I have been performing for as long as I can remember - perhaps some of you have as well.  It began at a very early age - with highly entertaining shows usually created and performed with my sister for my family. My poor family. As a little girl it progressed to producing plays with the neighborhood kids.

And in elementary school, PRESENTATIONS!  Ah, the presentation; it quickly became one of my most favorite things.

Then came middle and high school and drama.  Plays and musicals and more plays and musicals. How dedicated was I you wonder? Well, for those of you who know me, I actually CHOSE to get up very early to rehearse before school... I am not a morning person.

When I got to college I had a bit of a freak out in my first (and only) acting class at the college level with a group of strangers who seemed far more sophisticated than me.   I do not belong here, I do not belong!  Fear stepped in, and I moved in a different direction eventually majoring in Art Studio.  Still, I suppose I couldn't resist the calling to perform and turned my focus to performance art, or to experimenting with the weird.

A short time after graduating college, I entered the world of flamenco, and here we are today.

Well, not exactly.

After that first year of flamenco in España I returned to a "normal" life by eliminating the arts, especially flamenco, as a career choice.  Once again there was fear and that lingering voice telling me that I would never be good enough, authentic, or able,  that it was Not My World.

I began working as an instructional assistant, received my Masters in Education, and became a full time teacher for seven years, which, by the way, I truly enjoyed. But I barely found time for anything else - flamenco included.

Anyway, the thing about performing as a flamenco artist, is that you are YOU!

I am me,  Only ME!   YO.  Soy yo!

It was less frightening to express emotion in a play because I got to be someone else.  Though really, even acting, you are always you, remember that one class in college I was telling you about?

Performing flamenco, with no character to hide behind, I am more exposed.

HOWEVER I've learned tricks for dealing with this, which I'll share during this new Performance Workshop coming up.

And, actually, the being exposed thing is kind of good for me, (and maybe even for you too) but I'll go into that later.

For now I'll tell you that I am incredibly excited about Get Your Guapa (or Guapo) On, that's the workshop.  I have been wanting this for YEARS.  For quite some time I have been talking to various students about the possibilities, about experiences they've had in groups in other cities and countries.  I want to get this going and see where it takes us.  I want to see people REALLY improve and feel more CONFIDENT in flamenco and perhaps even in life.  And I want to have FUN doing all of this.

What do you think?  I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.  Leave a comment.