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If you are a faithful reader of my blogs, you know I'm hopelessly in love with flamenco (
CLAPclaclaclapCLAP.Stomp.Stomp...STOMP). The first
espectaculo that I saw here in Madrid left me absolutely speechless. The dancers were so confident, powerful and feminine. They controlled every movement and captivated the viewer. When I left the small
tablao and walked out into the night air, I felt my own energy had changed. Just watching these women dance filled me with confidence, power and an inner sense of calm.
After seeing these amazing performances, I couldn't just spectate. I had to see for myself what it
feels like to dance flamenco.
Though I'm probably more genetically designed for Riverdance and culturally trained for Hip-Hop, I nonetheless started sniffing around for a flamenco class. After several dead leads, I finally happened upon a flier for
Arte Jondo (http://www.artejondo.com/pages/home.htm), a flamenco center in town run by Diana Thedim. Like a drug dealer, she offered me a free class, and after just one hit, I was hooked. Though I only had one month left in Spain, I hunted down a luscious flamenco skirt and a pair of beginner's shoes. Poor man's tap shoes, they're made with
claves hammered
Diana, mi profesora de flamenco
"Tae-Tica-Tae-Tae-Arriba!-Atras!-Tae-Tica-Tae-Tae" into the toe and the
tacon, so you can stomp the hell out of the floor and make some noise.
So two nights a week for the past month I've been pulling on my skirt and my shoes to learn flamenco. It started out easily enough. Anyone can stomp. "Golpe (Stomp)-----Golpe-----Golpe-----Golpe...." Then faster: "Golpe----Golpe---Golpe--Golpe-Golpe-Golpe-Golpe-Golpe-Golpe...." Then a different base rhythm. "Golpe-----Tacon (Heel)-----Tacon-----Golpe-----Tacon-----Tacon...." Then faster: "TAE---ti---ca---TAE-tica-TAE-tica-TAE-titca...." We're all in unison. It feels and sounds like a train accelerating down the tracks. It's loud. The percussion of our feet echoes in our small red studio. We don't need music. We
are the music. It feels powerful. We're going faster than we thought we could go. Now it's time to change the step a little and add that unpredictable gypsy twist to the rhythm:
"TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-
TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-
TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-TAE... (uno, dos, tres)
TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-
TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-
TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-TAE... (uno, dos, tres)
TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-TAE... (uno, dos, tres)
TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-ca-TAE-ti-TAE... (uno, dos, tres)
ca-TAE-TAE-TAE"
As time went on, I missed fewer steps and my gawky white frame started to move with a little less gawk. I noticed that flamenco isn't just a dance; the dance is the music. I stopped thinking about what foot was supposed to step where next,
The Skirt
I have to admit that wearing a skirt made from this much material and allowing it to twirl around your legs feels really feminine. and started to just hear and feel the rhythm that we all were making together. The rhythm would resonate in my head all night long after flamenco class.
While I was learning the footwork and learning to keep a generally strong centered body posture, the other
bailadoras were at various levels, learning to add a little hip shake, a head inclination, an arm posture, a roll of the wrist and fingers, a flip of the skirt. With each new phase, the dancer becomes more powerful. She appears less self-conscious, her arms and head often moving in the opposite direction of a powerfully stomping foot, allowing it to speak for itself. Her fingers and
munecas wave delicately at the ends of powerful arms, making her appear feminine and mysterious.
As my month in class went on I could feel my confidence growing, in the studio and on the street. I started looking people in the eyes as I passed them, often startling them with my boldness. I could feel that my posture and gait as I walked down the
calle had acquired an inner peacefulness; deliberate and assured. They say that smiling bestows happiness upon the smiler. Well, walking
Mi Clase
Carmen, Neva, David, Me, Stephania, Elena, y Gema with a powerful and confident step seems to bestow confidence and power upon the walker in the same way. Dancing flamenco for a month did that for me.
Anthropologically speaking, dancing and singing are two of the the behaviors that set us humans apart from the rest of the animal world. Every human culture in known history has used song and dance to create an identity, to unify its people, to express ideas and emotions, to celebrate, to mourn, sometimes to pray. As central as song and dance are to being human, how many of us sing or dance in our daily lives? And why don't we? Are we afraid we'll look or sound foolish? Do we believe that if we can't sing like Ella Fitzgerald, we shouldn't sing at all? Do we believe that if we can't dance like Fred Astaire, we shouldn't dance at all? Do we think song and dance aren't important? Personally, I think there's no excuse. We
need to sing and dance. When you dance, you place your body with intention in space. When you sing or stomp you create vibrations in the air. "I AM," you say with your body and your spirit.
Twirling!
Diana, Stephania, David and Gema twirl through our routine while the rest of us keep the pace, clapping "palmas." We need to learn and to practice making a sound in this world, literally and figuratively. GOLPE.
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Stella
non-member comment
Bravo
Wonderful and what a surprise! I knew you were taking lessons but had no idea you would be generous (confident enough) to share your lessons with your humble readers. As you know, I cannot dance and don't dig music that much but you make some very valid points about the importance of both in our lives. Again I can almost hear the clap, clap, stomp, stomp. I get a little lost when it goes to the Tae ti ca but sounds intriguing! Great discriptions and pictures as usual. I love the big black skirt and you must give a demo when you come home to us.