|
|
Miguelito's Photo Diary and BlogDecember 24, 2005 - January 4, 2006 About the author/photographer: My name is Michael Perez, but everyone calls me Miguelito. I'm a full-time flamenco guitarist based in Washington DC, USA. This is a self-published account of my day-to-day life. It's meant to be educational and inspirational for my readers and therapeutic for myself--a way of reflecting on each day and recounting the good and not-so-good parts and how I can learn from them and grow. Happy reading!
Sevillanas party at Tapas Teatro in Baltimore January 4, 2006 It's 11:36am on Thursday as I type these words. Got up a short while ago. Little by little I'm catching up on sleep, yay! Last night's (Wednesday's) Sevillanas party was a blast. I'll add more commentary later, but the pics should speak for themselves. Enjoy! 
View of Tapas Teatro from the garage. January 4, 2006 8:43pm 
January 4, 2006 8:45pm 
Lola loves the posters of Spanish tapas bars--she's been to some of them herself! January 4, 2006 9:02pm 
Sangría. January 4, 2006 9:05pm 
Sevillanas line. January 4, 2006 11:35pm 
January 4, 2006 11:35pm 
January 4, 2006 11:41pm 
January 4, 2006 11:42pm 
January 4, 2006 11:51pm 
Fandangos de Huelva with Javier Bustamante. January 5, 2006 12:19am 
Miguelito, Felicia German, Lola and Claudia. January 5, 2006 12:41am Thanks to Felicia German, Emily Sciarillo and Dave DeRenzis for organizing this fun-filled event. Based on comments heard so far, this has been the best Sevillanas party since they started having them in Baltimore. Stay tuned for the announcement of the next one. If you have pics from last night's Sevillanas party that you think should be included here, email it to me. Thanks! Checkout Javier Bustamante's pics at the Coloquio. Tonight I'll be accompanying a new up-and-coming student dancer at the Andalucía. Tomorrow, the show at Cabanas is on at around 8:00pm featuring dancers Gigi and Shahram Tehranian. Las Tapas January 3, 2006 It's 12:17am on Wednesday as I type these words. I have an 11:00am rehearsal again, I'll just upload these photos and get a good night's sleep. I'll add more commentary when I wake up later this morning. Good night! It's 8:40am on Wednesday. I'm up! Yesterday (Tuesday) I arrived in Old Town Alexandria early as usual, and while I was setting up the sound system I ran into a familiar face: a dance student named Minerva! I caught up with her briefly and promised to talk to her after the first show. Then I went back out for my usual pre-show ritual: doppio espresso and browsing books and CD's at Olsson's by the waterfront. 
My favorite pre-show hangout: Olsson's Books and Records near the waterfront. . January 3, 2006 7:31pm I ended up buying a book (see the end of this blog entry) and arrived back at Las Tapas with just enough time to greet the dancers for the evening (Shahram and Jen) and walk onstage and start my opening guitar solo. It was a slow night with only four or five couples in the audience--but they were attentive to our show. And afterwards when the manager mentioned the possibility of cancelling the second set, I made a point of going to each table and saying "Thank you very much for coming tonight. I hope you enjoyed the show and will stay for the next one." I ended up having some nice conversations with the customers--I should do this all the time! Anyway, only two tables ended up staying, but that wasn't enough to convince the management to continue with the second set. So us artists went ahead and ordered our dinner just as another familiar face stopped by our table to say hello: it was Julia Cristina! (You may recall that I performed with her several times this past summer.) I tried to convince Minverva and Julia to at least get up onstage and do some Sevillanas just for fun. Of course, Julia gladly agreed to my request, but Minverva was feeling a bit shy. So I asked Jen to join Julia just for four coplas. (Some of you have noticed that I originally had about 10 photos from Las Tapas here, but later removed or cropped some of them.) 
January 3, 2006 9:50pm (photo by Ali) 
January 3, 2006 9:51pm (photo by Ali) 
January 3, 2006 9:52pm (photo by Ali) 
January 3, 2006 9:53pm (photo by Ali) Julia is a student at Stanford University where she has started a flamenco club which has its own website. Check it out! I called it an early night and caught the train home. This time I had an interesting book to read: The Creative Habit : Learn It and Use It for Life 
New book I started reading on the metro going home. January 3, 2006 10:38pm 
January 3, 2006 10:47pm OK it's 9:44am on Wednesday. I have a rehearsal at 11:00am so I better get dressed and head out. I will be playing guitar at tonight's Sevillanas party at Tapas Teatro in Baltimore--starts at 9:00pm. See you there! Monday with Miguelito January 2, 2006 It's 4:22pm on Monday as I type these words. Just got home from a rehearsal with a new dancer. Yay! This is the second week in a row I'll be presenting a dancer in her debut at a DC area tablao with live guitar accompaniment. This Thursday she will be performing with me at the Andalucía Restaurant. 
January 2, 2006 1:23pm What's interesting about this dancer is that I had been performing with her mom many years ago. So back then when I practiced with the mom during the daytime, I'd notice the young daughter coming home from school and little did I know that I'd also be performing with her years later. Fast forward to 2006: this morning while I was rehearsing with the daughter, the mother stood in the doorway with a proud look in her eyes. 
January 2, 2006 1:24pm What's cool is that I have more than 14 years of experience performing with dancers along with the practical wisdom that comes from that experience. It feels good knowing I'll be able to help the daughter better learn about how to work with live music and perform in front of an audience as a soloist. It's 4:30pm on Monday now--just enough time for a quick nap before I head to Cafe Citron to setup the sound for tonight's show. See you tonight! It's 6:44am on Tuesday as I type these words. For once I stayed at Citron until almost last call last night and had a blast. Fortunately Jason stuck around and gave me a ride home--the metro normally closes at midnight. The dancer was Sara Jerez--it's been a while since she's been here and it just so happened that a photographer from Washington Hispanic was taking pics. My dancer friend Lola was in the audience so we invited her up to dance Sevillanas. 
Sara and Lola. January 2, 2006 9:43pm Jason brought his cajón and joined us for the second set. 
January 2, 2006 9:49pm 
January 2, 2006 9:55pm Had another friend in the audience who posed in a lot of pics but wouldn't give me to permission to publish. (Ugh! Kind of annoying cuz this girl knew these pics were for my website.) Just for a little mystery and fun, I published one anyway and hid her identity. :-) 
"La Misteriosa," Miguelito, Lola, Jason and Álvaro Ortiz--photographer from Washington Hispanic. January 2, 2006 10:16pm It's been awhile since Lola has appeared in my photo diary. Here are two more pics for her fans. :-) 
January 3, 2006 12:28am 
January 3, 2006 12:47am New Year's Eve December 31, 2005 It's 6:08am on Monday as I type these words. Finally got a good night's rest (12 hours!). I went to bed at 6pm Sunday night and just got up. I'll just upload these photos, write some very brief commentary and go back to bed for a few more hours. I have an 11:00am rehearsal in Virginia, yay! I ended up gigging on New Year's Eve after all and at a place where I haven't performed, it seems, like more than a year. Fortunately, Bambule is only a five minute walk from my house. Anyway, I played with guitarist Richard Marlow doing three fun sets of rumba from 8:00pm until 11:00pm. 
At Bambule. December 31, 2005 10:16pm I wasn't originally planning on gigging this evening, but I went ahead and said yes when Richard asked me to work and made a decent amount of cash instead of going to a friend's house party. Not to worry. There was another party to go to later... 
New Year's Eve crowd at Bambule. December 31, 2005 11:31pm We packed up the equipment and headed over to Las Tapas to hangout with Duende Camaron arriving in time for their last set. 
Richard, Jose, Cesar, Jason and Miguelito. January 1, 2006 12:33am I didn't tell my roommate where I was going to be this evening, but I just happened to run into her here at Las Tapas. What a coincidence!  January 1, 2006 12:46am Then we moved the party to José's house and continued all night. This pic is from José's living rooom with guitars and other instruments strewn about.  January 1, 2006 2:39am José's mom prepared for us some Bolivian food that tasted very much like filipino chicken adobo. Yummy! I think we all needed that. It fueled us up for playing for a few more hours. My friend and I got up around 9:00am to go out and get some breakfast. This is a shot of the basement where the last jam session took place.  January 1, 2006 9:42am Good friends, good music and good food. Nice way to start off 2006. Happy New Year, everyone! My friend and I got some breakfast and decided to go see a movie, Chronicles of Narnia, which was moderately enjoyable despite being forumulaic, predictable with very little character development. It's a Disney movie, so you already know the good guys would triumph in the end and when they did, you didn't really care that much. With only six hours of sleep over the past two days, my body wouldn't let me go further without going to bed--well OK, I couldn't resist stopping by the Borders near my house (they were open until 7pm on New Year's Day). I was perusing a book titled "C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies" and learned of the parallels between certain elements in the Narnia storyline and Christianity. But sleepiness was catching up and had to go home (fortunately only five minutes away). It's 6:53am on Monday as I type these words. I'm going back to bed, then I have a rehearsal at 11:00am and tonight I'll have my usual Monday night gig. See you Citron! Taberna del Alabardero December 30, 2005 It's 4:44pm on Saturday as I type these words. Early this morning I had a laid-back but productive rehearsal with Marsha--mostly we talked about flamenco theory, artistic opinions etc. Despite my drinking a double-espresso and Red Bull to perk up, it worked out better that way anyway since I still wasn't quite mentally alert enough to be much of an accompanist. Marsha gets to checkout a prestigious ballroom dance competition tonight--soon she will be one of those participating in the competition itself. From what I've heard, ballroom competitiveness is just as intense as it is in flamenco! I wished Marsha a safe and happy new year and caught the metro home. Took a short nap to make up for going to bed really late last night. Anyway, Richard Marlow just called asking me to play guitar with him tonight at Bambule for New Year's Eve, yay! Looks like I'm keeping up my lucky streak of having a gig every New Year's Eve now. :-) Last night (Friday) there was a flamenco show at Taberna. I'll add more commentary later. 
Nélida Tirado, Nora López and Ana Menéndez. December 30, 2005 8:36pm So many beautiful women...I love my job as DC's self-appointed official flamenco photographer! :-) 
Soheila and Nélida. December 30, 2005 9:23pm 
Jesús Montoya. December 30, 2005 9:26pm 
Friends watching the show from the balcony. December 30, 2005 9:49pm 
December 30, 2005 9:49pm 
December 30, 2005 9:50pm  December 30, 2005 
December 30, 2005 9:54pm 
December 30, 2005 10:21pm 
Jesús and Miguelito. December 30, 2005 10:35pm (photo by Soheila) It's 4:56pm on Saturday. Time for another quick nap and then I just walk down the street to Bambule for my New Year's Eve gig! I wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year. Ciao for now. Thursday with Miguelito December 29, 2005 It's 1:37am on Friday as I type these words. I got home a short while ago--yeah it's earlier than usual but I have some important morning appointments on Friday and Saturday so I got get myself to bed early for a change. I'm proud to say I accompanied yet another dancer in her DC area tablao debut last night (Thursday). Her name is Sarah, a high school senior, currently studying flamenco with Anna Menendez at the American Dance Institute in Rockville, Maryland. For her main solo, Sarah performed a full-length soleá in addition to Sevilanas and bulerías. Just so happened we literally had a full-house and when she finished her dances, she was rewarded with very enthusiastic applause. A little girl named Alexis was so impressed by Sarah's performance that she gave her a drawing of a flower as a token of her appreciation. Awwww! :-) Overall, a very positive experience for both of us. Good news is that Sarah is very willing to perform here again in the future. As she develops her skills as a performer, I hope to invite her to perform at other DC area venues. Congratulations Sarah on a job well done! 
Yours truly playing a guitar solo at Andalucía Restaurant. December 29, 2005 8:45pm (photo by Isabelita) In the audience were my friends Isabel Otero and her daughter (also named Isabel). The daughter will be performing at Andalucía (301-770-1880) this coming Thursday January 5th, also making her DC area tablao debut. This is exciting for me--working with up-and-coming dancers and helping them grow into future performers. After dinner, the Oteros offered to give me a ride to Guarapo (703-528-6500) in Arlington, Virginia where I was meeting up with my friend Jori. 
December 29, 2005 10:45pm The rumba group Duende Camarón performs here every Thursday night. Pictured from left is Armand, José Oretea and his brother Cesar. 
December 29, 2005 11:23pm There were a lot of people and I recognized quite a few familiar faces. 
December 29, 2005 11:23pm I hadn't been to Guarapo in what seems like months. Who else but a long-time friend (and pretty girl) like Jori could convince me to come all the way from Rockville? It's the least I could do for the many times she hung out with me at Georgetown University and came to my shows at Cafe Citron and Cabanas. Thank you Jori! 
December 29, 2005 11:30pm A lot of people have been asking me about singer/guitarist Kivanc. Well I didn't get to talk to him for very long, but I'll let the picture speak for itself. From the left is Sharzad Kamel, Anna Mironova, Kivanc Oner and Vural Guller. Good to see you Kivanc! 
December 29, 2005 11:37pm This Friday's show at Cabanas has been cancelled for this week, but will resume next week on January 6th. Looks like I'm free to go to Taberna del Alabardero (202-429-2200) to see New York-based dancer Nelida Tirado perform, yay! See you there. It's 1:36pm on Friday as I type these words. Just got a call to do a gig at the Smithsonian Jazz Cafe ($10 cover) with guitarist Amilcar Cruz which starts at 6:00pm so I might be getting to Taberna kinda late. Cafe Bonaparte December 28, 2005 Behzad spent Christmas weekend in his hometown of Portland, Maine. (Remember my trip to Maine in July?) Anyway, he was driving back yesterday (Wednesday) the day of our show at Cafe Bonaparte and unfortunately got caught up in traffic in New York City. He obviously wasn't going to make it on time so he called a sub, Jason Vera y Aragón to play cajón. Normally, Behzad and I would play some commercially-friendly rumbas to appeal to the crowd, but now I had the challenge of improvising two sets with Jason. Can't say I've played any solo rumba with cajón before, so I resorted to playing some flamenco palos that work with cajón and that I was used to playing as solo: bulerías, tangos, fandangos de Huelva etc.  December 28, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) It's 12:22pm on Thursday as I type these words. Right now I'm listening to some mp3's that I haven't heard since I was in Spain last June. I brought my laptop with me to Madrid and when I came back to the hostel late each night I'd lay in bed listening to some trance tracks by people like Armin Van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk reflecting on my day until I fell asleep. Not exactly Spanish music, I admit, but I associate these tracks with my experience as a first-time visitor to the capital of Spain. But trance is a big deal there, at least in Ibiza. Anyway, this music is transporting me back to Madrid right now. It's a good feeling. :-) (Checkout the pics from my first trip to Spain.) The manager of Andalucía called asking me to to find a female dancer for tonight (Thursday), which I did. I'm pleased to announce that I'll be working with this dancer one-on-one for the first time. We might have a few minutes to rehearse at the restaurant before the show, but that's it. If you want to find out who she is, come to the Andalucía tonight. After the show at Andalucía, I'm heading to Guarapo in Arlington (703-528-6500) to meet a friend. If you're not doing anything, come join me--I might need a ride home, hint hint. ;-) Las Tapas December 27, 2005 It's 6:55am on Wednesday as I type these words. Just got up. Yesterday (Tuesday) I woke up at 2:00 in the afternoon! Obviously my body was trying to give me a hint: that I needed to catch up on sleep. Anyway, last night at Las Tapas was good. The place was literally packed--ALL the tables in the dining room were occupied. Everyone was paying attention--except that one table of noisy people on my left. Ahem! :-) The dancers were Shahram and Jen. Here are a few pics of "my office." :-) Behind the stage is where I keep my guitar, bottle of energy drink and the bag for my stage lights. Yeah, I do double-duty as the stage crew setting up chairs and lights. 
December 27, 2005 10:38pm The angle of the stage lights projects a shadow of my hand movements on the ceiling--kinda like a dance show of the fingers. :-) It also projects a shadow of the dancers for a little added visual effect. The colors of red and yellow give the warm ambience of bonfire. 
December 27, 2005 10:38pm This is the view of the stage from the hostess station. If you're a performer, get to know the hostess. She's the one who can promote your show when she answers the phone for reservations. 
December 27, 2005 10:52pm Here are some pics of the show.  December 27, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jen)  December 27, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jen)  December 27, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jen)  December 27, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jen)  December 27, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jen)  December 27, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jen)  December 27, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jen)  December 27, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jen)  December 27, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jen) I've been working with Shahram for years already. Jen is the new up-and-coming dancer and I'm already familiar with her material since I play for the dance classes that she takes. But in dance class unfortunately, you can't learn how to perform. Like I've said many times before on this website, the only way to learn to perform is to just do it. And one of the first hurdles in working with a live guitarist is realizing that you are in control--and with this control comes a lot of responsibility on the part of the dancer. Uh-oh, I feel a lecture coming. Initially, the guitarist can lead the dancer and play the music exactly as the dancer is accustomed to hearing in dance class--but we're all here to learn and grow. So it's my goal to train all the student dancers I work with in how to work with live music--and who else but guitarist can do this better? So I told Jen, "You are in control...If you don't like the tempo after I play my opening falseta, slow me down or speed me up with palmas. Only when I'm playing at the tempo you want, do you begin your dance, OK? Of course this is easier said than done especially if you're accustomed to working with CD's. Fortunately, Jen has live music (usually me) for her classes. Before you can take control, you have to know the choreography so well that you can confidently lead the guitarist. I'll admit that at first, working with live music is more difficult than working with a CD, because it demands that the dancer really know what she is doing. As the guitarist improvises on-the-spot, he is looking for rhythm and tempo cues solely through the dancer's body movements and if the dancer does not move her body with confidence, the guitarist will wonder "What is she doing?" and this will result in lackluster noncommital musical accompaniment. Think of it this way: as a dancer you are the conductor and the guitarist is your orchestra. Boring, unsure, confusing conducting is not good. Lively, confident and clear conducting is what you want. Ultimately, live music is more liberating because the dancer is free to extend or shorten section, speed up or slow down at will, change the mood etc. A good guitarist will catch almost every subtle nuance of your movements and play music that complements the rhythm and mood of those movements. With a CD, however, you're stuck with the same thing every single time which is boring and we all know that flamenco is not supposed to be boring, right? First of all, you have to know where you are in the compás at any given moment in the choreography--you'd be surprised how many dance students cannot begin in the middle of an escobilla section because they don't know how it fits within the compás. So what typically happens is that they'll mess up and inisist on starting again at the beginning instead of picking up where they left off. It doesn't matter whether you count or feel the compás. Everyone messes up--yes, even the pros. But the pros know how to pick up where they left off. Be a pro. Learn the compás of your steps! Secondly, you have to go beyond thinking about choreography and focus more on expression. And no I'm not just talking about facial expression. As a performer, you should not be thinking to yourself: "OK, what step comes next?" Whether you have a set choreography or whether you improvise, you should already know what comes next. Instead, what you should be thinking is: "What can I say with this choreography?" You have to look at the bigger picture and think about phrasing: the points of emotional tension and release and where to build up to climaxes. In other words, you have to learn to be musical, otherwise flamenco can easily turn into nothing more than a mind-numbing deafening five minutes of frantic stomping onstage--I hope this is NOT your idea of what flamenco is. Yeah I am very demanding of dancers (students and pros) that I work with and it's not necessarily the fault of the teachers than many students lack the skills they need for working with live music. Truth is that most dance classes in DC do not have the luxury of a live guitarist. (I have been known to donate my services at some dance classes ocassionally.) There are only a few of us here and usually we guitarists are performing on the nights when dance classes are typically offered. As a dance student, it really is up to you. Don't settle for just being able to make it through the choreography without making mistakes. Instead, take it to the next level and learn the choreography and associated technique so well that you can dominate it and truly enjoy yourself. When you get the rare opportunity in class to dance by yourself with live accompaniment, put all you've got into it and don't be afraid of making mistakes. Class is where you can make mistakes so the teacher can correct you. Listen to your teacher's advice and follow it. Talk to the guitarist after class and get his advice. Eventually, whether it's just for fun or for professional reasons, you will dance with live music so do your homework: End of lecture. Oh, and for the record, last night Jen effectively communicated onstage with her guitarist (yours truly) and danced beautifully. Congrats Jen! In Sunday's Washington Post Book World section called The Writing Life, I came across a discussion between a translator and a writer sharing ideas about how they work. These are the final paragraphs: That's something to shoot for. As a guitarist or dancer, wouldn't it be cool to have a recognizable personal style? Not just for the coolness factor, but to be able say something with what you've got. What do you have to say about the world? Can you express it through your art? In the same issue of Book World is a review of the new book by Robert Farris Thompson titled Tango: The Art History of Love. Definitely on my hit list of books to read in the near future. Click on image below to order from Amazon.   Cafe Citron December 26, 2005 It's 2:45am on Tuesday as I type these words. I got home more than an hour ago and have been editing photos, checking email and enjoying some delicious Papa a la Huancaina that one of my dancer friends made for me as a Christmas present! Yum! 
Papa a la Huancaina, one of my favorite Peruvian dishes! Wasn't sure what attendance at Cafe Citron would be like on the day after Christmas. So I called up a bunch of my friends to come out and support the show, if they didn't happen to be busy. A few came out, which I appreciated very much, but I also made some new friends. Unfortunately, my camera battery died before I could take pics of them. The dancer this evening was Gigi. It's always fun to work with her. She's constantly experimenting with new rhythm patterns and choreographic ideas. Most of all, once she gets onstage, she just enjoys herself, and it shows. It's a good thing. I pick up on this positive energy. The audience really can tell the difference. Before the first set, I went downstairs to say hello to Gigi and warm up a little. When she practiced with her mantón de Manila I took a few action shots... Photo removed for privacy
December 26, 2005 8:02pm 
December 26, 2005 8:02pm 
December 26, 2005 8:03pm 
December 26, 2005 8:03pm Did you know that Gigi will be teaching a children's flamenco class at DC Dance Collective on Mondays starting January 2, 2006? It's right before my gig here at Citron, so you might see me playing guitar for her class every now and then. 
Gigi providing palmas as I play the introduction. December 26, 2005 8:29pm (photo by Ken McNaughton) I like it when dancers pay attention as I play my opening falseta--anyway, that's the way it should be. Think about it: the guitarist gives all of his attention to the dancer (and singer) for most of the show. At the very least, out of mutual respect the dancer (or singer) should support the guitarist for his short moment in the spotlight. Even more importantly, the guitarist is setting the mood for your dance. Support him in setting the mood, by providing good (i.e. not overpowering) palmas and jaleo for the more festive palos or for the more serious palos, sit quietly and look in the direction of the guitarist or close your eyes. If the audience is paying attention, they'll pick up on this cue and do the same. Acknowledgements: my flamenco-themed shirt is a Christmas gift from a dancer friend and her family. The necklace and pendant are from my niece. 
Miguelito and Gerard Moreno. December 26, 2005 8:36pm (photo by Ken McNaughton) 
December 26, 2005 8:38pm (photo by Ken McNaughton) 
December 26, 2005 8:43pm (photo by Ken McNaughton) 
December 26, 2005 8:44pm (photo by Ken McNaughton) 
Gerard and his daughter Lilah. She also sings some flamenco--in fact when she was 6 or 7, just for fun she sang tangos onstage at Las Tapas! December 26, 2005 9:04pm 
Ken McNaughton and Gigi. December 26, 2005 9:21pm (photo by Jason) Unfortunately, the camera battery died after Ken took one pic during the second set. At least this last pic turned out to be a good one. 
December 26, 2005 9:31pm (photo by Ken McNaughton) It's 2:51am now, I might add more commentary when I wake up later this morning. Good night! Christmas Day December 25, 2005 It's 9:37pm on Sunday as I type these words. Just got back home after spending Saturday night and most of Sunday with my family. I just uploaded pics from Saturday's rehearsal (see below) and this one pic of a flamingo ornament that was attached to one of my gifts. Enjoy! 
December 25, 2005 4:49pm My thanks to all my friends who sent me Christmas cards, gave me gifts, called, bought me lunch or coffee, or just hung out with me the past week. I'm out the door again. There's a movie that starts in 10 minutes at the theatre a few blocks away. If I'm in the mood to write when I get back, maybe I'll add more commentary. Ciao for now. Saturday with Miguelito December 24, 2005 It's 2:03am on Sunday as I type these words. Merry Christmas! Yeah, I'm here at my parents' house and while everyone else is asleep at this hour, I'm wide awake so here I am in front of the computer. Surprise, surprise! :-) Yesterday's (Saturday) rehearsal was fun, just as I expected. Marsha (aka Rosa la Huracana) and I worked on Farruca again and basically just improvised rhythm patterns and experimented with choreographic ideas inspired by my music. No, I didn't take any pictures this time. I was having way too much fun to put my guitar down to grab my camera. We had the pleasure of breaking-in a newbie to flamenco. Dimitri, one of the ballroom dance teachers here at the studio, wanted to give flamenco a try. He's also a highly-accomplished classically-trained musician, so of course it didn't take long for him to pick up on the compás and quickly translate it to footwork patterns. Of course, being a musician, he had all kinds of interesting rhythmic ideas but he was only lacking in the technique department, for now, but he will progress very quickly. After a couple of hours, we stopped and took a break and Marsha and Dimitri wanted to show me some of the ballroom choreography they've been working on. So we went into the main studio and Dimitri put on some cha-cha music to start. And later they worked on rumba (ballroom version). 
Dimitri Savchenko and Marsha Bonet. December 24, 2005 4:01pm 
December 24, 2005 4:04pm Marsha is a flamenco first but she is also rapidly becoming a very good ballroom dancer. As she danced cha-cha and rumba, I couldn't keep my eyes off her. Her ballroom technique is coming along little by little but Marsha is able to tap into that spark of performance energy that you only get from years of experience in flamenco. As she was going through the routines, at first she was a bit stiff but as the dance progressed and she started feeling more comfortable with the newly learned movements, the transformation was very evident. At those moments, I whispered to myself, "Olé!" 
December 24, 2005 4:24pm 
December 24, 2005 4:45pm Yeah, someone complained to me about publishing ballroom dance pics in the photo diary so let me explain: the point here I was trying to make is that my experience in flamenco has deepened my appreciation for ALL forms of dance. It's not fair to judge ballroom dance in the context of flamenco. Judge ballroom in its own context--it has its own history, culture, "rules" etc. Anyway, although I am just a guitarist, dancers (even ballroom dancers) do take my feedback seriously since I probably have been to more dance classes than your average dance student, really! Don't underestimate the more experienced guitarists playing for dance classes. We might be keeping our mouth shut as we play, but you can be sure that we are quietly absorbing just as much as much info, if not more, than you dance students. Hopefully your own experience in flamenco will widen your horizons, instead of narrowing it. Hey Marsha, I can't wait until we rehearse again! It's 2:53am on Sunday as I type these words. Earlier I watched "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." It's funny watching this movie after seeing "Memoirs of a Geisha" a few days ago cuz the same actresses are martial arts masters instead of geisha girls. :-) I'm still wide awake so I'll probably watch another DVD or something to keep me entertained. Merry Christmas!
Photos taken with the Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera
Text and original images ©1996-2013 by . Please do not republish content from this website, including text and photos, in whole or part without prior written permission. |
|
. It's by Twyla Tharp a famous choreographer.
