Have you thought about your flamenco desires and goals lately?
One of mine is to become more comfortable dancing bulerías with the cante.
So I made a plan to help get me there (or at least to get me closer).
Read about it and follow my four steps to creating a plan for yourself below.
But first, here’s a bulerías letra for you followed by a video full of grandes artistas that is GREAT to practice with.
Bulerías
Traditional
Fatiguitas tengo
te quitan de la vera mía
cuando más te estoy queriendo
I’m suffering
They take you from my side
when I’m loving you the most
This is a long video, so if you just want to hear today’s letra, it’s the first one.
This video is full of so many moments.
What about when Rafael de Paula, the famous bullfighter who they’re paying homage to at this party, gets up to interact with Farruquito with his bullfighting cape? And when Moraíto Chico gets up to dance? Then there’s the little boy in the suit who keeps participating in his own way.
And did you notice all of the jaleos? This video is a testament to how essential jaleos are to bulerías.
Anyway, here’s how Tati Román* sings the letra in the video:
Fatiguitas tengo
Ay que duquelas tengo
te quitan de la vera mía
cuando más te estoy queriendo
te quitan de la vera mía
cuando más te estoy queriendo
She repeats the first line but varies the words, using duquelas rather than fatiguitas.
And here’s a variation of the letra:
Fatigas tengo
me quitan de la vera tuya
cuando más te estaba queriendo
I’m suffering
They take me away from you
when I’m loving you the most
Now let’s move on to flamenco goals and desires.
Because I know you want to up your flamenco game.
Taking the time to consider what we want and developing a plan to get there will help us improve in flamenco (and anything really).
Here are the four steps I used to set me up to get my plan going. I invite you to follow these steps to meet one of your current flamenco goal(s).
1. Set a Goal:
What do you want?
MY GOAL: To become more comfortable dancing bulerías with the cante.
2. Brainstorm:
Imagine different ways you could reach your goal.
Here are some of the ideas I came up with:
listen to the lots of bulerías
practice to cante recordings (video or audio)
watch good bulerías dancers do it
get up and dance at every opportunity given to me even when I feel uncomfortable
go back to Jerez, ask my teachers questions in class when I don’t understand something
study some letras and how to sing them
3. Plan:
Form a concrete plan.
MY PLAN: Practice dancing bulerías with cante for five minutes a day five days a week for the rest of the month.
This does not have to be in a studio. I do not have to have flamenco shoes on. It can be anywhere.
It’s a relatively simple plan.
It’s very low risk.
It’s an easy plan to follow through with, and I can definitely find five minutes a day to dedicate. I can even do it just before I go to bed if I get to that point in my day and realize I still need to dance bulerías….
I’m very deliberately setting myself up for success while also choosing an activity that I know will help me grow. This is what I want otherwise I might make excuses for why I can’t do it on any given day. And I know from experience that many days I’ll go longer than the allotted five minutes.
At the end of the month, I’ll re-evaluate my plan.
4. Accountability:
What tool(s) will you put in place to motivate you to follow through with your plan?
MY ACCOUNTABILITY: I will note it in my calendar booklet & report back to you.
I would jot down a simple “B” for reach day that I practice bulerías except that I already have so many other codes for things going on in there I think I better write “Bul” instead.
I’ll check back in with you at the end of the month (and probably in between now and then on Instagram).
5. Bonus Step:
Visualize yourself having achieved your goal.
One way I can do this is dancing bulerías in my head for a few minutes at night before bed.
And now, would you care to join me for this Bulerías Challenge?
If so, let’s start today with this video.
Why is this a good video to practice with?
There are a variety of different letras.
The speed. It is not too fast.
You get to both hear letras and see how people choose to dance to them.
Let’s Go:
Play the video.
Get up and dance for five minutes.
(OPTIONAL) If you feel inspired, keep dancing! You don’t have to cut it off at five minutes.
it’s that simple.
This video is loooong.
So tomorrow we could practice to it again starting in a different place. Or we could start in the same place.
Enjoy!
Your Thoughts?
How did you feel dancing with the video? What are you struggling most with in relation to dancing with the cante? Do you have another flamenco goal of your own? What plan can you make to reach it? How will you hold yourself accountable? Do you need help brainstorming ideas? Or just tell me one of your favorite parts from the video. Leave a comment below!
*I did not know who the singer was but thankfully somebody had mentioned her in the video comments on YouTube.
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