Flamenco dancer Sarah Hart and guitarist Miguelito at Las Tapas. August 31, 2010 (photo by Stan Peters)

It's 11-something pm on Wednesday as I type these words. My day off. Saw a movie (The American starring George Clooney). Spent a few hours reading an interesting book: "Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters." Got home around 10:30pm. I hadn't touched the guitar all day, but trust me I will make up for it after I finish this blog entry, for sure!

That picture above was from my Tuesday night gig at Las Tapas with dancer Sarah Hart. My thanks to photographer Stan Peters!

So I went to support my fellow flamencos this evening in another venue. And as it turned out, one of the dancers onstage was one that I had worked with the night before. Naturally I was already very familiar her tientos choreography but what made it especially interesting was that guitarist Behzad Habibzai's accompaniment had a couple of musically interesting twists that I hadn't heard before. I was very intrigued!

Understandably many professional dancers work out choreographies ahead of time and pretty much stick to them. And of course, they'll have bits of filler-choreography ready to pull out at a moment's notice, when the singer unexpectedly extends his letras, when the guitarist plays a longer falseta than expected, or if the dancer forgets her choreography and needs a few seconds to recall it. It happens. That's just how it is. But the important thing to realize is that the more experienced dancers can dance the same choreography with a different guitarist playing the same compás with different musical interpretation.

As for myself, the vast majority of my baile accompaniment patterns are based on the traditional ideas that everyone plays with a bit of my own interpretation mixed in. Other things that I play for dancers have come up organically in the moment when my concentration lapsed and I made a "mistake" that actually turns out sounding pretty cool which later becomes part of my repertoire. And sometimes I "steal" ideas from my fellow guitarists I see live or hear on recordings. And of course, I might actually painstakingly work out some musical phrases at home and later sneak them in during one of my shows to test them out. The dancers (and singers) do it to me so why I can't I do it to them too? :-)

There aren't that many guitarists that perform on regular basis here in DC. But what's cool is that each one has his/her own recognizable style. It happens eventually as you master the basics, try out ideas that speak to you and eventually you develop a personal "sound." But when you do this for a living (or as a serious hobby) it's very easy to fall into the rut of playing the same things all the time. I'm not saying it's a bad thing necessarily. If you play the same stuff all the time and it sounds good, expresses what you want to say musically and inspires the dancers and singers, by all means do it!

But ultimately you want to grow as an artist. I certainly do! Unfortunately I can't afford to go to Spain to study as much as I'd like. But I can still listen to and study recordings, watch videos, jam with my fellow guitarists and even schedule a lesson with one of them!

But as I realized this evening, going out to support my fellow flamencos turned out to be a lesson in itself. I left with a couple of musical ideas to play with, a fresh take on something very familiar, an extra boost of inspiration.

I'm speaking from the guitarist's perspective of course. But I'm sure the same principle applies to dancers too! So while I continue to incessantly tweet, blog, and announce in Facebook and my website all my shows and the shows of colleagues, go out there and check out the shows. Not just to support your fellow flamencos...but to actually learn something new.

Anywayz, I'm going to keep this blog short. I can't wait to play my guitar!

That's me, Miguelito, in June 1995 at the Washington Folk Festival (photo by Stan Peters).

It's 11:55am on Monday as I type these words. I'm not going to lie. Summer has been fun so far, but not much to report flamenco-wise. I mean over the past few months I could've easily cranked numerous blog entries about the the same people, places and events you've read about before. Come to think of it, that's pretty much what I do most of the time anyway.:-) But regardless I've been sticking to my primary mission: to keep the local community of what's going on (even if there isn't much going on).

Lately, my longtime photographer friend Stan Peters has been uploading some old flamenco pics to Facebook. "Old" is relative term of course. But I mean old as in from the 90's. That pic of me you see above was taken in 1995 at the Washington Folk Festival. I was 28 at the time and having the time of my life. I was pretty much the only young 20-something guitarist in the DC area at the time.

The other "young flamenco guitarists" at the time like Richard Marlow, Ramin Rad and Behzad Habibzai didn't arrive on the DC flamenco scene until a few years later. In the meantime I was getting calls left and right and doing everything from the low-paying and non-paying street festival gigs to the full-fledged theatre performances. (Full-disclosure: I had a full-time office job too so I could afford to take on low paying and free gigs at the time.)

While I was thrilled with the idea of getting paid for doing what I love, money wasn't my main motivation. It was, and still is, a lot of fun playing guitar for dancers (and singers too when we are lucky to have them). And it's an added bonus to perform for a live audience. The idea of sharing this most beautiful art form with others motivates me again and again each time I'm about go onstage.

[photo on the right by Stan Peters, taken at the DC Feria de Sevilla in 1997]

Fast forward to current day and things are pretty much the same. I'm a little older and presumably a little wiser too. :-) I still get that thrill each time I go onstage (I'm not exaggerating...I really do!) and money, despite the hard economic times, is still not a motivational factor.

But 2011 is approaching and June 1st of that year will mark 20 years that I've been involved in the DC flamenco scene! So while 20 is just an arbitrary number, it's a good time as any to reflect on where I've been and where I'm going and to think about how the DC flamenco scene has evolved.

Yeah I admit that seeing pictures of myself from the 90's has got me in a nostalgic mood. But enough about me. What do I have in store for you, my loyal readers? Well for starters I'm scheduling interviews with some of the older generation of DC flamencos some of whom were active in the scene long before I arrived in 1991! It'll be very interesting to get their take on how things have evolved, how things have changed and how things have remained the same over the past 20 years.

And while I'm at it, I'll start interviewing some of the current younger generation of flamencos and not just the performers and teachers, but also the local students and aficionados. Not all of us are destined or striving to become full-time artists but in a way being an amateur is in a way a more noble approach: when the amateur does flamenco, it's purely for the love of the art and etymologically, amateur does mean lover anyway.

Anywayz, let's get back to the regular blogging format and let me talk about the pics you see here from my gigs the past week or so...

Pam de Ocampo, Miguelito and Jen at Hispano Fest 2010 in Millsboro, Delaware. August 22, 2010 (photo by Richard)

I've been doing the Hispano Fest in Delaware for a long time mostly at the invitation of my dancer friend Micaela, but previously a few times with Arte Flamenco. I know what you're probably thinking: that I probably squeezed in a visit to the beach or made a whole beach weekend out of the gig. But sorry to disappoint you but I didn't. A few times over the years I did go, but this time around I went out for some margaritas afterwards with Micaela and the other dancers to relax and catch up.

Pam and Jen dancing Sevillanas as Micaela Moreno provides palmas. August 22, 2010 (photo by Richard)

If you think you see raindrops in the above pic, you are right. It did rain and it poured. As luck would have it, it happened during our show. But at the same time, our audience braved the rain, at least those who were lucky enough to have umbrellas.

And while we had a roof over the stage, us performers got a little wet too! But what can I say? We're experienced pros and we went on without losing a beat, so to speak. I think at one point I was laughing so much on stage. We all were. I can only speak for myself, but I was laughing with joy seeing all the audience members that braved the rain and I was laughing with joy that despite the rain we were all feeling especially inspired.

August 22, 2010 (photo by Richard)

Of course, I've worked with dancers Pam de Ocampo and Jen many times over the years, but I was thrilled to have Micaela join us onstage. She's a very close friend and unfortunately for us in DC she lives all the way out in Delaware so I don't get to see her very often.

Jen dancing tientos/tangos. August 22, 2010 (photo by Richard)

A few days later, I was performing at El Manantial in Reston, Virginia. It's been a couple of months since the last time I think. I've been performing at this venue on and off since 2005. My friend RJ was first to get this gig going back then. So a big thank you to RJ for taking the initiative.

Many of my colleagues have performed here at El Manantial, but this particular Friday, I had the pleasure of working with dancers Ginette Perea and Pam de Ocampo and singer Gerard Moreno.

Dancers Ginette Perea and Pam de Ocampo at El Manantial in Reston, Virginia. August 27, 2010

Attendance could've been slightly better but we had a very appreciative audience. One lady came up afterwards to show us a photo of a painting she did a while back. Depicted in painting were dancers Pam de Ocampo, Sara Candela, singer Gerard Moreno and yours truly Miguelito! I gave her my card and asked to her email me digital photo that I hope to share with you here very soon.

Singer Gerard Moreno with Pam and Ginette. August 27, 2010

I'm not going to lie, while I'm into flamenco for the art, I do enjoy the little perks of being a performer. After we changed into street clothes, we walked through dining room to get some dinner, the audience gave a us another round of applause. Loved it!

Show's over. Time to get some dinner! Pam, Ginette and Miguelito. August 27, 2010

Of course, I'll love it even more if they tell their friends to come out to see the show next time at El Manantial. I'm sure I'll have a specific date for the next one coming up in September!

Speaking of September, it's going to be a busy month! Here's a quick rundown of what's coming up:

• September 1, 2010 Ziva's Spanish Dance Ensemble at Village of Friendship Heights in Chevy Chase, Maryland
• September 11, 2010 Furia Flamenca in the Arts on Foot Festival at Harman Center for the Arts
• September 11, 2010 Flamenco Aparicio Dance Company in the Arts on Foot Festival at Harman Center for the Arts
• September 16, 2010 Natalia Monteleón's Arte Flamenco at Jalapeño's in Annapolis, Maryland
• September 17, 2010 Flamenco Aparicio Dance Company in "Alma Flamenca" at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore
• September 18, 2010 Furia Flamenca in the H St Festival
• September 18-26, 2010 Manuel Liñán Flamenco Master Class at DC Dance Collective
• September 18, 2010 Furia Flamenca in the "Here I Stand Award" presented to Rita Moreno at the Lincoln Theatre
• September 19, 2010 Furia Flamenca at the International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap's Global Stage in Vienna, Virginia
• September 25, 2010 Furia Flamenca at the Reston Multicultural Festival in Reston, Virginia

For further details, visit my calendar page at DCFlamenco.com!

Flamenco dancers Emily Mazzotti and Sara Candela performing Sevillanas at L2 Lounge in Georgetown. July 1, 2010

It's almost 11pm on Monday as I type these words...my second blog entry in one day! This past Thursday International Club of DC hosted "An Evening in Madrid: Flamenco and Paso Doble Dance Performance" at L2 Lounge in Georgetown.

For the flamenco portion of the evening the featured artists were Emily Mazzotti and Sara Candela, both of whom danced beautifully!

Sara and Emily. July 1, 2010

The music wasn't live however. They used CD's. But I'm not going to make too big a deal about this. Although, it felt a little strange that someone who was fully capable of accompanying these dancers on guitar, that's me, instead was standing right in front of them watching the show. But the reality is that it's a matter of economics and it's cheaper to use a recording instead of live musicians. Still a very enjoyable show nonetheless! And I suppose any opportunity to present a flamenco show to a new audience is a good thing for the flamenco community as a whole.

Interesting concept: a ribbon to establish a boundary between the audience and the performance space. It worked! July 1, 2010

So for the past couple of months, International Club of DC (ICDC) has been hosting these Spanish-themed evenings and featuring flamenco performances at L2 Lounge and at other venues including Cafe Citron's third floor VIP lounge. There's always a modest cover charge, but it's for a good cause. According to their website ICDC is "Washington's premiere organization for internationally-minded professionals who enjoy international cultural experiences as well as social, educational, and outdoor events while helping the community."

Sara. July 1, 2010

When I arrived, I ran into some of my Romanian friends, Sandra and Diana. Of course, they've known me for years and they knew why I was there: to take pictures of the show. They stood by closeby assuming I knew where the show was going to take place. Truth is that I didn't know. This was my first time to see the flamenco show at L2 Lounge.

ICDC has done cultural events for years in venues ranging from embassies to clubs like L2. So right before the show started, one of the organizers, Marina, cordoned off the performance space with a ribbon...an ingenious idea if you ask me. It discouraged people from walking across the "stage" during the show. And it worked!

Emily. July 1, 2010

The next Spanish-themed party will be August 5, 2010: A Chocolate Feast in Spain: 12 exquisite Chocolates and Truffles masterfully pared with Cava, Red, and White Wines from Spain which includes FREE admission to Flamenco party at L2 Lounge.

Domingo and Chris, the dancers' most loyal supporters: their husbands! July 1, 2010

Sara and Emily. July 1, 2010

Dancer Emily Mazzotti with a few of my fashionably-dressed friends: Diana, Sandra and Lloyd. July 1, 2010

I hope you enjoyed these pics. I'm going to try and get started on a third blog entry for today. Ciao for now!

Furia Flamenca members Karina, Estela Velez (director), Evlyn, Sylvia, Amy and Lauren opening the show with Sevillanas. June 30, 2010

It's 9-something pm on Monday, the day after Independence Day, as I type these words. I'm behind on blogging as you know, yada yada yada...but hey, cut me some slack: I've been busy performing! And I'm just one of those types that can't just blog like it's a job. I have to be in the mood. Ugh...yeah I know. Us artists can be so temperamental. :-)

So this past Wednesday, DC-based dance company Furia Flamenca gave a free performance at The Forum at Harman Center for the Arts in Chinatown. With camera in hand, I did what I do best: document the DC flamenco scene wherever and whenever. Being the struggling artist that I am, when admission is free, you can bet I will cover it! :-)

Sylvia. June 30, 2010

Of course when admission is free, sometimes more people will show up then there are seats available. So when the theatre doors open, the competition for prime seats can be aggressive. Unfortunately, I arrived 10 minutes before showtime, and there was a crowd already waiting to get in, so I pushed my way through to the front of the line acting like I was a member of the press...which I am, in a way. When the doors opened, my guitarist friend Torcuato Zamora caught my eye and said hello but I kept our conversation very brief. You see...I was on a mission to get a good seat and no senior citizens or moms with baby carriages were going to stand in my way! :-)

Evlyn and Sylvia in Garrotín. June 30, 2010

Don't be fooled by the appearance of The Forum when you first walk in. Yeah it looks like a meeting room but if you look up at the ceiling, there's a pretty decent array of stage lights ready to transform the space into a very intimate theatre. There were about 100 people in attendance...yeah I counted. After a few introductory remarks by member of the theatre staff, the house lights dimmed and the stage lights beautifully illuminated the dance floor as Furia Flamenca made their entrance opening the show with Sevillanas.

Estela and Amy providing palmas as Torcuato Zamora plays a bulería. June 30, 2010

They were accompanied as usual by flamenco guitarist Torcuato Zamora with a special appearance by an amazing percussionist from Puerto Rico named Coco who played the cajón.

Tanguillos de Cádiz. June 30, 2010

During the 50-minute performance I took about 300 photos...that's about 1 photo every 10 seconds! Of course, in the interest of catching up on blogging, I just randomly chose just a few to publish here. Enjoy!

Furia Flamenca director Estela Velez introducing her dancers and musicians and promoting future performances. June 30, 2010

That's all for now. I promised myself I'd crank out at least one more blog tonight, so moving on! For more information about Estela Velez and Furia Flamenca, visit www.Furia-Flamenca.com.

Discussing the program. From left: guitarist Wilver Hernández, singer Naíto, guitarist Hector Márquez, percussionist Mateo Romero and dancer Sarah Hart. May 28, 2010

It's 1-something pm on Monday...a mere 12 hours since I last published a blog entry today! It's 85° F and sunny outside and yes, I am indoors in front of my Mac, but I can't help it. The sacrifices I make for the DC flamenco community! :-) Seriously though I'm in the mood to publish something so here goes...

This past Friday, a group of some friends of mine that I like to call "Los Jovenes Flamencos," who all happen to be in their early 20's, performed in a fundraiser concert at St Michael Archangel Catholic Church in Silver Spring. I wasn't able to go, but fortunately Hector's sister Marylin and members of Wilver's family took pics. Enjoy!

Hector. May 28, 2010

Hector writes: "It was a night of flamenco and tapas to help raise money for the youth to go to the pilgrimage in Madrid, Spain in 2011. The show started off with Wilver playing a minera, next an alegría, fandango libre, and tientos to finish the first set. Mateo started off the second set with a tarantas then a tangos, soleá, and we finished off with a bulería! The event overall was a success and they treated us very well. It was a lot of fun performing with flamencos around the same age. We are all young and still learning about flamenco as we go along. The fact that there were three guitarists on stage and everyone took on a different role to play was interesting and proves that we don't just limit ourselves to just one aspect of flamenco."

Sarah. May 28, 2010

I had a chance to talk briefly with Hector on the phone...

Miguelito: So do you think you will all work together again in the near future?

Hector: Hell yeah!

M: Cool...so this was the first time with this combination of artists?

H: Yeah.

M: I remember you had more or less the same group in 2008 but with dancer Ginette Perea. It's good to see you all continuing to work, learn and grow together. So did you guys do a lot of rehearsal? Or did you wing it most of the way? Or a little of both?

H: A little of both.

M: What would say was the highlight of the show...the part that you're most proud of?

H: Everything to be honest, everything.

Mateo and Hector. May 28, 2010

Hector went on to explain that the night before they all celebrated Naíto's birthday. Knowing Hector and his friends they probably had an all-night juerga. And, I'm willing to bet they slept-in late and arrived at the gig with just enough time to discuss the program, get dressed and warmed-up and go onstage.

Of course being good friends and young flamenco artists with more or less the same level of accomplishment they already have mutual respect and camaraderie which is usually good for chemistry onstage. Without a doubt, these guys love to play and sing all night long and although I wasn't there for the performance last Friday, I'm sure what the audience saw was a bunch of friends having a good time expressing themselves the way they know best through the art of flamenco.

Wilver warming up. May 28, 2010

A little digression: I started performing in flamenco shows when I was 24, a late starter I guess you could say. I was the dance class guitarist for the Blanca Luz Dance Academy in Buena Park, California. Sure enough I was recruited to do shows early on. And while I did acquire some knowledge sitting alongside veteran flamencos at juergas in the Los Angeles area I really didn't know that much but went out and performed anyway. Not in a disrespectful way of course. I prepared as much as I could. Some things you can only learn with experience.

Thing is that there's only so much you can learn in a lesson and perfect in the practice room. You have to go out there and put yourself under the pressure of the stage. There are no do-overs. And things can and will go wrong and you have to deal with them and go on with the show.

I'm sure there were people saying things about me in the beginning (probably still to this day...haha) when I was putting myself out there in performance despite my inexperience. And some would say it to my face...not very pleasant I admit. But I learned from those encounters and am still learning. It's part of the initiation of becoming a performer.

Wilver onstage opening the show with a minera. May 28, 2010

Mateo, Naíto, Hector and Wilver. May 28, 2010

Being a veteran flamenco here in DC, it pleases me to see these young flamencos growing and learning very much in the same way I did when I was their age. They're actively studying on their own of course. And while I've passed on bits and pieces of wisdom over the years, I know that deep down inside it's better for them to learn from experience. And I better be nice to them, because they'll be the ones taking over my tablao shows when I get old and have arthritis!

Naíto, Sarah and Hector. May 28, 2010

Mateo, Naíto and Sarah. May 28, 2010

Mateo, Sarah, Naíto, Hector. May 28, 2010

Mateo, Sarah and Naíto. May 28, 2010

Mateo playing tarantas. May 28, 2010

Naíto and Hector. May 28, 2010

Sarah, Naíto and Hector. May 28, 2010

Naíto accompanying Hector in the fin de fiesta bulerías. May 28, 2010

Naíto, Hector, Wilver and Sarah. May 28, 2010

Mateo, Naíto, Wilver, Hector and Sarah. May 28, 2010

Congrats to Los Jovenes Flamencos! I'll definitely announce future performances. But in the meantime, stop by Bodega on the weekends and head back to the Matador Room. That's where you'll usually find Hector, Naíto, Wilver and Mateo playing and singing flamenco late at night. Be sure to tell them Miguelito sent you! ;-)

Flamenco guitarist Miguelito and dancer Ginette Perea. Seanie comments, "Study of Ginette Perea, dancing from the waist up: She is sprawled on the floor, and Pérez crouches beside her as Blue shoots from a distance to compress the focal plane. Shot on a 185mm zoom MF Nikkor lens which is the favorite of model train enthusiasts." May 29, 2010 (photo by Seanie Blue)

It's 1-something am on Monday as I type these words..the last day of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Just got home after spending the evening at the Georgetown Waterfront with a friend. Of course we stopped by Bodega and after consuming a very potent pitcher-and-a-half of white sangría I seriously had to lie down. But that was an hour ago and now I'm sobered up and wide awake!

So this past Saturday my flamenco dancer friend Ginette Perea and I returned to the new arts/music space "The Wonderbox" but this time to do a shoot with photographer Seanie Blue. Although we had been to the "Box" only once before, it was already feeling like home mostly because Seanie, being an artist himself, had a pretty good idea of what to say and do to make us feel comfortable.

Seanie comments, "...the session goes for 3.5 hours, has five costume changes, and consumes 1,238 photographs. Manual lenses, focused each time, dancing subject! But the results are cool."

Miguelito with Ginette. May 29, 2010 (photo by Seanie Blue)

But I'm not a dancer. I'm a flamenco guitarist and while I do think about "getting into character" when I'm onstage, most of my energy goes into playing the guitar, getting into the mood for each palo and accompanying the dancer and singer to the best of my ability. And if I look a little less than photogenic from time to time, it doesn't really matter all that much since the audience is drawn visually to the dancer, most of the time, right?

So Ginette and I arrive at The Wonderbox and we chat awhile with Seanie, get an idea of his vision and eventually we walk over to the studio. There were these fancy lights with shiny umbrellas on them which I expected to see. What I didn't expect was that these were all daisy-chained by a cable that terminated at Sean's camera. I think the way it works is that the lights give him illumination so he can focus his camera and when he presses the shutter button all the lights (three separate ones) go off with a flash.

Another study of Ginette Perea. May 29, 2010 (photo by Seanie Blue)

But the flash is more than just to brighten things up of course. It allows Seanie to manipulate the direction and intensity of the light to achieve whatever his vision is. One thing he mentioned to us afterwards was that he had to compensate for the fact that I had darker skin tone than Ginette's...yeah I spend a lot of time outdoors. Not that he wanted us to look the same but so that I didn't appear excessively dark or that Ginette didn't appear ghostly white. So he had me closer to the lights most of the time.

Anywayz, I don't know that much about the technical side of studio photography. But my job that day was to be one of the photographic subjects. He knew that Ginette would take to this naturally since being a dancer she was accustomed to painting a picture through the movement of dance. I on the other hand, was very dependent on direction from Seanie. And while most of the time, he'd ask me do things that I didn't naturally do (like look away from the dancer) or remind me to raise my chin (I'm used to chin down from watching my hands), he assured me that his job was to make us look good.

Miguelito and Ginette. Seanie comments, "The staircase was pulled from the old Tivoli Theatre, loaned by Ron at the Brass Knob Warehouse, and structured by Andy Cassatt." May 29, 2010 (photo by Seanie Blue)

Seanie comments poetically about one of the photos, "One of perhaps 10,000 poses Gin struck during a tiresome but thrilling shoot. She is a bundle of energy, a gyro of wills and unexpressed dreams; in the shadows of Michael's icy determination to make the instrument his perfect horse, leaping at a whisper instead of a touch, she is like a spill of lava into a nighttime of possibility. Working with these guys was utter pleasure."

The feeling is mutual Seanie!

Miguelito playing guitar at the grand opening of The Wonderbox. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

It's 11-something am on Wednesday as I type these words. As usual, I'm doing my blogging at a cafe using free WiFi while getting my caffeine fix.

So this past Sunday, flamenco dancer Ginette Perea and I were invited to perform at the grand opening of The Wonderbox, a new art/music space in DC founded by Seanie Blue and Andy Cassatt.

Among the guests were many fellow artists from musicians to dancers to actors to photographers to videographers and more! And while I could've handed my camera to someone in the audience to take pics of our flamenco show, instead I waited to see what some of photographers in attendance that evening would come up with.

My friend Andrés Jacome Melkonian gave me permission to republish here some of his work...thanks Andrés!

Miguelito again. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Flamenco dancer Ginette Perea. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Ginette. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Ginette. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Ginette. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Ginette. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Ginette. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Ginette. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Ginette. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Ginette. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

Ginette. May 23, 2010 (photo by Andrés Jacome Melkonian)

After the show, Ginette, stunning as usual, mingling with some of the invited guests and artists. From left: Sandra Bishop, Ricardo, Andrés Jacome Melkonian and James Mercé Edwards. May 23, 2010 (photo by Miguelito)

As you can see, Sandra was in costume as "MozTart" for her performance later that evening. :-) Here's a sample of one of her hilarious videos on YouTube. And yeah, she's a flamenco dancer too. I used to do shows with Sandra all the time in the 90's.

The guy on right, James, is a filmmaker. I played guitar on the soundtrack (by composer Nicolas Laget) for one of his films last year!

Before the show, Ginette with Seanie Blue (one of the founders of Wonderbox) and the videographer Halldóra Mark. I've known Sean since the early 90's and did some flamenco performances with dancers in at least one of his films (Popé and the Alien) and many performance art pieces at the Blagden Alley ArtScience Warehouse.May 23, 2010 (photo by Miguelito)

Farruca. May 15, 2010 (photo by Gail Kapsambelis)

It's 4-something pm on Friday as I type these words. The weather's gorgeous again and I'm indoors at my neighborhood Starbucks. Sipping an iced café americano by the window watching the people walk by...so much for concentrating on writing this blog. Oh well. :-)

So last Saturday Arte Flamenco performed in its 10th annual student recital. Of course, it was scheduled the same time as my weekly gig at Cafe Citron so I couldn't go, but thank God my new dancer friend Franciska came through with photos from the recital. Here's a small random selection for your enjoyment.

Sevillanas. May 15, 2010 (photo by Gail Kapsambelis)

I've performed for quite a few of Arte Flamenco's student recitals over the years so I have idea what it was like. I have a lot of good memories from the rehearsals, the recitals themselves and the after parties. Good times. Quite a few of her former students have gone on to become experienced soloists in the DC area working with me extensively in tablao: Marta Chico Martín, Sara Jerez, Courtney Bernal, Karina Araujo, Aleksey Kulikov, Pam de Ocampo and the list goes on.

So the "game" that we old timers like to play is trying to predict who will be the future performers. What do you think?

Sevillanas. May 15, 2010 (video still by Ae-Hyun Shin)

I could make up some text to fill-in the space here, but it would be better to get some quotes from Arte Flamenco students. So if you were in the show or in the audience, please email me your thoughts and I might publish them here. Thanks!

In the meantime, you can get more info about Arte Flamenco and their director/teacher Natalia Monteleón at the Arte Flamenco website.

Claudia Román. May 15, 2010 (photo by Gail Kapsambelis)

Bulerías with singer Hector Márquez, dancer Natalia Monteleón and guitarist Henry Jova. May 15, 2010 (photo by Gail Kapsambelis)

Farruca. May 15, 2010 (video still by Maureen Martin)

Farruca. May 15, 2010 (video still by Maureen Martin)

Singer Hector Márquez. May 15, 2010 (video still by Maureen Martin)

Guitarist Henry Jova. May 15, 2010 (video still by Maureen Martin)

Guajiras. May 15, 2010 (photo by Gail Kapsambelis)

Sevillanas. May 15, 2010 (photo by Gail Kapsambelis)

Tientos. May 15, 2010 (video still by Maureen Martin)

Natalia Monteleón. May 15, 2010 (video still by Maureen Martin)

Torcuato Zamora, Henry Jova and Hector Márquez. May 15, 2010 (video still by Maureen Martin)

Singer Gerard Moreno and Miguelito rehearsing with the students in the dance class studio. May 6, 2010 (photo by Nikki Everette)

It's midnight on Thursday as I type these words. Yup and this'll be the second blog entry tonight!

After about a year-and-a-half "sabbatical" I got back into playing for dance classes again in the Spring of 2010.

I was already playing for Marsha Bonet-Savchenko's classes at Regan Dance Center (in Landmark Mall, Alexandria, Virginia). I mentioned Marsha already in a blog a few weeks ago.

Then my singer/guitarist friend Gerard Moreno referred me to professor Miriam Phillips aka "La Miri" who teaches flamenco at the University of Maryland, College Park.

When I showed up for La Miri's class for the first time I was actually a few minutes late. Of course I had played for hundreds of dance classes over the years (I've probably been to more dance classes than your average flamenco dance student!) with many different teachers, so I was pretty confident that I could handle whatever she asked me to play.

It was also my first time to meet La Miri in person so I didn't really set myself up for making a good first impression. Grrr...but as I walked in she was in the middle of making some introductory remarks about the history of flamenco so I quietly grabbed a chair, picked a suitable place to sit, tuned my guitar and waited for her cue.

Working on individual interpretation. May 6, 2010 (photo by Nikki Everette)

She asked me to tell the class about myself, so I did. But it turned out that they knew about me anyway because she had referred her students to my website, DCFlamenco.com already, yay! Long story short...my reputation preceded me, so to speak, La Miri and I "clicked" right away and things got off to a good start on the very first day.

The class is an upper division course geared towards dance majors but there were auditors. So basically it was a mix of levels and abilities. Bearing that in mind, professor Phillips kept it simple by focusing on a palo with an easy-to-grasp compás: Farruca. So just about every Tuesday and Thursday for 13 weeks that's what we worked on: basic flamenco technique and choreography for Farruca.

In performance: final pose of the Farruca. May 6, 2010 (photo by Nikki Everette)

I'm not going to lie to you. Playing the same compás of Farruca over and over again can be very tedious, but my role as the class dance accompanist is still very important. For one thing, I'm helping the students learn to associate specific routines in the choreography with specific musical sounds. So that when they're at home working on it (or at least thinking about it) they're also hearing the music in their heads.

Also, when professor Phillips is breaking down the more complicated steps at a slower tempo, I'm also providing accompaniment at that slower tempo customizing the music to best support rhythm of the step. Of course you can do that too, to a certain extent, with Solo Compás recordings which present the rhythms of flamenco at various speeds for instructional purposes. But it's so much more efficient with a live experienced accompanist! No need to press play or find a track on a CD or iPod...pffft! Most of the time I could read the professor's mind and knew exactly what she wanted me to play and what tempo and she didn't have to even cue me!

In performance: Sevillanas. That's Gerard and I in the back on the left. This is in the Dance Theater at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. May 6, 2010 (photo by Nikki Everette)

Fast forward 13 weeks later...professor Philllips' flamenco class had the exciting opportunity to participate in an informal works-in-progress concert sharing the program with other dance student performances. Singer Gerard Moreno joined us onstage which added so much to capturing the mood of the Farruca and the Sevillanas.

I had a blast and I'm pretty sure the students did too. Hopefully at least of few of them have been inspired to explore flamenco further. But I know what the other flamencos in the DC community are wondering: are there some future performers aka competitors amongst these students? I do see some potential, but I'm not going to elaborate. ;-)

Yeah, that's one of the perks of playing for dance classes: you get to see students progress and you can keep an eye out for prospective talent, nurture them and recruit the more talented ones for my roster of dancers for my shows! Muahahaha!!! Just kidding...kinda sorta. :-)

DC-based flamenco singer Maestro Manolo Leiva with visiting Chicago flamenco dancers Cristina Gutierrez (left) and Grey Kelley. May 4, 2010

It's 10-something pm on Thursday as I type these words. Yeah I chose to stay in and catch up on sleep but at this rate I'll be up for a couple of hours working on this blog and maybe a second one later tonight.

So last week on May 3rd and 4th, the DC area's most prestigious and expensive Spanish restaurant, Taberna del Alabardero, presented a two-night run of the show, Forever Flamenco by artists from Chicago namely:

Dancer/director Azucena Vega
Cristina Gutierrez, dancer
Grey Kelley, dancer
Ricardo Santiago, dancer
and guitarist David Chiriboga.

The poster announces Jesús de Araceli but he couldn't make it at the last minute (I heard it was due to visa problems) so guitarist David Chiriboga took his place.

Soul & Duende is a flamenco dance company based in Chicago and Madrid, Spain

Of course, being a performer myself, I was busy both nights the Taberna show took place. But after I finished up my show at Las Tapas on Tuesday, I rushed on over to say hello, take a few pics and hang out with the flamencos from Chicago.

Dancer Debra Belo and singer/guitarist Marija Temo with Pablo Rodarte who literally just flew in from Colorado to give a workshop in DC. May 4, 2010

Saw a couple of familiar faces as soon as I walked in such as Sarah Hart, Jason Vera y Aragón, Marija Temo and a few others who wish to remain anonymous, wink wink. ;-) I heard that Edwin Aparicio stopped by earlier.

Anywayz, I said a quick hello to the locals and welcomed the artists visiting from out-of-town but not just the Chicagoans. Dancer Ricardo Santiago came down from New York. Dancer Pablo Rodarte flew in from Denver and came straight to Taberna from the airport! Local legendary singer Manolo Leiva even came out...as it turns out his picture is on the wall of celebrities here at Taberna.

Maestro Manolo Leiva and Pablo Rodarte with Chicago-based dancer Azucena Vega. May 4, 2010

Although I did miss the show, at least I got to make a few new friends. And yeah I added them all on Facebook as soon as I got home that night. Haha. As for Azucena Vega, I did play for a workshop she gave more than ten years ago at Joana del Río's home studio in Vienna, Virginia.

It was my first time to meet Pablo Rodarte. If you visit his website, you'll read on the very first page: "Pablo Rodarte and Gloria Mandelik are the only Americans who have been recognized and honored in the celebrated film documentary 'Rito y Geografia del Baile Flamenco.'"

Wow...that's quite an honor! Anywayz, I heard that the workshop he gave at Joy of Motion studio was a success. One class focused on palmas and contratiempo and other I think was a class to learn choreography for tangos and bulerías.

From left...DC-based dancers Sarah Hart and Jason Vera y Aragón with Cristina Gutierrez, Ricardo Santiago (really from New York but comes to DC so often he's one of us now), Chicago-based guitarist David Chiriboga and DC based-singer Hector Márquez. May 4, 2010

So that's about it. Just a quick report of what went on at Taberna in case you didn't make it. Stay tuned...I'm going to crank out another quick blog later tonight. Ciao for now!

Miguelito at a dance showcase organized by Marsha Bonet-Savchenko. April 24, 2010 (photo by Gerasimo Borneo)

I'm just going to come out and say it: yeah, I've been slacking on the blogging lately. It's been more than two weeks since my last entry. But I have a good excuse: I've been busy with flamenco gigs left and right!

So what have I been up to? The usual weekly tablao gigs of course, plus school shows, private shows, dance classes, going to my colleagues' shows too! So much to cover but let me begin with last night's gig since it's still fresh in my mind.

Do you remember Marsha Bonet-Savchenko? I met her about five years ago when she first arrived from Orlando, Florida to check out the flamenco scene here in DC. Life happened, she got married and focused on her ballroom career and we lost touch for a few years. But a few months ago, we reestablished contact and I started playing for her flamenco dance classes again and was invited to perform in a dance showcase.

The above pic was from the dress rehearsal but the show pics will be coming soon. Look carefully. Notice anything unusual in the pic?

The Line 6 Relay G30 Wireless Guitar System

Of course, wireless for musicians has been around for decades. I got my first wireless lavalier microphone way back in 1996, that's 14 years ago! But back then it was the analog kind. The signal from the microphone had to be compressed before sending out over the airwaves and then expanded back when it reached the receiver. The result was that the sound was changed...usually not in a good way. Not to mention the fact that it was subject to occasional interference from nearby TV and radio stations.

But the maker of the wireless system I just got, Line 6, converts the microphone signal to digital instead so the sound of my guitar is faithfully reproduced (as far as digital is concerned) back in the receiver without the "squashed" effect of companding (compression and expansion) that is typical of analog wireless.

Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with more techno babble. The point is that wireless for musicians has improved greatly and it just makes my job a whole lot easier. For example, at last night's gig I didn't have to think about setting up a microphone stand or worry about whether the microphone cable would be in the way of the dancers.

All I had to do was plug my wireless receiver into the mixer, plug in my guitar into the transmitter and I was set. Free to roam wherever I wanted to sit onstage! Not only did my guitar sound great but also the dancers loved the fact that the stage looked much cleaner without the clutter of stands and cables.

On another note, flamenco dancers have been known to use wireless microphones in their shoes, really! But that's another topic altogether for some other time.

Wow...I seriously digressed didn't I? Back to talking about Marsha's showcase from last night.

So the portion of the program that included live music (that's me!) was for two dances. The first one, an alegrías, was with Marsha's students: Lorena, Gretchen and Elena. Being a group number it was all choreographed but still allowed room for personality most especially in the opening where I played a falseta phrased to coincide with their individual entrances.

Lorena, Gretchen and Elena in alegrías. April 24, 2010 (photo by Gerasimo Borneo)

Over the past few months leading up to the showcase, I played for their class once or twice a week as they learned the choreography. So they were used to working with live music. And while I could've played it the same way every time, I didn't. I always varied it a little bit...kind of my way of teaching them to hear the basic pulse of the music regardless of what chords or notes are being played. And it paid off! They were able to relax and enjoy themselves and put on a good performance. Congrats ladies!

Next up was Marsha's solo, a soleá. Just as in my past performances with her, I'd say that half of the dance is choreographed and the rest is improvised which actually makes it more fun than something that is all worked-out and over-rehearsed. Of course, neither one of us knew exactly how it would turn out but that's the beauty of it: you have to take some risk to allow room for the spontaneous energy of a live performance to do its magic.

Marsha Bonet-Savchenko in soleá. April 24, 2010 (photo by Gerasimo Borneo)

There was a bit of theatre injected into the performance too...a little dramatic twist that the audience wasn't expecting but before they could figure out that it was really part of the show, Marsha had already moved on to the next section of the soleá. Of course, we ended with a bulería and the audience loved it.

Marsha's students also performed a Fandangos de Huelva and a classical Spanish dance to a recording. And of course there was some very impressive ballroom dancing! All in all a very fun evening.

Hmmm...my original intention was to write about all the stuff I'd been doing the past two weeks, but I think I'll end this blog entry here and save the rest for another time. In any case, if you want to know more about Marsha and her classes you can contact her through the DanceFlame website.

PS Here's a flashback from when Marsha and I performed in our first showcase together in 2006.

PPS Someone just emailed me asking about the black thing clipped to the headstock of my guitar. Here it is...

Intellitouch PT10 Mini Tuner

My Antonio Aparicio flamenco guitar.

It's 11-something pm on Wednesday as I type these words. Weather was gorgeous today and of course with the temperature in the high 80's I made sure I spent a lot of time outdoors basking in the sun and (with the help of Zyrtec) breathing the fresh air. Around 8pm I played as usual for Marsha Bonet-Savchenko's flamenco class and had a blast, as usual. Awesome day overall! And everything was going so well until I got on the bus to go home...

I don't hear what he says at first, but I do see him point at my guitar case. Didn't want to be rude, so I take off my earbuds and the dude seated across from me says, "So what kind of guitar you got, a Martin?"

I pause for a moment and think to myself: I've had this kind of conversation before. The kind where the guy I'm talking to idiotically equates musicianly status with the brand of instrument he owns. Ugh. But being in the good mood that I was in, I decided to try be patient and see where this conversation was headed before I judged.

"It's a flamenco guitar."

"A what?"

I pause again. I didn't want to get into the kind of conversation where I say 'flamenco' and the guy I'm talking to thinks he's more worldly and attempts to correct me, "You mean FLAMINGO!" Ugh. So this time I took a different approach: I opened my guitar case and just showed him.

Dude takes a look, nods and in an authoritative tone tells me, "Yup…what you got there is a classical, my friend."

Ugh…I might've been in a good mood, but my patience was quickly deteriorating. I was so tempted to just put on my earbuds and ignore the dude until the bus arrived at my destination—which wasn't for at least 20 minutes. But I didn't. So I had a choice: do I try to explain that what I have is really a flamenco guitar or avoid the 'flamenco vs classical tangent' by just agreeing with his slightly incorrect assessment?

"Yeah, it's a classical." I lied.

Proudly he proclaims, "I play a Martin myself. Been playin' for 40 years!" He looks at my guitar again, shakes his head and continues, "Hmm...only bad thing about classicals is that the neck is too wide compared to normal guitars."

Normal guitars? Does this guy realize that in some other parts of the world, nylon-string is considered the "normal" guitar? Ugh. I had lost my patience to the point where I had no desire to try and broaden this dude's horizons even a little. I probably would've wasted my time—it seems he's set in his narrow view already.

The typical "wide" neck of the "classical" guitar.

What is it about those occasional idiots I run into who play steel string guitar all the time and think they can just pick up a nylon-string guitar and play it as if it's the same thing? It's not!!! Then when they fumble trying to finger chords on the wider neck (compared to steel-string guitar), they blame their ineptitude on my guitar.

Oh and you want to know what pushes me over the edge? It's when they continue trying to play my guitar anyway and then ask me, "Duuuuuude, you got a pick?"

Gahhhhh!