Intermediate Bulerías Por Fiesta (ONLINE) - Tuesdays 7:30pm PST
A fiesta style flamenco dance class where we focus on learning to dance improvisational bulerías.
LOCATION: ONLINE
Schedule & Pricing
ONLINE Live-stream | Tuesdays | 7:30-8:30pm PST
Online Classes include:
Livestream real-time class
Access to recording of class to review on your own
Video library with breakdowns of class material (for students who purchase monthly series)
PRICING OPTIONS:
September Series $42 (No class Sept. 21)
or
Class Flex Card ($80/5 hrs. $150/10 hrs.)
or
Sliding scale of $10-$20 per class
All payments are non-refundable, but you may transfer your payment to another class if you are unable to attend.
If you are having financial struggles but are interested in taking the class, please don’t let that stop you. Contact me, and we’ll make it work.
How do I sign up? Click below to register & we will send you the class link
You may pay now via credit card (with a processing fee), or we will send you payment instructions (via Zelle, ApplePay, etc.) upon registration.
“I appreciate your authenticity and deep experience with flamenco. Your class is one of the most useful classes that anyone has offered recently.”
Class Description:
Learn to dance improvisational bulerías and tangos and practice with live musicians. (Current session focus: bulerías.) This is an intermediate level class.
It’s easy to feel intimidated or stressed out at the prospect of dancing on your own. Are you ready to move beyond the barriers and become more comfortable “improvising” in a fiesta setting? In this class you will learn new moves, how to respond to the singing while you dance, and how to adapt those moves in the moment. This is where the fun is at!
Some weeks we will be joined by musicians to practice dancing with live guitar and cante.
Through teaching, guidance, and practice we gain comfort dancing in a por fiesta setting. We can learn to relax into the dance so that when something goes differently than anticipated (cante, for example) we feel comfortable adjusting our moves in the moment. Doing, doing, and more doing while receiving feedback will support you on your journey to por fiesta freedom.
The first part of class will be focused on direct instruction then the second part of class will be guided practice . On “musician days” more time will be spent in guided practice. Contact us if you have questions.
What will be addressed?
Where to come in with the cante and where to leave
How to dance on your own, in compás with cante and guitarra
What to do when the cante seems to throw you off
How to make a choreography your own
New moves for each component of the dance
How to pick apart different dances and use the parts you like (mix & match)
How to create your very own baile por bulerías/tangos
Where to add or subtract from your choreography & why
How to adapt a choreography to reflect different situations in the cante (in other words, how to follow the letra without abandoning your choreography)
How to play with your moves
How to dance w/o a choreography
During the guided practice sessions some people will be focusing on learning the structure of the dance and where to come in with the cante, others on responding to the cante within the letra, some on dancing our choreography as-is and memorizing it, others mixing and matching the components to "improvise," others on how to exit … We'll ALL practice accompanying each other with palmas and jaleos because this is everybody's job in por fiesta flamenco.
I learned to dance por fiesta the hard way, and that's not how I want things to be for you. After much of doing, messing up, analyzing and figuring out, and thoughts of, "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" I realized it was time to create a method [a FUN method] to present the necessary information in an understandable manner while providing a format for practicing and perfecting in a variety of scenarios. Consider these por fiesta sessions a synthesis of everything I've learned about bulerías & tangos designed to make them more accessible to you and hopefully help you learn from my mistakes!
This class is held at the New Day Center for the Arts 5516 SE Foster Rd, Portland.
"I like how you break down each component to bulerías and don't just teach a choreography. My brain is so full - but I know things are starting to click together simply by how much I think and dream about it...it's like learning a language - I've been learning all these words - or mimicking sentences through memorization and repetition - but finally, my brain is starting to realize these words and sentences have meanings and can make other sentences - they communicate with others too - and eventually, you can maintain an entire conversation..." Seana Yee
"If you know Flamenco, even a litle bit, then you know that Bulerias CAN BE scary, and/or can be SUPER FUN! I was brave enough to take Laura's monthly Bulerias workshop for 5 weeks, and I am so glad that I did!!! At the first class, I was almost going to feel left behind because in the class, everyone already seems to know what's going on both structure-wise and choreography-wise. BUT, Laura carefully watches every one of her students and gives advice and encouragement! By the end of each class, I left the studio with more and more confidence and just couldn't wait for the next class! Class is a very friendly atmosphere, and oh I'm so thankful to Laura, for how she teaches, and how she actually makes students be able to BULERIAS! Laura's class is TOTAL FUN!" - Harue Hirai
"Wow, I am so impressed with how far we have alll come in the bulerías series! Seriously, everyone seemed so much more comfortable on Saturday and I love all of the support and smiles. ¡Gracias! That is all because of you and your effective, encouraging and challenging teaching!!" - Erica