Tangos
A la orilla de un río
yo estoy lavando
y al compás del agua
canto mis tangos
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Sevilla
The first full flamenco dance I learned was with abanico.
After our first class Ana, my teacher in Sevilla, told me to go out and get a flamenco fan.
(She also told me to get flamenco shoes which I did not do. )
Ever find yourself getting stuck in your head during class?
I know how you feel.
Today I will share with you four things you can do when you find yourself in this situation and I’ll show you a video you’ll LOVE of Beatríz Morales.
But first, a story.
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Here is an excerpt from José Galán’s Cierra Los Ojos y Mírame followed by the live flashmob direct from the Bienal de Sevilla with José Valencia and María Terremoto singing.
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Today’s letra is a bit different than usual. It’s not actually a song verse…
Watch the presentation of José Galán’s choreography for the 2018 Bienal de Sevilla flashmob, and read the phrases recited during the introduction. Next week I’ll publish part ofthe song along with a video from the actual flashmob.
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Twenty years ago when I went to Spain for the first time, I got to see Paco de Lucía perform at Teatro de la Maestranza during the Bienal de Sevilla. This happened after I had been living there for about six months at a time when I was just beginning to understand what flamenco was.
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Thinking about that first trip to Spain in 1998 has reminded me that I need to step it up in the doing things that scare the *#%~&> out of me category. Read on for a lesson around that idea and more of my story from that first trip. Also, find out why it's essential to listen to flamenco music, read a letra about Sevilla, then see a video of Juana la del Revuelo, Aurora Vargas, and Remedios Amaya ...
During my time in Sevilla I saw these women perform. During my time in Sevilla I saw these women perform live. As you'll see from the video below, it was wonderful. Their CDs were among some of the first I purchased once I accepted the fact that I needed to start listening to flamenco music. You see, in the beginning I wasn't very interested in listening to the music, especially cante, unless I was dancing, but Chris convinced me to start listening. He said I needed to do this to understand and internalize the compás.
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![Why You Shouldn't Call It Quits [My First Flamenco Dance Experience in Spain]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/568079e7bfe873f15c115eee/1497863268662-WXHKPVB6FCMAZCUITFKF/Abanicos+b%26+W.jpg)
My plan was simple (and not very well thought out):
Travel around Spain, settle somewhere in Andalucía, find flamenco classes, find work.
I had no contacts in Spain, no leads on where to study or work. I didn’t even know what city I was going to live in.
I just knew that if I wanted to learn flamenco I needed to go to Spain.
Today I'll tell you about finding flamenco in Sevilla, what it taught me about perseverance, and how it can help you.
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I'll be honest. In the beginning, I wasn't a huge fan of flamenco singing.
It wasn't that I didn't like it.
It intrigued me that's for sure. But I didn't feel inclined to sit around and listen to it a whole bunch.
It didn't take long before that changed.
I guess it happened early on during my time in Sevilla, on that first flamenco trip.
And actually, while I was initially drawn to the baile, the cante played a huge roll in getting me hooked on flamenco ... and keeping me in it.
Just like the compás.
And now,
Well, you know how it is now.
Which brings me to the letra:
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I can't imagine learning flamenco without pens and paper. I really can't.
On paper I take notes. On paper I figure things out. On paper I put the thoughts that circle inside my head. And there's just something I like so much about the feel of the pen moving atop the paper.
I often write in little books
They helped me a lot in the beginning, in Sevilla.
They help me today.
And they helped me a lot in Jerez.
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Me and the bata de cola.
You could say that there’s really no excuse for me not being able to dance well with the bata.
Because I’ve had several experiences, various opportunities to learn.
I'll tell you about a one of my favorites today, and after the story, I'll tell you why you should study the bata even if you don't ever want to dance with it, and I'll share with you another bata need-to-know.
A [very] brief history of my bata experiences
You know about the first,
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People are often asking me about my how I got started dancing flamenco, so I’m going to tell you a story from that time today. At the end of the story you’ll find a tip on dancing with the bata de cola, it's an essential, and you can work on it anywhere, in the bathroom, in the bedroom ...
But first, Spain
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Tangos
Triana, Triana
Qué bonita está Triana
Cuando le ponen al puente
Banderas republicanas
We've talked about how it is common to have different variations to the words of traditional flamenco letras.
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I mentioned that I had this fantasy of dancing on rooftops before I went to Spain for the first time. Once I settled in Sevilla and found my apartment, I was overjoyed to discover that it had an azotea.
azotea - rooftop
I wanted to go up there with my character shoes. Yes, character shoes. I was so stubborn, so green that I didn't believe having actual flamenco shoes would make that much of a difference when dancing. Anyway, I wanted to go up to try to practice the little that I could remember from class.
Carolina, my roommate, told me to make sure that the door didn't close or I would be locked up there with no way of getting down. I think she may have thought I was nuts.
So one day I went up to dance on the roof
It was sunny and beautiful. Springtime and not too hot.
But it wasn't like my fantasy.
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We spent just two days in Córdoba on the last trip.
Two days to see the city and one night to see Estrella Morente perform. I'll tell you about that on Friday.
It was my second visit to Córdoba
The first visit was in 1998, the first time I went to Spain.
I went there after my sister left.
I went there by myself.
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José Mendez sang this one at the Peña Torres Macarena in Sevilla. I rushed over there after class on Wednesday night. It was crowded, and people were into it, and the show was great. Plus Zorri was there. His bulerías along with his matching outfit alone were enough to make it all worth while...
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This week, a sevillanas by Lorca.
And look, here's our favorite Ricardo dancing to this very song in a bata de cola in a video dancing with Compañia Rafaela Carrasco.