It’s time to become a better flamenco dancer. And it’s time to use our imaginations to help us do that.

You may remember the Dance As If You Were in Class with Mercedes Holiday Challenge. Well, this week begins the Dancing With David Even Though We’re Not With David Mini-Challenge.

In other words, it’s time to pretend

You know how much I like to pretend.

You most likely saw last week’s video interview with David Romero. And you could probably tell by watching that he is a fabulous teacher with all kinds of wonderful information to share. So, for the next week I’ll be channeling David on a daily basis in order to learn from him from the comfort of my own home.

Care to join me?

(Check out the video at the end of this post if you'd like to see David dance.)

Why would I want to participate in this mini-challenge?  

1. To learn and grow as a flamenco dancer.

2. Because it will be fun.

3. Because it will not require a lot of time.

How will it work?

Each day for the next week you will apply a specific idea (provided by me and inspired by the teachings of David Romero) to a flamenco dance move of your choosing.

Basically, you will choose any flamenco move or exercise to work with for a few minutes each day. I will provide you with a specific focus (based on things I’ve learned from David) to apply to that move and explain why it will benefit you.

Each day the focus I give you will be different. You may choose to apply the daily focus to the same move over the course of the week or you may choose to vary your move from day to day. Whatever floats your boat.

This challenge is FLEXIBLE.

You may even decide not to 'do' the daily exercise which is actually fine because you can benefit even just by reading the daily post. (Though I highly recommend doing some dancing to try out the concepts. Plus it makes it more fun and gives you an excuse to get out of your chair for a moment.)

You can either think of this mini-challenge as a pre-class to help you get ready for the Flamenco Tour to Barcelona, or simply as an activity to help you become a better flamenco dancer.

And, whether you’ve taken class with David before or not, you can do this mini-challenge.

How much time will it take?   A few minutes to read the daily post, a few minutes to practice with an exercise or move, and perhaps a few mintuest to reflect.

When is it happening?   It officially starts tomorrow and ends on Saturday. (Although I do have one thing for you to think about right now to help get you ready.)

What do I have to do to participate?   Check this blog each day for the daily activity. That's all!

Ready to get started?

Your Purpose

Whether you participate in the challenge or not, this is something worth thinking about, so before the challenge officially begins tomorrow, please take a moment to think about your why.

Why?

Why do you study flamenco dance?

How does it make you feel?

Do you do it as a hobby or do you dance professionally?

Get specific.

For example, if you dance flamenco as a hobby, do you want to perform? Do you want to be able to dance por fiesta at juergas with ease? Or do you want to keep your dancing in the studio, in class and at workshops?

That’s all you need to think about today.

I’ll be back tomorrow with an activity for day one of the challenge.

And now, I'd love to know your why

Why do you do flamenco? How does it make you feel? Are you working toward a concrete goal, or does dancing in class alone give you the satisfaction you’re looking for? Please share your purpose (or purposes) in the comments below.

And, just in case you've never seen David dance, here's a video of him dancing a guajiras with Sara Barrero. He did all of the choreography. You'll love it, I'm sure.

Oh, and you might be interested in knowing that David talks about teaching to both amatuer and professional students and how he doesn’t distinguish between the two about six minutes into the video interview. Check it out.

You might also enjoy:

Three Easy Ways to Grow as a Dancer (Even if You Have No Time)

Dance as if You Were in Class with Mercedes: The Warm-Up

Day 2: Dance As If You Were in Class with Mercedes Holiday Challenge

Day 6: Dance As If You Were in Class with Mercedes Holiday Challenge