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.
People are feeling nervous.
Nervous and anxious about the Student Showcase on Saturday.
I know this feeling. Well.
So I thought I'd repost these tips today, performance tips.
Whether you're performing in front of your friends in class,
at a show in front of the public,
or even just in your own bedroom in front of your cat,
There are things we can do to ease our nerves ...
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A letra for today
Si quieres venirte, vente,
si quieres estarte, estáte,
nos quedaremos a solas…
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From Camarón
Una rosa pa tu pelo te voy a regalar
y cuando tú te vayas de mi vera
me tienes que recordar.
A rose for your hair I will give you
and when you leave my side
you will have to remember me.
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Tientos
Yo no tenía puertecita en que llamar
yo no tenía ná más que la tuya
y me la encuentro claveteá
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El limón con la canela
la rosita con el jazmín
así me huelen tus carnes
cuando yo me arrimo a ti.
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I am in Córdoba. I like it here.
This evening we were taking a stroll, my nieces, my sister, and I.
Dando un paseo
That's something I like about Spain. Families and friends taking walks around the town together. It is normal. It happens every day. So many people out and about. Together.
We walked by jasmine
Lots of jasmine hanging down the wall.
El olor.
The smell.
And so, one of my favorite tangos, from Camarón along with a video ...
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When we're on the FlamencoTour, we hear Santi practicing. A lot.
Santiago Lara, that is.
We're in the studio dancing. He's either in the bathroom or upstairs practicing.
When it's time to play for us Mercedes calls for him,
"Santi!"
I can hear her saying it now.
Actually, if you listen carefully you can hear her saying it in the video below at about 1 minute 50 seconds...
I first interviewed him in the spring of 2013. Unfortunately, I lost all of that footage. I know, back up.
So, I interviewed him again last fall.
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Bulerías de Jerez.
Relaxed y con mucho arte.
Olé.
Today a letra and a video of Luis El Zambo and Diego Amaya.
Bulerías
No sé porqué será
me daban a mi lo mismo,
la pena de los demás
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Another letra and video of Luis de La Pica.
Bulerías
Luis de la Pica
Miro a la luna y veo que soy de ti
Miro mis manos y pienso que me voy a morir
A veces me paro,
y me da escalofríos en pensar en mí.
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An estribillo, a letra and a video of Luis de La Pica.
I first heard this estribillo, his letras, and heard of Luis de la Pica, when listening to Marina Heredia. That whole song on as she does it still gets me.
These melodies will always get me ...
And these words ...
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You've probably read the basics about sevillanas.
And you've probably seen my detailed explanation of the steps to the sevillanas I learned in Jerez, from Harumi who learned them from Ani.
But now,
What about sevillanas with castanets?
The toque for the first sevillanas is here, along with the reason why I write them out in two different ways.
And you can find the toque for the second one here.
Today I post the third one ...
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Tengo un secreto.
I’m
afraid
to go
to Spain.
I leave in a few weeks, and I’m scared
But not for the usual reasons.
Nope.
I’m afraid to take people there. Even though this will be the fourth time I’ve taken a group there to study.
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Seana was in Portland minding her own business. Studying flamenco and living her life.
In college she had spent a semester in Spain. She traveled around but never made it to Jerez.
Seana dreamed of returning to Spain.
To Dance.
And then one day she did just that
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For thirty years Stella had been wanting to travel to Spain. In the fall of 2013, she finally decided to make the trip. And she did it by joining the FlamencoTour.
"How scary it would be to come alone,"
Stella says.
"Once you come back [home] then you realize what a precious jewel you had ... and I'm jealous of people who are going to go."
Watch the video below to hear Stella talk about her experiences in Jerez.
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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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I have been anxiously awaiting the full moon.
But according to this letra, no moon is necessary...
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I know that workshops can seem overwhelming at times,
and hard.
Difícil.
Ricardo López, one of my favorite guys ever, knows this too.
And yes, even though he is a professional dancer who travels the world performing with people like Rafaela Carrasco, he still enjoys studying and taking cursillos.
So I want to share with you three suggestions from Ricardo that we can use in class.
And after that I'll talk about how his tips can help us outside of the studio as well.
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Today I want to show you a video of Becky and Aida from the rooftop of our apartment in the Barrio San Miguel, an important flamenco neighborhood in Jerez.
They describe their time in Jerez together.
They talk about being in bulerías class, In the words of Becky,
"You soon realize that you have the support of everybody in the room. Not only your fellow travelers, but everybody else who’s there. Everything is there. The music. The singing. The jaleos. The palmas. You can really have some amazing breakthroughs."
And they talk about the togetherness of the group,
"We were on the same page, everybody," Aida says.
They talk about other things too. Hear what they have to say in the video below.
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