tent was to be found. What to do? Some went into nearby restaurants and used the bathroom. Others were more courageous and changed outdoors. You're all familiar with the trick of putting the skirt on over the pants and taking the pants off, right?

Cori. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

Time passed more quickly than I thought, and before I knew it was showtime. There were still a couple of people on the road but the show has to go on as they say. And sure enough they arrived just in time as we started the first number: soleá por bulería.

Singer Hector Márquez. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

The temperature outdoors was in the mid-60's with a cold breeze. Not exactly good for the hands of a guitarist. I could handle playing rasgueos in the cold but arpeggios and scales were going to be a challenge. Kind of hard to do when the finger tips are numb. But I surprised myself and played much better than I expected!

At outdoor festivals, ideally you want it to be sunny, but you can never reliably predict Mother Nature. She did part the clouds every few minutes and let the sun peek out which helped our photographer capture some beautiful moments.

Dancer Claudia Román in alegrías. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

Claudia. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

Claudia. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

The program for the day:
Soleá por bulería
Sevillanas
Garrotín
Alegrías solo by Terrie
Tientos/tangos by Cori
Guajiras
Alegrías solo by Claudia
Soleá

Dancers Kelly and Yanira. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

The dancers for this show included:
Terrie, Jaqui, Kelly, Yanira, Maite, Cori, Natalia and Claudia.

The musicians: singer/dancer Claudia, singer Hector Márquez and guitarist Miguelito.

Maite dancing Garrotín. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

Maite. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

Terrie and Cori dancing soleá por bulería. October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

Guitarist Miguelito (that's me!) October 3, 2010 (photo by Karl Sturzebecher)

Arte Flamenco has been performing at the Fells Point Festival for a long time. Here are some pics from way back in 2003! For more information, visit the Arte Flamenco website.

PS Edwin Aparicio (who used to be a member of Arte Flamenco years ago) and his company Flamenco Aparicio performed last night at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in the Metro Dance DC Showcase. Here's video. Fast-forward to 26:28.