DC Flamenco Flashback, two years ago...

(9:04pm Tuesday March 12, 2002) I've been accompanying DC area flamenco dancers for nearly 13 years now. Just about all the performers you currently see in the local tablaos, I've seen grow from beginners to the level of accomplishment they've reached today.

Pictured above is dancer Micaela Moreno. I first met her in 1995 when she was studying flamenco with the late Ena Camargo at the Viva Flamenco studio in Rockville, Maryland. Our first weekly gig together was at El Rincon Espaņol in the summer of 1997. She moved to Delaware--now I only perform with her perhaps every few months.

Although I have been working with local dance companies since 1991, I didn't start my first weekly flamenco gig until 1996 when dancer Sara Candela and I performed on Thursday nights at Havana Village in Adams Morgan.

Soon after that I accompanied Edwin Aparicio the first time he performed in a DC area tablao at the Sevilla Restaurant in Baltimore.

I bring up these points not necessarily to show off, but more so to make the point that at one time many of the artists you see performing regularly today had to take a chance and make their tablao debut as advanced students. I'm sure that when they made their debuts, people would ask themselves, "Why is so-and-so dancing in a tablao when they're not ready yet?"

The thing is that, it's not enough to be able to dance perfectly in class. In fact it's a completely different skill altogether performing in a tablao and the only way to learn about performing is get out there and do your thing in front of an audience.

Yeah, at first, you're going to get nervous and dance at less than your potential but eventually you learn how to harness that nervous energy and use it to inspire you to perform at your best.

I've been there myself and I've seen the pros that you see today make their debut and dance at less then their full potential.

The thing to learn from this is that you have to get out there and take a risk. You've spent all your time learning how to dance perfectly in compas, with perfect form etc but once you've gotten that under control, you need to take it to the next level and say something with your dancing.

Thankfully, you students now have an opportunity to get out there in front of an audience. Every month now we'll be hosting a Sala Rociera party where students like yourselves (guitarists included) have the opportunity to try out what they've been working on in front of an appreciative audience.

Personally, I admire the people that have the guts to get out here and do their thing to their heart's content, even if it's not technically perfect.

Interestingly, the people that usally criticize those that get out there and do their thing in front of audience are themselves afraid to get out there and take a risk. Life is too short to be shy, get out there and do it! All of us have that flamenco fire inside of us. Let it out! Express yourself at the next Sala Rociera party. Believe me, you'll thank me for this advice later.

Not all of us are destined to become performers, but until you take that risk of performing in front of an audience, you haven't experienced one of the wonderful things about flamenco: opening up and sharing yourself and getting the positive feedback (jaleo, palmas etc) from others who share what you feel.

So GET OUT THERE AND DO IT! One thing though: when the audience and your peers give you applause, don't let it go to your head! End of sermon. :)

Pictured here is dancer Anna Menendez.

Singer Gerard Moreno happened to stop by that night, so we invited him onstage to join us.

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.