DCFLAMENCO - Flamenco in Washington DC

Miguelito's Photo Diary and Blog

October 27, 2005 - November 5, 2005

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Sevillanas Party in Baltimore October 27, 2005
Thursday with Miguelito October 27, 2005
Friday with Miguelito October 28, 2005
Saturday with Miguelito October 29, 2005
Sunday with Miguelito October 30, 2005
Katrina Fundraiser at Red Maple November 1, 2005
Wednesday rehearsal and Bonaparte November 2, 2005
Thursday with Miguelito November 3, 2005
Cabanas November 4, 2005
Saturday rehearsal November 5, 2005

Castanet November 6, 2005

From time to time, I get little gifts from my dancer friends. Last night, I was given this tiny little castanet and to her surprise I was actually able to play it, really!

November 6, 2005

Next time, you see me at a gig, ask me to demonstrate my tiny castanet technique (I keep it in my guitar case).

Saturday rehearsal November 5, 2005

It's 11:50am on Sunday as I type these words, and I'm on my way to dance class at noon. Thank God, I'm walking distance from the studio! I have just a few minutes to add a couple of pics.

November 6, 2005 12:19am

Last night, I had yet another marathon practice session with one of my favorite dancers from about 9pm until 1:30am! We used the basketball court in the clubhouse--OK so it isn't a real dance studio but at least we didn't have to pay by the hour which is a good thing. It can be so distracting to our concentration having to keep track of the time.

November 6, 2005 12:20am

The acoustics are good here. Makes my guitar sound big and there's also a touch of natural reverberation.

November 6, 2005 12:21am

Another cool thing about this practice space is that we can take a break by shooting a few hoops every hour or so. At one point, a couple of her dancer roommates stopped by and we played a game with flamencos vs ballroomers. :-)

November 6, 2005 12:23am

I don't normally drink during a practice. But we meet several times a week already, so this time we had a more relaxed rehearsal where we just improvised and just had fun. Sometimes it helps to loosen up with a glass of good wine. I know some people who go all out and serve some tapas and sherry at a rehearsal to get a bit more of Spanish ambiente.

A decent tempranillo red from Best Cellars in Arlington, but could've been smoother. Take their quiz to find out what wine you'll like. November 6, 2005 12:50am

Lately, I've been starting our sessions with me improvising a toque libre while she stretches. Without any verbal cues, she goes into a palo that I'm supposed to figure out on-the-spot. Yeah, it's a challenge for both of us, but it's just our way to develop our non-verbal communication skills. Mostly, it's just pure fun.

Ideally flamenco artists should be able to give each other cues solely through the music or dance movements etc.

I bought The Mastery of Music: ten pathways to true artistry by Barry Green last week and it has some cool ideas about ensemble communication:

"...In working in an ensemble setting with one or more musicians, I've noticed that really fine musicians never felt obliged to talk very much about the nuances of the music or the details of their performance. They tuned in to what I was trying to say through my performance of my part, then guided me through their performance needs in a completely nonverbal way--they showed me what they were thinking with their instruments. In a word, we were flexible to each other's musical and intellectual guidance. When you spend a lot of energy following specific visual cues, you have less attention available to pick up on nuances or directions from subtle changes in the volume, sound, speed, or character of the music." (from page 29)

Anyway, this was written with musicians in mind, but you can adapt to a guitarist-dancer situation.

Cabanas November 4, 2005

I can remember last year on a beautiful sunny day in the Georgetown waterfront thinking to myself how cool it would be to gig here. And thanks to my website, the Cabanas people found me via the Internet and asked to put together a show!

The dancers were Mariya Kostytska and Ginette Perea.

November 4, 2005 9:46pm (photo by James)

It was unusually warm for November but it made for a beautiful night to sit on the outdoor patio and enjoy drinks and some very decadent desserts with friends after the show.

November 4, 2005 9:52pm (photo by James)

November 4, 2005 (photo by James)

After the second show, the manager showed me a graphic he was editing for a Cabanas magazine ad which included a photo of Ginette. I'll let you know when it comes out.

Thursday with Miguelito November 3, 2005

Yup. Yet another day where I had another morning rehearsal. It was just for an hour though which worked out nicely cuz I had time to go back to bed and sleep in until about 1:00pm to help me get over my cold. Then of course I have an all day rehearsal Friday starting at 9:30am, yay!

Yours truly is officially the most in-demand guitarist for private practice sessions!

DC Dance Collective. November 3, 2005 9:36am

Wednesday rehearsal and Bonaparte November 2, 2005

Yeah, I rode on the metro with day jobbers to get to the studio around 9:30am. But it was worth the effort. Think about it: who wouldn't travel to do what they love all day long?

Flamenco paraphenalia: nail file, glue, flamenco shoes, castanets (in orange bag), mini tape recorder (for archiving rhythm patterns etc)...

November 2, 2005 10:31am

Later in the day, we had to move to another area to avoid disrupting a tango dance class, so we headed towards the dressing room area, grabbed a piece of wood and practiced until 5:00pm--not quite as long as our Sunday seven-hour rehearsal but it was very productive!

November 2, 2005 3:58pm

November 2, 2005 4:00pm

November 2, 2005 4:02pm

November 2, 2005 4:03pm

November 2, 2005 4:10pm

Yeah, I had to get up quite early, but overall it was very fun and productive day. It was worth getting out of bed at 7:00am! Now you know why I've been slacking on the website! :-)

Later, I had my usual gig at Cafe Bonaparte.

Behzad Habibzai, Carlton Ashton and Miguelito. November 2, 2005 9:54pm (photo by Ceci)

Nora López. November 2, 2005 9:55pm (photo by Ceci)

November 2, 2005 10:10pm (photo by Ceci)

November 2, 2005 11:36pm (photo by Juan)

Katrina Fundraiser November 1, 2005

Tamara writes:
"Hi Michael! Finally catching up on pics! I think I sent you the Sevillanas party yesterday. Here are pics from the fundraiser for Hurricane Relief at Red Maple on November 1, 2005! It was a huge success!! We had a huge crowd (still haven't heard from the Red Cross about the final amount raised)! I include here pics of everyone who participated! Hopefully you can post all of them to give credit to everyone who participated! All the performers were wonderful!! A special thanks to Richard who played all night! And to the dancers who had to dance on an uneven stage! The energy was incredible! We had four shows: the first was Sara Jerez and Natalia Monteleon, second me and Marta, then we had a show in the front room with Arte Flamenco, and the 4th show was Anna Menendez and Edwin Aparicio. Richard played for all the shows. Jose Oretea sang in all the shows, except for Arte Flamenco's show where Javier Bustamante sang. A couple of interesting pics: the one of me with 3 faces (this artsy pic I believe was taken by Edwin), and check out Sara supporting her husband's guitar when he had to play standing up.
I numbererd the pics in the order of when they took place throughout the night. Several people took the pictures (myself, Edwin, Alex, Soheila).
Thanks!
Tamara
P.S. And of course, thanks to you for advertising it on your website!"

Natalia Monteleón. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Sara Jerez. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Marta Chico Martín. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Tamara Sol Flys. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Three faces of Tamara. November 1, 2005 (photo by Edwin Aparicio)

Alex, Fausty and Erika. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Pam, Natalia Cuesta and Sarah. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Sara "supporting" her husband Richard Marlow. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Tamara making an announcement. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Anna Menéndez. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Edwin Aparicio. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Red Cross volunteers. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Sevillanas after-party. November 1, 2005 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Sunday with Miguelito October 30, 2005

There was this one time when a dancer and I practiced palmas for seven hours. I'm not kidding! We started at 7pm and time just flew by and when I checked my watch, it was 2am!

Today was another one of those days. I practiced with a dancer friend for about seven hours--well, we did stop for about half an hour to feed ourselves.

October 30, 2005 11:17pm

Despite my better judgment, I should've ended our rehearsal earlier and went straight to bed--I was sniffling a little already. But I was having such a good time and we were getting so much done, I didn't want it to end.

Yet another late night and I'm probably gonna get sick again. Was it worth it? You bet it was!

October 30, 2005 11:17pm

Cool thing about the arts is that the creativity process is just as enjoyable as the performance itself. And when the creativity spark ignites, you gotta take advantage of it while it lasts cuz you never know when it will return.

My friends know that I strive to be health-conscious, at least most of the time, to keep my immune system strong enough to get me through days like these.

October 30, 2005 11:18pm

I think I read somewhere that the endorphins produced (when we engage in pleasurable activities like flamenco) do help boost the immune system.

Fortunately, my Monday night gig was cancelled this week--Cafe Citron wanted a DJ instead for Halloween night. So I'll sleep in especially late to get well and perhaps treat myself to a movie with a friend (hint, hint!) later if I'm feeling better just to get out of the house.

October 30, 2005 11:20pm

Knowing my luck, a cool party or other social opportunity will come up when I really should stay in and of course, it'll be another late night again! :-)

October 30, 2005 11:21pm

Yeah I got a bunch of pics from my flamenco-filled weekend which I'll get around to publishing Monday.

Saturday with Miguelito October 29, 2005

October 29, 2005

October 29, 2005 1:41pm

October 29, 2005 1:42pm

October 29, 2005 1:50pm

After dance class, we headed to the Embassy of Nicaragua in Dupont Circle to do a gig.

October 29, 2005 3:27pm

October 29, 2005 3:57pm

October 29, 2005 4:04pm

October 29, 2005 4:20pm

After the Embassy gig, we headed to Chinatown to Hotel Monaco to do a wedding gig with three dancers: Debra Belo, Ginette Perea and Jen.

October 29, 2005 7:36pm

October 29, 2005 8:03pm

Friday with Miguelito October 28, 2005

It's Tuesday November 1, 2005 as I type these words. Just got enough time to post a few pics from this past weekend, but I got plenty more coming!

Ulrika Frank, Tamara Sol Flys, Behzad Habibzai and Marija Temo at Taberna del Alabardero. October 28, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov)

October 28, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov)

Taberna del Alabardero. October 28, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov)

Had just enough time to catch a little of the first set before rushing off to a Halloween Party with my ballroom dancer friends.

Halloween party at Alliance Dance Institute. Yours truly with Dimitri as Neo. October 28, 2005 (photo by Marsha)

Alliance Dance Institute. Marsha, Alyssa, Jennifer and Helen-Marie. October 28, 2005

Miguelito and Una. October 28, 2005

These are just few just so you know I'm not being lazy, I'm just busy!!! I'll publish more pics and commentary when my schedule frees up. Stay tuned!

Sevillanas Party in Baltimore October 27, 2005

Tamara writes:
"Hey Michael! How are things? Could you post these pics from the Sevillanas party that we had in Baltimore (sorry it has taken so long to send them to you). It was a great night, we had a big turnout! A lot of the local Baltimore flamenco students showed up, even some from DC! Javier was there singing. We also had Brock Fanning (a guitarist here in Baltimore) play some Sevillanas. One of my student's little sister came dressed for "feria"! It was great!
Hopefully tomorrow I will send you pictures from the fundraiser that we had a Red Maple!
Thanks!
Tamara"