DCFLAMENCO - Flamenco in Washington DC

Miguelito's Photo Diary

December 19, 2004 - December 20, 2004

Open House with Ziva at Cabin John Mall December 19, 2004
Rehearsal at Pink Flamenco December 19, 2004
Arlington Central Library December 3, 2004
Cafe Citron December 20, 2004

Cafe Citron December 20, 2004

Monday night as usual, except when I first walked in around 7pm, I was surprised not to see the stage already setup. Nancy caught my eye and pointed towards the back of the restaurant. Ahh...there it is!

Sound and lights are ready! I actually like the cozy ambience, but it's a bad acoustic space--low ceiling, brick walls etc. To avoid blocking the view of the stage, I have the speaker setup behind the curtain on the right and I have to position it at an angle that minimizes the feedback since it's practically on top of us musicians and our highly sensitive mics!

During the two shows I was very pleased. We had almost no sound problems. We're getting better with our microphone technique. December 20, 2004 7:34pm

View of the stage from the bar. Not too many people here yet. It's cold and I guess everyone's probably out Christmas shopping. Ugh...fuzzy pics suck. Note to friends: get me a mini-tripod for Christmas! December 20, 2004 7:52pm

After the last show: Miguelito, Madiha and her friend Anton (from Estonia). I got to practice my Russian! Menya nravitsa russki yazik! December 20, 2004 10:11pm

Carlton Ashton, Sara Jerez and Jose Oretea. As usual, the guys joined us onstage during the second show for the fin de fiesta tangos, yes, I said tangos! It was a good way to close the show. We had one of those magical moments where everything (music, dancing, emotion, spontaneity, audience rapport etc) fell into place perfectly. December 20, 2004 10:14pm

Miguelito and bartender/actress/model Nancy Medina. December 20, 2004 10:15pm (photo by Sara)

Madiha sure looks happy. Hmm...I wonder why? :) Her friends from left to right: Firas, Anton, Diego and Carlos. December 20, 2004 10:31pm

Miguelito and DJ Helio. This guy slips in a flamenco CD (like Vicente, Paco, Remedios etc) every now and then to get the crowd and us performers in the right mood for our show. Like all good DJ's, he pays close attention to the people. Thanks Helio! December 21, 2004 12:35am (photo by Madiha)

One last parting shot before heading home. Despite the slow start earlier, the place filled-up! December 21, 2004 12:36am

Arlington Central Library December 3, 2004

This gig was almost three weeks ago, but I didn't get around to picking up the hard copy photos from the library until this morning (December 20th). Plus I had to digitize them so I could publish them here. Don't you appreciate all the hard work I do for this website? :)

It felt kind of funny coming back here (this was my former day job years ago) because one time when the workday was slow, I can remember having to sneak into an unoccupied meeting room with two of my coworkers to give a mini-concert. This time, years later, I had a personal invitation from the library to give a performance and I was getting paid for it! :)

Dancer Ginette Perea and yours truly as we gave an hour-long lecture about the history of flamenco: where it came from, influences etc. The audience was very attentive but we had an especially enthusiastic person in the front row who happens to study with the Spanish Dance Society.

Most of the time in educational presentations with dancers, I end up doing ALL the talking. However, today's dancer did her fair share of contributing to the lecture. Thanks Ginette! December 3, 2004 2:31pm (photo by John Fox)

You can't see it in the photo, but I was using the new high-tech Bose Personal Amplification System that all the nightclub musicians are raving about these days. Sound is crystal clear and full along with the bass subwoofer. The pole-shaped design was less of a visual distraction than a typical sound system. Plus, I love when I don't have to lug my own equipment. :) December 3, 2004 2:38pm (photo by John Fox)

December 3, 2004 3:10pm (photo by John Fox)

December 3, 2004 3:57pm (photo by John Fox)

My thanks to John Fox, Barbara Rittinger and the library All-Staff-Day committee for making this an easy and enjoyable gig.

In late January 2005, I received some photos by photographer Stacia Largen who was working at All-Staff-Day. Thanks Stacia!

Rehearsal at Pink Flamenco December 19, 2004

We have a show coming up on New Year's Eve for First Night Alexandria. Ginette Perea, Shahram Tehranian and yours truly will be performing three sets.

At today's rehearsal, there was no one around to take pics for me, so when I had a minute of free time while they discussed choreographic stuff, I snuck away and took a few candid shots without flash--hence the fuzzies.

December 19, 2004 2:54pm

I know the Pink Flamenco studio doesn't look like much, but the floor is great for footwork and there are full-length mirrors. Ginette and I rehearsed together here for the first time (see the pics) more than a year ago when Pink Flamenco owner Sandra Bishop (a flamenco dancer herself) came up with the idea of making it available as a dance studio.

December 19, 2004 2:55pm

It was a very productive rehearsal. When everyone is mentally focused, it's amazing how it helps the creative process. My thanks to Ginette and Shahram. I'm looking forward to our next rehearsal and can't wait to put on our show on New Year's Eve!

Open House with Ziva at Cabin John Mall December 19, 2004

I was planning to attend the Open House, but I had an important rehearsal (see above) that I couldn't cancel. Fortunately, I asked Ziva to take pictures in case I couldn't make it. She writes:

"I am sorry you missed the open house. We had a great turn out. Everyone enjoyed themselves from young to old. Here are several pictures that we took. Thanks for all your help."

She has opened her own studio with the name Ziva's Institute of Flamenco Dance. The Winter Schedule starts January 10, 2005 and runs through March 20, 2005. More info available at Ziva's website (click on the link Instruction).

December 19, 2004 (photo courtesy of Ziva)

Photos taken with the Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera

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