If you've ever taken class with Mercedes Ruíz, you will likely recognize the words and phrases below. If you have not yet studied with her and plan to, prepare, because you are sure to hear these utterances over and over again.
If you have previously studied with her but were unsure of what she meant, read on, and find out.
If you have not studied with her and don't plan to, read anyway because the first eight are important tips to remember all of the time in your independent practice or in anybody's class.
Let's Begin
You've read my thoughts on avoiding castanets burn-out, and you've read about what made castanets finally doable for me. Today I'll share with you five important technique tips. But first, a castanets confession.
It has to do with my moving thumb.
My right thumb, that is. My right thumb that moves when I am doing the roll with my four fingers, well, and when doing postiseo, but it's supposed to move then, so that's a good thing.
It's a bad habit that I formed in my alone practicing.
I don't know if I could have avoided it had I spent more time studying under someone else's guidance in the beginning. I don't know if the teacher would have noticed it happening and helped me to prevent it from continuing and developing into a habit. These are things I wonder about.
Most people tell me it's almost impossible to "fix" at this point.
Most people except for Emilio.
Bulerías.
It is the thing that everyone dances, even the guitarists and the singers.
It is the thing that, besides Mercedes, keeps calling me back to Jerez.
It is where we really let our personalities show.
It is SO MUCH FUN.
But there are certain must-knows for doing this dance.
Perhaps the first is that we all need to do it. I'm not joking about that.
You can’t do flamenco and NOT do bulerías, even though I used to think you could.
It is not easy.
We know that.
So let's look at five essentials, five things we need to know in order to dance bulerías:
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 ...
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.
1. Do it anyway
2. Come back to your body
3. Respect opinions, but be yourself
4. Feel and allow
5. Notice all of the other "not thems" who are doing it alongside you
6. Remember that art is universal, and so is expression
I was rehearsing with Kuma the other day when I accidentally learned a bunch of lessons. All lessons that I'd learned before, as so often is the case.
He was playing cajón. I was dancing. And not long into things, the re-noticings started coming. One after another. I had to keep running over to my phone to write them down. Because I was so excited. And because I didn't want to forget.
After awhile, on account of one of the noticings, I realized it was time to stop running away from our practice to write them down.
This was important.
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.
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.
