DCFLAMENCO - Flamenco in Washington DC

Miguelito's Photo Diary and Blog

September 10, 2005 - September 23, 2005

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Saturday with Miguelito September 10, 2005
Cafe Citron September 12, 2005
Arlington Center for Dance September 13, 2005
Gift from a dancer friend September 16, 2005
Cafe Citron September 19, 2005
Las Tapas September 20, 2005
Wednesday with Miguelito September 21, 2005
Cabanas/Casablanca September 23, 2005

Cabanas/Casablanca September 23, 2005

Do you remember the poll I took way back in January? The top answer to the question, "What would most convince you to come to local tablaos more often?" was "Change artists more frequently." Well, this was the third Friday we've had the show at Cabanas and I'm happy to say that I've managed to have different dancers each night. See? I listen!

Miguelito, Tamara Sol Flys and Marta Chico Martin. September 23, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jerry Lobdill)

It was a good night for me. Aside from performing with the beautiful and talented Tamara Sol Flys and Marta Chico Martin, I had a few flamenco friends in the audience including guitarist Jerry Lobdill. He flew in from Texas to participate in the protest this past weekend.

Jerry and I played together in Vienna with Danza del Rio and in Rockville with Ena Camargo's Viva Flamenco group 9 or 10 years ago.

September 23, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jerry Lobdill)

Dancer Fausti showed up so we asked her to dance some Sevillanas.

September 23, 2005 (photo courtesy of Jerry Lobdill)

Also in the audience was my beautiful friend Jori whom you've read about countless times on my website. I only see her every couple of months but she still comes out to my gigs and shows her support.

There's something about having friends in the audience that makes me want to give more artistically.

Cabanas features a live flamenco show every Friday at about 8:30pm and 10:00pm. Call 202-944-4242 to make your resrvation.

Later that night, I stopped by Casablanca around 1:00am to attend the Sala Rociera party as it was winding down.

Earlier there was a flamenco show featuring Richard Marlow, Anna Menendez, Edwin Aparicio with guests Jen and Cecilia Terrasa. September 23, 2005 (photo courtesy of Aleksey Kulikov)

September 23, 2005 (photo courtesy of Aleksey Kulikov)

Moments after I arrived, I was asked to join in and play guitar but I politely refused. I saw a couple of old and new faces in the audience and wanted to mingle for a change. Trouble with playing guitar at parties is that you end up doing just that and only that. Well, OK, guitar playing is a lot of fun, but I was just in the mood to make some new friends.

In particular there was this one dancer at the party who recently arrived in the DC area. She's a big fan of my website. We had been corresponding via email (and by phone) since December last year and finally we met in person the night before when I subbed at Las Tapas and she was in the audience. I'm sure I'll be publishing pics of her as she gets more involved in the local flamenco community. Welcome Rosa!

September 23, 2005 (photo courtesy of Aleksey Kulikov)

It's been a long time since the last Sala Rociera party and I didn't publicize it as much as I could have so maybe not too many knew about it. Attendance was decent but could've been better, but we had enough people to have a good time.

I'll announce the next one as soon as details are finalized. Stay tuned!

Wednesday with Miguelito September 21, 2005

I know you're wondering why I haven't been keeping up with my photo blog as much as usual. First of all, my camera stopped working last week--which in a way is a good thing. It's time I upgraded to a more professional quality camera (see below) and it's going to take me a few weeks to save up. Not to worry, some of my friends have been taking pics with their cameras and will be sending me some stuff to publish soon.

The other reason is that I've had a lot on my mind: personal stuff, work stuff and some with the two combined that I've got to resolve so I can get back to flamenco with a clear mind and just have fun as usual.

Those who know me well will probably guess that I've been hanging out at the Georgetown waterfront. You're right. It just so happens that the weather has been quite beautiful the past few days. I actually spent a couple of hours playing guitar there the past few afternoons mostly for myself of course. But I drew a few appreciative listeners who sat down next to me. One of them was so impressed, he asked to become my student.

I'm not crazy about teaching. It's a good potential source of income, but I'm a player, not a teacher--I like to think of myself as a coach who gives guidance to those who are already somewhat accomplished. And most of the people that I meet who take an interest in the flamenco guitar often are not ready for it because they usually need to work on the basics of guitar playing and musicianship such that we wouldn't get to do all the fun stuff until months or even years down the road. But like I've said many times before, you don't have to be a virtuoso to play flamenco guitar, but you need to at least have basic classical guitar technique down cold. Flamenco is hard enough as it is.

September 21, 2005 (photo by Kevin Perez)

Of course I do teach through my website. I've been educating the flamenco community for nearly ten years (yes this website has been around that long!) with little nuggets of wisdom from my extensive experience as a DC area flamenco guitarist.

September 21, 2005 (photo by Kevin Perez)

There's been a bit of a negative stir amongst the professionals in the DC area the past few weeks and it's been bugging me enough to distract me during my shows and my personal life--not a good thing. The trouble with being a professional artist is that your passion is also your work. And if you're like most people you can't keep the two separated in your life. Hence, I schedule one day each week to "get away" and catch up with my non-flamenco friends.

I don't claim to have all the answers, but I do have a lot of experience when it comes to dealing with personal and professional conflicts in my artistic life. Here's what works for me:

1. Step back and look at the big picture and get a perspective on things. Recent tragic events, in particular Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, make me realize that while my problems are real and have to be dealt with eventually, they really aren't that bad at all.

2. In dealing with the problem, always take the high road. Trust me on this. It's so easy to get sucked into taking revenge in a hurtful way. While it might be satisfying in the short term, you'll look back on this years later and say to yourself, "What was I thinking?"

3. If you can afford it, get away from flamenco even if it's just for a day. I remember taking a workshop at the Musician's Institute in Hollywood many years ago. Legendary studio musician Tommy Tedesco gave some good professional advice: "Never play the guitar when you're mad." Your art, your passion, your work is sacred ground. Don't soil this sacred ground with unholy (i.e. unnecessary) problems. Deal with the problems on their own and come back to flamenco with a clear mind. Flamenco can relieve tension--it feels good to stomp on the ground when you're mad! But flamenco is not going to solve your problems.

September 21, 2005 (photo by Kevin Perez)

Lately, I've been spending time with a friend who's involved in flamenco (but not too involved) and has a very healthy perspective on things. She visits my website often and yesterday commented on the fact that in most of my performance photos, I don't smile that much. Of course, I do have a good time performing but I wasn't aware of my lack of smiles. I look a little too serious most of the time. Oh well, I'll work on that.

She gave me a little Post-It note for me to stick on my guitar to remind me to put on a happy face.

September 21, 2005 (photo by Kevin Perez)

While I did (and still constantly) earn this privilege to be a professional flamenco performer, I am very very fortunate to be doing something that I love for a living. I should be smiling more often. You should too!

Las Tapas September 20, 2005

This was the second Tuesday in a row that my friends Steve and Dionela Johnson came to my show. They were celebrating birthdays, but I think that was partly just an excuse to see my show again. :-)

September 20, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steve Johnson)

The dancers were Edwin Aparicio and Marta Chico Martín.

September 20, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steve Johnson)

In the above pic, Edwin's downturned hands is part of what I jokingly call the "Las Tapas" style of dancing. You see, the stage is raised high enough to the point that if the dancers are not careful their hands will touch the ceiling; hence, here at Las Tapas, you'll almost never see the dancers fully raise their arms.

September 20, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steve Johnson)

What's interesting about these pics is that they were taken without flash. So they capture more of the natural lighting ambience of the venue.

September 20, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steve Johnson)

Las Tapas features live flamenco shows every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Call 703-836-4000 to make your reservations.

Cafe Citron September 19, 2005

September 19, 2005 (photo courtesy of Mariya)

Cafe Citron features live flamenco every Monday night. Call 202-530-8844 to make your reservations.

Gift from a dancer friend September 16, 2005

A dancer friend got this for me while she was in Spain. It may be little, but it's the thought that counts. :-)

September 16, 2005

Yeah, I know some of ya are thinking, "Oh, so it's a pin. What's the big deal?"

It seems the past week or so, more than the usual amount of dancer-friends and strangers on the street have been expressing their appreciation for me in seemingly little but still significant ways. Which is very cool!

This past Tuesday at Las Tapas, this one customer was leaving and he passed right by me and turned to the dancers and said, "Hey great dancing tonight!" and I mumbled to myself, "Dude, since you're not complimenting me, the guitar playing must've sucked."

So as this guy chatted briefly with the complimentees, one of the dancers gestured towards me and said, "By the way, this is our guitarist Michael." The guy didn't even acknowledge me.

Don't worry, I'm not having self-esteem issues here. Far from it. I do have a bit of an ego anyway, cuz I know very well that I artistically contribute to the quality of the show as much as the dancers. It just frustrates me that the general public doesn't always realize the importance of what we flamenco guitarists do.

September 16, 2005

I didn't stay too late at Las Tapas and walked towards the metro a little earlier than usual. As I arrived at the station, this one cute girl, obviously in a hurry, passed by me. I had to turn to take a second look and she did the same thing. She smiled at me and said, "I've seen you before. Great show! I love your guitar."

"Thank you," I should've talked to her a little longer, but she was in a rush.

September 16, 2005

Earlier that day after a rehearsal in Arlington, a stranger (not really a stranger but someone I met at the Andalucía but hadn't seen in a few years) on the metro said hello to me.

I took me a few moments to recall her name. Then I said, "You're _________ (name of stranger). You're an environmental lawyer at ____________ (name of firm). How are you?"

Being a busy performer, I meet a lot of people and I always amaze myself how I can remember names and details about many of these people years later.

I was pretty proud myself for remembering all that info from several years back--as if we had just been introduced and these details were fresh in my mind. But then with an embarrassed look, she said, "I'm sorry, I don't seem to remember your name."

Grrr. But I was in a playful perhaps devious mood, "Oh well. I guess you'll never know," emphasizing the word 'never' as I paused long enough to let it sink in. I smiled and said "It's OK, my name is Michael. By the way, this is Ginette, the dancer I worked with at the Andalucía last year."

Anyway...those of you who have been visiting my website for years, know how much I've been promoting the value of us flamenco guitarists again and again. I won't get into that topic now.

Those of you who are new to my website, just want to let you know that it's good to acknowledge the guitarists every now and then. It shows that you understand something about the art of flamenco. Understandably, for the uninformed audience member, the dancing is easier to appreciate since it is a very visually engaging part of the show.

Appreciating the guitarist's role takes a little more mental effort. Read the article How to learn from a tablao show to learn more.

I still don't have a camera yet, so I asked my brother Kevin to take these pics with his. If you come to my show tonight at Cabanas, please take some pics and email them to me. Thanks!

Arlington Center for Dance September 13, 2005

Ginette Perea learned some new material during her ten days in Spain last month and she wanted to get together and work on the new choreography and practice new exercises. So I booked a studio conveniently located in Arlington.

It's been about two-and-a-half years that I've been performing with Ginette. You've heard me rave before about how she's grown as a dancer and performer during that time and she has in fact come a long way. (Congrats Ginette!)

But sometimes, people ask me why I go out my way to rehearse and work with young student dancers.

September 13, 2005 (photo by Ginette)

It's really simple. Dancers like Ginette inspire me. These students are relatively new to flamenco and they have that enthusiasm and drive to constantly learn new stuff that usually fades when you've spent many years devoted to flamenco.

September 13, 2005

I can remember when I first moved to DC I was so thrilled to have a paying job as a flamenco guitarist waiting for me straight out of college. Plus I was the only student guitarist playing for dance classes for just about all the teachers at the time. I was so driven to learn flamenco, I took an long trip on the bus to Vienna and walked a mile to a dancer's house to play for her classes several nights a week.

That same summer when I first arrived, I spent many Saturdays at the Library of Congress' Music Division photocopying tons of sheet music of flamenco palos. When I went to classes, I actually carried around a black binder with all this music alphabetized from Alboreá to Zapateado so that if a dancer asked me to play a palo I didn't know, I could just open up this binder to whatever page had the music I needed and I would sightread it. (Thank goodness, I'm also a classically-trained musician!)

September 13, 2005

I knew of Ginette when she was in Carmen de Vicente's concert in 2000. She barely knew Sevillanas at the time and would be placed in the back row onstage to stand and just do palmas.

Fast forward a few years later, she had Sevillanas and a few solos in her repertoire and was eager to start practicing one-on-one with a guitarist. She asked me to do a show with her for New Year's Eve and setup weekly rehearsals to prepare for it. But besides her drive and enthusiasm I very impressed with her musical sensitivity.

September 13, 2005 (photo by Ginette)

At the time, I apologized to Ginette for not playing the music exactly as on the CD she was accustomed to "performing" with. I assumed she was like many student dancers: dependent on hearing specific melodies at certain points to keep track of her place in the choreography. But it turned out we never had any problems when I just improvised the music for her tangos. She scored major points with me here. :-)

September 13, 2005

We did quite a few shows together at different places each with a different size stage and Ginette always ended her tangos tablao-style by finishing her final llamada sitting down next to me. So the number of compases leading up to this llamada varied depending on how far it was to the chair.

September 13, 2005

Being the sensitive accompanist that I am, I always started playing the appropriate music when I sensed she was about to start her llamada and we ended together every time.

For a student dancer with very limited experience with live music I was very impressed. And when I asked her how she knew when to end the tangos, she said something to me that totally won me over.

Ginette said, "It's easy. I just listen to your guitar."

When I heard her say those words, it made my day! And I decided, I'm going to do all I can to help Ginette become the best dancer she can be.

Another reason I work with students: they're the professional dancers of the future. More on this topic later.

Cafe Citron September 12, 2005

Just like the last time, the first set there was hardly anyone here. For the second set we had a lot more people and a very enthusiastic audience. Plus we had a few flamenco friends in the audience. Fun night!

Sara Jerez dancing a soleá. September 12, 2005 (photo by Lillie)

September 12, 2005 (photo by Lillie)

Yours truly with a new friend from Puerto Rico. September 12, 2005 (photo by Lillie)

Lillie and Sara. September 12, 2005

When I got home, I sat on my bed and admired my new desk that I bought from IKEA earlier that day. My first piece of new furniture in my new place. :-)

September 13, 2005 1:13am

September 13, 2005 1:14am

Saturday with Miguelito September 10, 2005

[Editor's note: OK I'm gradually catching up on my photo diary. Thanks for your patience. Since my camera finally died on Tuesday, I'll be writing more descriptively to make up for the lack of pics. It'll take me a few weeks to save up for a new digital camera.]

Started off my evening with a wedding gig with Behzad but of course there was like major traffic so we arrived way too close to showtime. Behzad and I are experienced performers--so we were cool (at least we looked cool, calm and collected) although the ceremony was starting in five minutes as we walked up the road towards the church.

The groom said hello to us and gestured us towards the back entrance. When we got just inside, one of the people in charge told us to go upstairs and through the double-doors. OK so far so good. We're late but no one has yelled at us...yet.

September 10, 2005 6:25pm

So we go up the stairs with our guitar cases in hand. It was awfully quiet, that my instincts made me wonder what was up. Where are all the people? We pushed the double doors open and to our surprise we found ourselves in the chapel facing the congregation of wedding guests all staring at us. Um...so we froze for a second and without saying a word to each other, Behzad and I walked backwards like scared puppies with our tails between our legs letting the double doors close.

Whew! That was awkward. Reality set back in. We were late. Get the guitars out and go back into the chapel. With instruments in hand, through the double doors again, we quickly saw two chairs next to the altar and assumed they were for us.

September 10, 2005 6:31pm

Behzad whispered, "Soleá!" so I began an introduction, closed it and Behzad and I improvised over a simple chord progression as we waited for a cue from someone in the back to begin the music for the procession of bridesmaids.

After a few minutes into the ceremony, I started to relax and take in the beautiful surroundings, the marvelous acoustics (we didn't need amplification at all) and began to just enjoy myself.

The minister was good. He was entertaining and jovial without being irreverent. As he was talking about personal details of the soon-to-be-married couple, he mentioned something cool that the groom said about his fiance: "She can do fine on her own, but I can't imagine living life without her," and the minister smiled and said, "Player! Player!" and got the whole congregration laughing. Not to worry, I got his business card.

Thirty-five minutes later the ceremony was over, we were done. Musically, everything went very well. It was just like accompanying dancers: when the bride approached the altar, Behzad and I ended our music together. I just did a little ritard in the music and Behzad quickly picked up on the my subtle slowing down of the tempo until we played the final chord simultaneously.

After the congregation left. September 10, 2005 7:20pm

Everyone was happy. We had a good time but our evening wasn't over yet. We collected our cash, and headed towards nearby Sterling, Virginia to grab a quick bite at Kabob Cafe (703-444-3119), which is owned and operated by Behzad's family.

I ordered the lamb kabob (very tender!) with seasoned baked basmati rice, salad with homemade afghan garlic dressing and sabzi which was sautéed spinach with a hint of onions, tomatoes and garlic.

September 10, 2005 8:04pm

One wall in the restaurant has a mural (painted by Behzad's dad) depicting the naturally beautiful countryside of Afghanistan. On the other side are several other paintings including one created the year that Behzad was born.

September 10, 2005 8:23pm

The food was delicious but Behzad had another gig in less than an hour, so we got in the car again and headed towards DC Dance Collective where they were presenting a free concert showcasing students and teachers of the various styles of dance taught there.

Behzad and Ulrika Frank had their time slot sometime after 9:00pm. Surprise, surprise: things were running late to they didn't actually go on until after 9:30pm.

September 10, 2005 9:37pm

Ulrika performed a tangos accompanied by Behzad on cajón.

It was a very musical choreography with an obvious sense of well-paced tension and release that kept the audience enraptured. It's too often these days that flamenco dancers just go full out into extended virtuosic technical displays (which is impressive at first) but without musicality, it becomes no more than an athletic exercise "performed" in front of an audience. Not so with Ulrika--she is very musical.

To use a culinary metaphor, she gave little "appetizers" of virtuosity and just when you craved more, she playfully took it away.

September 10, 2005 9:38pm

Behzad knew Ulrika's choreography well (he rehearses with her practically every week) and knew when to stop as Ulrika smiled at the audience for a moment eliciting applause. Is it over yet? Nope. Without missing a beat, they went back into a musical conversation between footwork and cajón building up to a climax.

During the past few years, Behzad has been "paying his dues" by playing for lots of flamenco dance classes and it shows in his improving accompaniment. Being the humble musician that he is, Behzad will admit he has a long way to go. Nevertheless, he put on an impressive performance Saturday with Ulrika demonstrating his sensitivity for the very fine rhythmic and dynamic subtleties in her footwork.

Talking with them before and after the show, I could sense that they have mutual artistic respect for each other and it paid off. Congrats to Behzad and Ulrika on a job well done!

Behzad and Ulrika. September 10, 2005 9:48pm

For today's lesson, repeat after me: musicality is just as important as virtuosity.

For more info on Ulrika's classes, visit her website.

Photos taken with the Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera

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