My biggest issue with bulerías when I got to Jerez was transitions. Well, ok, that’s not really true, my biggest issue after fear. But the transitions.
It was like all of a sudden I couldn’t see them.
And I didn’t know what to do.
I've since learned how to approach difficult transitions more gracefully. (I'll tell you how in just a moment.) I'll also explain to you in detail the transition that almost gave me a nervous breakdown along with some things you might like to know about "counting" bulerías de Jerez.
But first, allow me to give you some background ...
She said she was going to show them how to dance in a losa
Pequeña.
Y por fiesta.
It was Ani who said that. Ana María López. She said it on a Monday morning in Jerez.
We had been there for a little over a week I guess.
And on this particular Monday morning the ladies had gone to bulerías class ahead of me.
When I walked in I saw something I'd never seen before
From Jerez last fall ...
Sunday night I was writing
About flamenco and Jerez and what I'm doing here and what I want to learn here.
And I set some intentions for the week.
I had a few.
One was to Observe
To observe people dancing bulerías. In class and out. Anywhere. Especially people whose dancing I liked.
To watch them, really watch them. And to notice what was happening.
I saw him perform for the first time in 2011 in Jerez at the peña. He was having a good night, and I was told were were lucky. I saw him perform the next time I was there. Again, they said it was a good night.
Ricardo asked me how things were going here in Jerez.
I told him everything was great
Everyone was happy. We were hearing tons of flamenco. Doing tons of flamenco. Learning a lot. The weather was nice...
"Todo bien," I told him, except that I felt like my body looked weird when I danced.
"Andaaaaa. Tu cabeza si que es rara."
"Come on! Your head is what is messed up," he told me.
oday in bulerías at Los Cernícalos I heard Junquerita sing this letra, along with this one, and a bunch of others. Because he sings and sings and sings and sings as people dance and dance and dance and dance. It is great.
Then Ani wanted to teach everyone some new moves. She talked about how changing your bulerías moves is kind of like changing your clothes. You might put on a different shirt one day but wear the same skirt from the previous day. Or perhaps you'll change both. It just depends.
The point is you choose.
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Another story from Jerez...
Somehow I convinced everyone to go to bulerías class with me
I told them how it terrified me. I told them I was terrorized by it. But they still wanted to go.
I took them there even before our first class with Mercedes.
I needed for them to see it. I was hoping they would want to take it too. I was worried they might think it was too much on top everything else.
Physically it is not demanding. So, that would be no issue.
But mentally, well...
I had told them about it the night before
They were ready for certain things.
You've heard me talk about Ani and her bulerías class and about bits of wisdom I've learned from her. I want to share another bit today.
It's one of those things she said that sent me scurrying to my notebook. I didn't think much about it when she said it. I just knew it was importante and that I wanted to write it down.
Concepts
In bulerías class you learn steps.
But you don't have to do them.
You can. Or you can do your own. Or someone else’s.
So, yes, you learn steps.
But you're really there to learn concepts.
I wrote and posted this story about two years ago. I was so inspired by Akiko that I wanted to repost it today, with a few adjustments. Today when I am feeling overwhelmed and stressed out about all kinds of things.
Today when I am feeling shut down and scared to perform this weekend, as I so often get.
Today when I need grounding and inspiration.
Today I need to remember Akiko in the springtime in Sanlúcar...
Allow me to tell you a bit about Akiko, one of the many inspiring people I've met during my time here in Jerez.
Not too long ago Akiko began taking classes in Japan from Harumi, an incredibly graceful flamenco dancer from Osaka who básicamente seems to have mastered las bulerías de Jerez. She even co-teaches with Ana María López at la Peña los Cernícalos when she is in town.
But back to Akiko.
It was November 2012, and I was in Jerez. My exotic pets had all gone home, except for one that is. And I kept getting messages, important messages... November 7, 2012
I started getting them about a week ago, the messages. Or that's when I started hearing them.
They were sent on various occasions.
But always during class.
And they were all more or less the same.
Occasion #1 | Monday morning at the peña
Things changed in bulerías this week.
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Another story from Jerez...
Getting in
One day in bulerías class Ani asked me to tell the ladies that getting in is the hardest part.
And so I did.
I told you I'd tell you about green bananas. And so, a short story from Jerez. A story including yet another tip.
Tú vas a comer un plátano verde?
This is what Ani asked Ana.
Ani is Ana María López, the bulerías teacher.
Ana is a student from Russia.
Un plátano verde is a green banana.
You don’t eat a green banana.
That's what Ani told her.
Last Saturday was the holiday fiesta. And we did bulerías. In our way.Which reminds me....
I told you I'd be giving you more little tips from Ani's class.
But first let's talk briefly about steps
Because you learn a lot of steps in in bulerías class.
You could say they are just steps.
To play with.
To practice.
To try out.
To hold on to. (If you like.)
They can even be thought of as tools for understanding how the conversation works.
I've been in Jerez for about a month now. Kind of immersed in bulerías. They're everywhere. And I love them more and more each day. Really.
So here begins a little series. A nod to Jerez as I get ready to go. I'm leaving for Madrid in a few hours...
Un saludo a Jerez como ya me voy.
Because bulerías doesn’t exist anywhere as it does here. And if it did, it wouldn’t be what it is.
It’s just its own thing here.
And that's that.
I'm not saying you have to be in Jerez to do bulerías or anything like that. No, no. I’ll keep dancing them in Portland, of course, because there's no way I can stop. And we have a lot of fun doing bulerías in Portland, even though it's not the same.
Ok, so I told you that I might share some bulerías tesoros directly from the mouth of Ana María López with you today or tomorrow. Well, it's not happening today because I just got this great email from Becky. Becky is a student. She came on the Spain Tour.
Below you'll find an email that she sent to her husband.
She passed it along to me. and I asked her if I could post it. She was sending it to me for me, but she very graciously agreed.
I read it as a series of snapshots showing how life has been going here in Jerez, which is why I wanted to share it with all of you. So, here you go, from Becky...
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Today was the last bulerias class for everyone on the Spain Tour, my exotic pets.
And tomorrow is the final class with Mercedes.
Then on Sunday everyone leaves. I am feeling pretty sad about that. Thank goodness Katie is staying...
But back to bulerías class.
Today was a celebratory day. Just about everyone got cerveza. Yes, beer. When Ani is in a good mood and really likes what you do she gives you beer. I didn't get any beer.
Today everyone came to bulerías class.
My dad, Kuma, and, of course, my exotic pets. (That is what they've started calling themselves, the Spain Tour students. I much prefer it to Spain Tour students, and I can't tell you what fun it is to bring exotic pets along on a trip...)
Anyway, below is a letra that Junquerita sang today. Ani did as well.
Bulerías
Popular
Me entró sueño y me dormí
me despertaron los gallos
cantando quiriquíquí
I got tired,
and I went to sleep
I was awaken by the roosters singing cock-a-doodle-doo
Ok, so there is this one thing I've noticed that really, really, really has a BIG effect on my dancing. Is it the biggest effect? I don't know.
But it's big
I know how important it is, yet I still refuse to consistently give it the credit it deserves.
I want to remember to do it. Or no, not remember, I want to do it even if I don't want to.
You know how much I like stories, so let us begin with a story.
Un cuento
It was a Wednesday much like today, sunny and hot that is. I was in Jerez. It was the spring of 2011...
The rest of the story comes in the form of but another excerpt from my journal.
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So my biggest issue with bulerías when I got to Jerez was the transitions. Well, ok, that’s not really true, my biggest issue after fear. But about the transitions, it was like all of a sudden I couldn’t see them. And I didn’t know what to do.
It was my first time in Ana María López’s class after dancing by myself in front of EVERYONE, which is what you have to do EVERY day there and actually NUMEROUS times every day.
And you can’t hide.
You can’t escape by leaving the room because someone calls you, even if you’re outside practicing or just trying to escape all of the smoke. - Yes, smoking. Lots of smoking goes on in class, from start to finish - And if you try to pretend you didn’t hear that you were called and still don’t come in, someone comes to get you.
I guess you could say I was kind of consumed with fear during my time in Jerez. I did things anyway, but I also didn't do things. Below is an excerpt (with some side notes) written during my first week alone there. For those who are new to this blog, I had been in Jerez a couple of weeks before for the Festival. After a brief trip to Portugal, I headed back. I arrived on Friday the 25th and began my search for classes.
Prior to leaving for Spain I knew who I wanted to take from and had names of studios and phone numbers; I even had an idea of when some of the classes were offered. Sí! I had done my research, I promise, as best as I could from Portland, Oregon...I had to for the RACC grant. And during the festival I got an idea of where the studios were located. But I had yet to figure out the class times. Could I have done more to determine this earlier in the month? Perhaps. But figuring out where and when things happen in that town is not as easy as one might think…
