Who feels like having some fun?
Take the following flamenco trivia quiz to do just that and perhaps learn something in the process.
It touches on flamenco theory, history, and interesting tidbits about various artists.
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teaching
Sound made with the feet in flamenco is most commonly called zapateado, coming from the word zapato (shoe.) It can also be called taconeo coming from the word tacón (heel). Here are the basic flamenco footwork techniques that are used to create sound patterns with the feet.
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It’s the final day of the Mini-Challenge and time to step things up a bit. That's right, today things get harder. But sometimes harder can be more fun.
And I think you'll find that to be true with this final activity which is all about creation . . .
The creation of a step
Today’s exercise comes directly from our imaginary teacher of the week, David Romero.
David says coming up wtih a step is easy, You just have to do the work.
In other words, it’s not hard as long as we're willing to put forth effort.
(You can hear him talk about this six minutes thirty seconds into his video interview.)
Below, find out how to make up your very own flamenco step by following David's exact advice. (Well, along with a few additional suggestions from me.)
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I didn’t tell you this, but I decided to do something I have not done in the past with the choreography I learned from Mercedes in Jerez last fall, I decided to keep it.
You may think I keep all of the dances I learn from her, or perhaps you know me better than that.
My pattern is to let them go.
In fact, this intention I set last fall during the FlamencoTour to Jerez, to retain and polish the choreography Mercedes taught us, is part of the reason I set up the holiday challenge.
I gave myself many excuses as to why I could not do this over the holidays:
'You have other flamenco things to work on Laura.'
'It is December. It is holiday time. It is not time for flamenco discipline.'
'It won’t be the same as being in class with Mercedes. It won't be anything like it...'
I almost didn't do it.
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I did something in anticipation of the challenge upon arriving in San Diego,
I told my family about it
You could say it was for accountability, and that may have been part of it, but mainly I was feeling excited. So excited that I had to share.
Often I'll not share these kinds of things with my family or my non-flamenco friends because really, why would they care?
That's what I'll often think.
But I've noticed something,
They do care.
Because they care about me.
I've noticed that when I'm excited about something they tend to get excited as well. And I've noticed that their excitement about my excitement makes my excitement grow.
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This month I've been talking to Mercedes Ruíz. And asking her about lots of stuff. Today the questions came from you, the readers. Thanks for these.
Getting Personal
Mercedes had some beautiful things to say about how motherhood has affected her dancing. You can read about it here. This following series of questions came from another mother, one who is also a flamenco dancer. And they're kind of personal...
¿Ha sido difícil encontrar la confianza de nuevo para bailar después de haber nacido tu hija? La confianza nunca la he perdido. La verdad es que desde que nació mi hija tengo mas motivación para bailar.
Was it hard to find confidence in your dancing again after your daughter was born? I never lost confidence. Honestly I am more motivated to dance now that I have a daughter.
¿Vas a tener mas hijos? Pues ahora mismo no sé.
Are you going to have more children? At this moment I don't know.
¿Alguien te ayuda con Pastora para que puedas seguir bailando? Sín la ayuda de mi familia no lo podría hacer nunca. Pero la verdad es que nada me hace falta siempre el cariño de mi marido, de mis padres y hermana.
Does anyone help you with your daughter so that you're able to keep dancing? Without the help of my family I could never do it. But the truth is that I have all that I need with the love of my husband, my parents, and my sister.
On teaching
What you're about to read I witnessed being in her class. The level of student varied, but her expectations for all were high. And in everything she did, in everything she said I could feel her love of the art form.
¿Como profesora, cuál es mas difícil para ti, enseñar a alguien que tiene habilidades técnicas pero a quien le cuesta expresar las emociones y la pasion o enseñar a alguien sin mucho conocimiento técnico pero quien puede expresarse bien? Es difícil enseñar de una manera u otra porque cada cosa requiere lo suyo, pero lo que siempre enseño igual, tanto para uno con más nivel u otro con menos nivel, es el respeto por el flamenco.
What do you find to be more challenging, teaching someone who has the technical ability but struggles with expressing the passion from within or teaching someone without technical expertise but who possesses the inherent expressive component? It is hard to teach one way or another because each thing has its specific requirements, but what I always teach in the same way to someone of high level or someone at a lower level is a respect for flamenco.
Words of advice
Seemingly simple. Yet so important. And still so often we deny the importance of this.
¿Que consejo darás a un principiante al flamenco. Para tener éxito, que aconsejas, aparte de practicar? Que sea muy aficionado al cante y a la guitarra, que eso lo ayudará muchísimo a entender mejor el flamenco.
What advice would you give to a beginner in flamenco? What advice do you give in order to be successful, apart from practicing? To listen to a lot of singing and guitar as this will help immensely in better understanding flamenco.
What to wear?
Ok, now, this response surprised me. It really, really did. Because Mercedes is so incredibly detail oriented. I assumed she had everything, including what to wear, decided upon waaaaaaay in advance.
¿Cómo decides que ropa que vas a llevar para cada actuación? Depende de lo que quiera transmitir en ese momento. La verdad es que soy una persona que el vestuario lo dejo para el último momento.
For each dancing event, how do you decide your choice of dress and color? It depends upon what I want to get across in that moment. The truth is that I am the type of person who leaves the wardrobe until the last minute.
More questions for Mercedes? Let me know. Thoughts about any of this? Leave a comment here.
And...perhaps you want to com to Spain with me. The Flamenco Tour happens this fall, and there is still time to get in on it! Several people have asked me if I'm going to do a trip like this again, like if it is going to be an annual thing. Hmm. The very honest response is, I don't know. I'm sorry. I wish I did. I hope so, but I just don't know the answer to that yet. You can read more about it here.
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k, so I'm not in Flamenco Land anymore, but here is más o menos what I've been up to in Portland flamenco-wise during the month of June, followed by a little taste of what my friends were busy with in Jerez.
Getting Back to Regular Classes I was beyond excited to begin teaching again, inspired by my time in España and ready to share new insights and material. And I still feel this way, motivated just being at the studio with friends and students. There were many cookies in class to celebrate during those first couple of weeks and even fake cava. Actually, the cookies continued showing up throughout the month. And about the classes, hmm, Palmas has possibly been my favorite thus far providing the most unsolicited laughter. We played around with many funky patterns and got into some nice grooves. I love the collective energy we generate doing this; it just feels so good, and therapeutic.