I first saw Cristina Hall perform in Sevilla, at the same tablao you see her dancing at in this video from Part One, many years ago. Melinda took me to see her, and I was BLOWN AWAY.
Cristina is 100% artist.
“People want to fit you into a mold that they’re used to, and stepping outside of the box can be a bit difficult for people to understand in the beginning, but in the long run as an artist, it’s gratifying.”
In the interview below Cristina talks about her life as a flamenco dancer starting from her first class in her hometown of San Francisco, where she knew from the moment she got there that she would be dedicating her life to flamenco, all the way to Sevilla, Spain where she has resided for nearly twenty years.
She touches on everything from practice to performance to the creative process to self expression to artistic choices to discipline.
She talks about following her intuition, about trying to find herself through flamenco and not lose herself, about using play as part of the creative process, letting the mind go and allowing the body to express. She talks about the importance of listening to music, cante especially, and the importance of practicing by yourself outside of class to understand how your own body works. She talks about her appreciation for the feeling of nervousness she (still) gets before performing as it reminds her that she still has a lot of respect for what she does.
Cristina even offers some recommendations to students.
The interview is full of nuggets of wisdom, a must-listen for any flamenco dancer, student or professional.
Oh, and you’ll love hearing about her pre-performance ritual. I can’t decide whose amuses me more, hers or Mercedes Ruiz’s.
Topic Breakdown:
00:15 How she got started in the arts and flamenco
3:00 Moving to Spain
6:00 Challenges along the way
8:15 Where she finds inspiration
9:15 The creative process
10:30 Expressing herself freely
11:30 A typical day in the life of Cristina
12:45 Rehearsal
14:00 Favorite palos
14:45 What kinds of dancers she likes to watch
15:30 Tablao vs. the big stage
17:30 Pre-performance rituals
18:40 What she wears and why
20:00 Studying other forms of dance
21:45 Recommendations for students
(About ten minutes in Frances the Cat makes her appearance.)
“Before even taking the class I knew, this is my life.”
Study with Cristina!
Join us for workshops August 4-6 in Portland or online.
YOUR Questions
What is one of the biggest takeaways you got from Cristina’s interview? What do you still want to know? Let me know in the comments below & I’ll get you answers!!
More Cristina
Get her thoughts on teaching and watch her perform here.
Watch her dance guajiras here.