When Jesús Carmona was here he recommended that every student of flamenco improvise a little bit each day. In honor of that, here's a guided exercise in improvisation along with a video and examples of how a letra can vary.
First, the letra:
In the video example the singer interprets the same bulerías letra in two different ways, which makes it great to practice to.
Version One (5 minutes in)
Dime niña hermosa
quién te peina el pelo
RESPIRO (one compás break, 12 beats)
lo peina un estudiante
te lo riza un artillerooooo... de la artillería
que con gracia y salero
con gracia y salero
Read on for my seven biggest takeaways from this month's workshops with flamenco maestro Jesús Carmona followed by a challenge for you.
Jesús is all about working hard, breaking things down, and holding high expectations all while having fun. A true master teacher. He sees everybody and expects maximum effort from all. He worked us HARD during the workshops in Portland. It was truly satisfying to see and feel the progress that we made in just four days. How can something be semi-torturous yet completely wonderful at the same time?
Here are seven pieces of advice from Jesús that will help you become a better flamenco dancer.
Last week we were blown away by Jesús Carmona here in Portland. He gave workshops and put on a last-minute show, Ensayo de Una Vida, which he created and debuted right here in town! I'll tell you more about that later. For now, here's a letra and a video of Jesús dancing at Corral de la Moreria. (Below the video you can see some pictures from our workshops last week.)
Soleá
Popular
No quiero que hables con nadie
Sólo con tu confesor
con tu padre
con tu madre
Below enjoy a video of Saray García (Zorri's granddaughter) dancing bulerías at Peña de la Buena Gente in Jerez.
Bulerías
Popular
Si yo tuviera dinero
yo me compraba un melonar
que echara melones dulces
y sandias coloras
Here's a letra from Camarón's La Vara De Los Chalanes:
Bulerías
Antonio Humanes
Era una tarde de abril
cuando ya llegaba el alba
floreando los jardines
de flores que Dios guardaba
yo vi sacar tu pañuelo
yo vi como lo bordabas
Below you can watch Curro de Utrera singing today's letra along with a couple of clips from our private workshop with Mercedes Ruíz during the last Flamenco Tour to Jerez.
Alegrías de Córdoba
Popular
La hija de la Paula
no es de mi rango
ella tiene un cortijo
y yo voy descalzo
We were named #3 in the Top Flamenco Blogs And Websites Every Flamenco Dancer Must Follow, Best Flamenco Blogs on the Planet by Feedspot Blog Reader.
That feels exciting!
I started this blog seven years ago at the suggestion of a student just before I left for Spain on the trip that inspired the Flamenco Tour to Jerez. I'm SO grateful that I did as it reconnected me to my love of writing, offered me a new means of expression, and most importantly, turned into a way to help and connect with others along their flamenco journeys. What started as a personal account of my flamenco learning has evolved into educational and informative articles, interviews with artists, translations of flamenco songs, and stories of my travels and flamenco studies.
In celebration of this, today I'd like to share with you some of my favorite posts from the past seven years.
Below watch a bulerías video, Fin de ManiFiesta, from the March 8th International Woman's Day gathering, 8M, in Sevilla, Spain earlier this month.
Here is one of the letras from the video:
Bulerías
Dile no a la violencia
y a la mano que pegó
y di si a la igualdad
y abre tu corazón
Baladilla de los tres puñales
Rafael de León
He comprado tres puñales
para que me des la muerte...
El primero, indiferencia,
sonrisa que va y que viene
y que se adentra en la carne
como una rosa de nieve.
Does the thought of taking a flamenco workshop with a master artist from Spain fill you with excitement or fear?
If you're anything like me you feel a little bit of both.
Here are some steps you can take before, during, and after a workshop to help manage any overwhelm that comes up:
Before the workshop
1. Decide what you want to get out of it
Set a workshop goal.
Do you want to master the choreography? Improve upon a specific technique? Get inspired? Become a better learner? Implement the teacher's personal styling? Simply have a fun experience?
We were all blown away by Jesús Carmona and Company's performance here in Portland this week, "I can't stop thinking about it," one student wrote me, "The best performance I attended in my entire life. Heart stopping," another said. You can see pictures from the evening and a video below.
Now, here's a letra from the show:
Keep Reading
Flamenco artist Antonia 'La Negra' passed away earlier this week.
Below watch a video of her singing bulerías to her daughter, and here is one of the coletillas you'll hear:
Bulerías
Popular
A nadie quiero
Mientras que viva mi compañero
The Festival de Jerez is in full swing right now, so today I'll share with you a video from there taken earlier this week of Ana Morales with Juan José Amador singing her this letra:
Today, to wrap up love month, a song that falls on the tragic side of love.
Following the words you'll find a collection of videos of live interpretations from Pepe de Lucía to La Macanita.
What does it feel like to have been the first teacher to some of the most famous flamenco dancers from Jerez?
That's a question I asked Ana María López, one of the most influential flamenco instructors in Jerez, Spain, in the video interview you'll see below.
Sitting down with Ani . . .
In the interview Ani, as she's affectionately known, talks about how she grew up surrounded by flamenco in the San Miguel neighborhood of Jerez, began studying dance as a little girl, and later grew into one of the most well-known bulerías instructors around. She has been the primary teacher to some of the greatest flamenco dancers working today such as Mercedes Ruíz, Patricia Ibañez, and Carmen Herrera. Naturally, we study bulerías with her during the Flamenco Tour to Jerez. Watch through to the end of the video where you'll see her in the studio demonstrating how to dance bulerías with the cante and feel the joyful essence of Jerez.
Here's LOVE Month Letra # 3 ...
Tientos
Popular
Pasaba toda la noche
sentaita en mi ventana
qué larga se hacía la hora
viendo que tú no llegabas
Flamenco lover, this post is dedicated to you.
Last week I asked some students what they loved about flamenco. (I asked myself too.) Our answers became the list below. Following the list you'll find the video that inspired one reader to begin dancing flamenco along with a downloadable valentine for you.
What We Love About Flamenco:
- The challenge
- The community
- The emotion
- The elegance
- The passion
- The boldness
- The rhythm
- The beauty
- The focus
- The complexity
It's the second week of LOVE letras!
Here's the chorus to Vicente Amigo's Enamorao followed by a video of Alba Heredia when she was little.
Enamorao enamorao
lo que a mi me está pasando…
It's LOVE month ...
Here's a soleá por bulerías letra to start February off right along with a video of Saray García dancing at Casa Patas.
Another soleá (the next letra) and a video of Beatríz Martín.
Soleá
Popular
En todas las partes del mundo
sale el sol cuando es de día
es que a mi me sale de noche
hasta el sol está en contra mía
