Emilio Has Some Answers (and soon he'll have even more)

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Emilio Has Some Answers (and soon he'll have even more)

An interview with flamenco dancer Emilio Ochando and a video:

I can't wait to ask Emilio a million things once he gets here.  I asked him some questions last year.  But I have so many more!  Like how did he get to be so good?  And who are his favorite dancers?  And what are his favorite practice techniques and strategies?

I know he has a lot to tell us.

So I warmed him up with a few quick questions the other day.  And here is what he had to say.

Qué debe saber la gente que quiere aprender a bailar flamenco? Deben saber que no deja de ser un arte y que ello te lleva a emociones.  Tambien le tienes que sumar la constancia y ganas.

What should people who want to learn flamenco know? They should know that it will never stop being an art and that it will bring up your emotions.  Also you need to be consistent and approach it with enthusiasm.

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4 Simple Tips to Becoming Better at Flamenco

Ricardo was here this spring...in case you hadn't heard.  He was constantly giving us tips during the workshops.  Many great tips.  I've shared some of them and I'll surely share more.

But perhaps just as helpful were the little phrases I heard him say over and over again.

He didn't really intend them as tips.  They were not things that he carefully considered before sharing with us.  They were more just reactions, spoken in the moment.

And, oh, these little comments had a lot to tell me.

So I want to keep hearing them.

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Viernes con una Letra | tangos

It's tangos.  Tangos that we danced tonight in class...  We did this letra on Wednesday too.

And everybody looked so happy when they were suddenly dancing to cante.

Because there's just something about dancing to the cante.  Marcandolo, rematandolo.  Simply put, It's fun.

After class some started asking questions, "What was that song?"  So, here it is.  Oooo, and soon I get to sing it with the first graders.  I love watching them accompany each other, dancing and singing...

Tangos
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Sentaito en mi escalera
esperando el porvenir
el porvenir que nunca llega.

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Before, During, and After

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Before, During, and After

A lot of things go through my head around workshop time, which can drive me kind of crazy. So, to help deal with overwhelm that comes about before, during & after a workshop with a fabulously amazing artist I try to remember that there are certain things I can do to make it easier...

Antes

Think about what I want to get from it.

Remind myself that the teacher is just a regular person, and, if it's someone I'm bringing, that this person is nice. Being nice...a requirement for giving a workshop here. Phew.

Remind myself that this is an amazing and once in a lifetime experience.

Get in flamenco form. [Go to class, practice, stuff like that...]

Durante

Focus on what I'm doing, instead of on how fast others are getting it.

Be there, as fully as I possibly can.

Go through parts that I remember in some way after class. [In my mind, actually doing it, just marking the steps, going over it with a friend...]

Run the steps right before class begins with a friend of by myself.  [All, tricky ones, whichever ones I/we can recall]

Jot down notes to help me during the workshop or to serve as reminders afterit is over. [using words, pictures, numbers]

When I get frustrated, remind myself of why I am doing this.  And that it is about having fun.

Laugh.  

And Breathe.

Y Después

Reflect on what I learned & notice how I grew, what I got from it.

Hold on to what I want to... [The choreography, the essence, one specific move.]

Practice with a friend.

Practice on my own, perhaps with a video.

Palmas workshop with Ricardo López

Palmas workshop with Ricardo López

I don't necessarily do all of the above.  But I know that there are ways to ease the situation.  I know that I have options.  I know that I can pick and choose.

And you, how do you prepare for a workshop?  What do you do afterward?  Let's discuss this, leave a comment.

And, speaking of workshops, Emilio is on his way.  Oléeeee!  And there is still a spot for YOU!

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Viernes con una Letra | Fandangos

I asked Emilio, who is coming here very very very soon, to give me a favorite letra. He couldn't decide. "Fandangos," he said, any and all. (I LOVED the fandangos he taught us last year.) So, I want you to see this video. Arcángel, cantando por fandangos. I saw him perform them live, and oh my goodness, it was beyond incredible. Me ponían los pelos de punta... He is from Huelva, go figure.

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A Show That Isn't a Show

As you know, one of my most favorite things when taking a workshop is the energy it provides.  It is what led me to start this business.

But the watching is wonderful too.

Because sure, as students we dance, (A LOT, I know, that's what we're there to do) but we are given little private performances as well.  I used to consider these performances a bonus, but now I realize they are part of the deal.

Sometimes I space out.  I get caught up watching and forget that I am in class and am supposed to be participating.  Because there is this incredible dancer right in front of me doing the most amazing things.  Giving mini-performances.  Many of them.  Like these...

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Viernes con una Letra | bulerías (...por soleá)

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Viernes con una Letra | bulerías (...por soleá)

In honor of more bulerías...

Bulerías
José Soto Barea

Me pongo a comer y no como
me acuerdo de tus acciones
y con la comida me ahogo

I go to eat, and I don't eat
I remember what you did,
And I choke on my food

I've heard this sung as a bulerías and a soleá por bulerías.  Here is a sample from Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera and another from Miguel Poveda.

You've heard me say it before, translating is a challenge.  Let me know if you have any thoughts in the comments below.

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Viernes con una Letra | más tientos

Last week I told you we would have more tientos today, so here's a letra and a video of Camarón ...

Tientos
Camarón de la Isla

Cuantas veces yo he pensado 
que el mundo es una mentira
cuantos quisieran tener
pá comer lo que otros tiran

How often I have thought 
that the world is a lie 
How many would like to eat
what others throw out.

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Viernes con una Letra | Tientos de El Mellizo

Today a letra por tientos and an old video of Miguel Poveda.

If you know me, you know that I absolutely love tientos.  Someday I will tell you the story of Ricardo's refusal, after much begging, to teach me tientos, but not today. I have loved this palo from the first time I heard it.  And this tientos has perhaps my favorite estribillo of all time.  It is beyond beautiful.  Just read it then listen, and you'll know what I mean.  Oh, and Lamiae sang it for me on Sunday...That was wonderful.

Moraíto como un lirio
Antonio Sánchez Pecino

Mi cuerpecito lo tengo
moraíto como un lirio,
si Dios me diera la muerte
acababan mis martiritos

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Congelada

The following post is about fear, about overwhelm, perhaps about stage fright. About Ricardo López's dancing and reaching my lack of motivation.

We've had all week to work on the show.

But I've felt FROZEN.

Congelada.  I've found any excuse not to practice, not to get the help I wanted from Ricardo…  At first I didn't know why.  I just decided I was lazy.

I only went through things in my head.  I know, I know, that's an important way of practicing.

Ricardo is sharp.  He is fast.  He is precise.  He is intense.   He sweats.  He puts it all out there.  I don't understand how he does this.  I don't do this.

And I feel lazy.

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Viernes con una Letra | fandangos...again

Today, fandangos de Huelva and a video of Mayte Martín singing.

Here is the first copla Mayte Martín sings in Conquero. You might have seen the second one here last week, and the final one the week before. It's all a bit mixed up but, then, so am I. Hmm, though upon second thought, that's how flamenco is normally sung. The singer mixes and matches verses in the moment, so this makes perfect sense! 

Fandangos de Huelva
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Y los dientes de marfíl
los ojos como las moras
y tu boca es una fuente
donde una noche bebí 
agua con ansias de muerte

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Dancing with a Star

Ricardo is the star. I am still just me.

Ok, so I realized something this morning.

This might be my Dancing with the Stars...

I remember seeing that show and thinking how lucky those celebrities are to get to have their own personal, amazingly talented dance coach for an intensive period. There was some envy and jealousy. Then, as I mentioned, this morning I thought

Wait, isn't' that similar to what I have going on right now?

Ok, so let's look at this.

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What do you want from it?

Today's post is about flamenco workshops, the different types and the different skills you can gain from different types.

My friend Shyiang from Vancouver has taken LOTS of workshops (even some here in Portland, from Ricardo López)  She told me once that she would usually just learn the choreographies and then let them go.  Her friends would wonder what was wrong with her.  They would ask her how she could justify spending the money without even bothering to remember the choreography, without actually using it later.

The thing is, the experience itself was enough for her.

The experience itself made it worth it.

When attending a workshop, you, the student, get to choose.  You may choose to go home with a funky new piece, or you may just focus on being there, on the dancing and the learning and the soaking up of that flamenco essence in the moment.

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Los nervios

Often times people tend to get a bit nervous around workshop time.  This is normal. Workshops can be quite scary.  (Especially if you're anything like me.)  We are getting ready to study with a professional who tours the world dancing in the most prestigious flamenco festivals.  We are just normal people from the United States.  Problematic thoughts start going through our minds.  Thoughts like

How will I possibly keep up?

What if the teacher gets completely frustrated with me?

What if he gets mad at me when I mess up?

I'm not dedicated enough to do this.

How will I get by not being able to speak any Spanish?

Thoughts like that.

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Viernes con una Letra | Ten Cuidao

"Déjame saber tu letra favorita, Tell me your favorite letra," I begged Ricardo. He gave me this one, from Ten Cuidao, a bulerías by Mayte Martín.  Perhaps next week I'll post the first letra.

Anyway, here you'll see a video of Mayte Martín performing the whole thing live, and below that you'll find Ricardo's favorite part.

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Viernes con una Letra | Sol

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Viernes con una Letra | Sol

Ok, in honor of the beautiful sun we've been seeing here in Portland this week, here's the little fandangos coletilla. I taught it to my nieces in December. They were the cutest singing it, and Margot danced to it with a fan.

Quítate de sol que te quema
quítate del sol que te pone
la carita morena
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Get out of the sun that burns you
Get out of the sun
that turns your little face brown
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Ricardo, by the way, loves fandangos. Here is a falseta he set for me a couple of years ago...  He'll be here in less than two weeks! Como siempre, comments are invited and welcomed.  You may leave one below.

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