How to know what to dance and when to dance it

How to Survive a Flamenco Festival

June 26, 2012

As most of you know I went to Albuquerque earlier this month to Flamenco Festival Internacional. Festivals are intense. Intense can be good, but it can also be, well, fuerte. Preparation can help. So...

1. Choose a festival hosting artists you want to see and learn from.

Artists I admire = inspiration and motivation. Sure, I get a bit nervous at the thought of studying with these most amazing artists, but it usually goes away after awhile.

2. Go with a group of people.

You may know them before. You may not. You may travel with them. You may meet up there. Either way, having a small community within the bigger festival community offers support. Plus it's just so much more fun with other people. Think laughter, lots of laughter, therapeutic laughter.

3. Choose your learning tools.

There are many available.... An audio recording device to help you recall the sounds. A notebook for notes and reflections on class. Going over the choreography or tricky steps with another student after or before class. Getting centered and staying present.

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Video: Emilio Has Some Things to Say

May 24, 2012

So Emilio Ochando is here in Portland.

He is here. Está aquí!

I told you I was going to ask him some more questions. And we did just that this evening. We made movies! So, click on the links in this post to see video interviews.

4 Simple Tips to Becoming Better at Flamenco

May 13, 2012

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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Before, During, and After

May 7, 2012

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.

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!

Ricardo's Take

March 7, 2012

Today, find out how Ricardo López approaches a flamenco workshop.

As you know, Ricardo is coming, so I thought you might like to get his take on the student's role in a workshop. And, yes, he himself still enjoys taking workshops. And why wouldn't he?

They are incredibly fun
They provide a chance to study with someone new
And a format for learning new things

No matter your level.

I know that workshops can seem overwhelming at times...

and hard, difícil!

He knows this too.

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Listen

February 27, 2012

Lately lots of students have been asking for recommendations for music.

I love this question.

Because you CANNOT do flamenco without appreciating the music.

No se puede.

Impossible.

And listening. Listening is so great. Listening to wonderful songs over and over again

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What Three Dancers Had to Say

February 15, 2012

A couple of weeks ago we had a performance. Abby, Julie, and Kikuyo, three members of the PFE Performance Group took part and danced fabulously, absolutely fabulously. I was so happy to be on stage with them, dancing together, supporting one another. I loved seeing how they each embraced their performance selves because they really truly did. As you may know, I love to interview people, so I asked these lovely dancers some questions. And I thought you might want to hear what they said.

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Some things About Ricardo

February 12, 2012

I want to tell you a good story about Ricardo, in honor of the fact that the schedule for the Immersion is up. Sí, it's up!

There are many stories running through my brain

But I don't feel like writing any of them right now.

So, I'll just tell you some of the things I enjoy about him being here:

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And Then, the Smiles

February 2, 2012

In the past weeks I've noticed something. For those of you who've been reading, you know that I am trying to make this year all about noticing.

Anyway, in class I've seen people coming in with all kinds of expressions.

Many people wearing the kind of day, or week, they've had on their faces. Class gets going, and there are concentrated looks, which is exciting.

And then, the smiles.

I've been seeing lots of smiles!

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There Were Things Learned in 2011

January 10, 2012

Ok, so, I put this question up on the white board in the studio in mid-December... What can you do now that you couldn't do at the beginning of the year? [little or BIG]

And someone said this,

"I can't even remember the beginning of the year."

So I reworded the question:

"What can you do now that you were unable to a month ago, or a week ago, or a day ago, or even a minute ago!?"

What can you do now that you couldn't do before? [little or BIG]

Anyway, there it was on the easel with sticky notes...for people to respond...and some people actually did. Oleeeeee! So let's celebrate, the big and the small.

Here is what they said:

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Mensajes de Músicos - Messages from Musicians

November 26, 2011

So Toshi keeps asking me to do these shows with him. I am considering myself to be very lucky. And I am considering the rehearsals to be like free concerts, free concerts for meeee! Then today during our rehearsal for Sunday's show at Tupai, I realized the musicians were sending me messages. Many many messages. Although I know they weren't meaning to send me messages nor were they aware that they were doing so. Pero los músicos me mandaban mensajes, hoy en el ensayo, muchos mensajes sin saberlo.

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How Bulerías Helps Me Learn How to Learn

November 2, 2011

So, I've been talking a lot about bulerías over the past several days. I guess because there is a lot to say, and today shall be no different. For me, doing bulerías is kind of like taking a happy pill. Simply put, it makes me feel good. Even when I do it for just five seconds, a quick remate out of the blue, a moment of palmas, stuff like that.

Playfulness. Perhaps this has something to do with my obsession. Bulerías is about having a good time. Who doesn't want this? And let’s face it, it’s much more fun to watch someone dancing who is having a good time with it. The energy is contagious, if we’re open to it. I wonder, if we aren’t enjoying ourselves, are we even really doing bulerías?

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A Few Cositas About Bulerías

October 31, 2011

Ok, so getting back to bulerías... I already told you about how I happened to get hooked on bulerías. And there are many stories to go along with that. Both Happy Tales (like seeing El Torta perform in Jerez last April...in a place I wasn't supposed to be, but where I went anyway) and Horror Stories (ok, perhaps not horror stories - all of the Halloweenness appears to be affecting my language - we'll call them Crying in Bulerías Class Stories.) But those can wait for later.

Right now let's just focus on some important things to know about Bulerías de Jerez, some of the cositas I referred to the other day...

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You - Sí, Tú - And Why You Do This Flamenco Thing

September 13, 2011

I was a junior in college. I was studying Spanish. Class was a struggle for me to say the least. The professor spoke only in Spanish, and I usually felt like a Charlie Brown adult was mwoah mwoah mwoahing at me all of the time. I can't even remember her name, the teacher's. I just remember she was eccentric, as they say, and that we went to her house once and she made us all mole. She was not Mexican but totally and completely obsessed. The mole was good enough. Anyway every day we would watch this "educational" novela and then answer questions about and "discuss" it. I rarely knew what was going on in class or with Raquel and El Padre Hidalgo on the TV set. Just one word sticks out in my mind, excavación. The whole novela had to do with some big excavation. So, why am I telling you all of this? Because a really good thing happened on account of that class with Señora Something-or-Other...

I became interested in flamenco.

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So Here's the Thing About Sevillanas (& my weird way of explaining them)

September 5, 2011

Summer (and it's still summer) has been fun and funny in Sevillanas class, and I mean funny in a good way.

Funny laughing a lot while dancing with partners...

And trying to remember what step to do when while looking directly at someone as opposed to looking at yourself in the mirror

Or doing the coplas out of order and forgetting which one we were on

Or the music feeling crazy-fast and us feeling like we were running a marathon just to stay in compás all the while trying to remember the pasos

Or nearly bumping into our partners several thousand times (or perhaps actually bumping into them)

Today, I explain sevillanas...

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When it All Began

July 31, 2011

I have been performing for as long as I can remember - perhaps some of you have as well. It began at a very early age - with highly entertaining shows usually created and performed with my sister for my family. My poor family. As a little girl it progressed to producing plays with the neighborhood kids.

And in elementary school, PRESENTATIONS! Ah, the presentation; it quickly became one of my most favorite things.

Then came middle and high school and drama. Plays and musicals and more plays and musicals.How dedicated was I you wonder? Well, for those of you who know me, I actually CHOSE to get up very early to rehearse before school... I am not a morning person.

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Emilio Ochando - Una Entrevista

June 26, 2011

Enjoy this interview in English and Spanish from earlier this year when Emilio Ochando was here in Portland.

February 1, 2011

Emilio when and why did you begin dancing? Well, as a little boy I was always dancing at home, dressing up and dancing in whatever way I felt. I started studying because of my sister. She was studying dance although she had to quit early due to knee problems. In Valencia I would go with my mom to pick her up from classes and watch through a little window. One day I told my mom I wanted to do it too. She asked me if I was truly serious about it, was I really willing to dedicate to it as I had seen how hard my sister had to work. I said yes and at 9 years old I began taking classes. I studied flamenco, ballet, classical Spanish dance, and modern. From the time started I was very serious about it; I knew I wanted to do do it professionally. I would go to school every day until 4:30/5pm then go to dance classes until 9:30/10pm, then go home, eat and do my homework. At the age of 16 I moved to Madrid.

Don't Practice so Much...And Get Better

June 17, 2011

The phrase practice makes perfect seems to be ingrained in our heads. In fact, some of us subscribe so faithfully to this philosophy that it actually may sabotage our learning.

How, you ask?

Well, there are those who practice and practice with no real vision of what they wish to accomplish or how to get there.

(Me! I've been there, far too many times):

So many nights I would come home from work exhausted, pero cansaísima, and force myself to practice, or rather, trick myself into thinking I was practicing. I would go through my footwork exercises, my mind on a different planet thinking about lessons for the next day or what I had to do for this child or that child or about some conversation I'd had with this person or that person, all kinds of things that had nothing to do with the what I was actually doing. And often times I found myself almost falling asleep, literally almost falling asleep standing! In both situations my body was there, moving, "dancing..." But my brain certainly wasn't.

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Guest Post: Jerez Flamenco Festival - A Great Time in a Sweet Town

April 5, 2011

GUEST POST: Reflections from the experiences of Portland flamenco dancer Jackie Howard Kraybill, "La Juanita," at the Festival de Jerez in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

April 1, 2011

Reflecting back on our time in Jerez for the 2011 Flamenco Festival, it is hard to decide what was most important in making it such a special trip.

First, the great classes: Ana María López teaching the subtleties of timing and gracia in the Bulerías de Jerez; Marco Flores (be still my heart!) teaching a cute and challenging Alegrías. But for me the pinnacle of classes was the one with La Rafi - Rafaela Carrasco. She taught a Serrana, which was a new palo for me and helps the "learn one of everything before I hang up my shoes" list. The choreography, rhythms and movements were as challenging as expected - the first day I thought I was going to pass out from fear. But over the days my confidence grew as I was able to keep up (it was a Medio level class filled with Spanish professionals!) and actually learn and execute the steps. It was an exhilarating feeling, that's for sure. Part of the reason this art form is so addictive!