 |
|
August 05, 2005
Taller Flamenco Seville, Day Seven
I have unwittingly become so accustomed to the quiet drabness of London that the scorching Sevillan streets seem larger and louder than life. As I wander around savouring the differences in sights, noise and smells, I hear men using fingers and thumbs to click a rhythmic greeting. Others join in or answer, modifying the rhythm, By doing so, they're changing the message; making jokes without words based on rhythms with which they’re so familiar that they’ve become an intuitive means of self expression.
I wish I found compás easier. David Moran “El Gamba de Jerez” teaches us Compás and Palmas on Wednesdays and Fridays. As ‘improvers’ we’re whizzing through the forms at a rate of knots and have already done Alegrias, Solea por Bulerias, and Soleare. He points out the similarities and differences of the different Compás as we climb the Flamenco Tree. It’s not as easy as you might think. Once the group gets the hang of a palos, he gets us clapping individual phrases on a rotating basis or even single claps (it's the emphases and silences that get you) while he sings and claps contratiempo. A professional singer, he has a great voice and a real passion for the music.
We learned some useful words in the Spanish class today. Bochorno is wet heat and sequia is drought. Nube means clouds. I’ve forgotten the word for dry heat which is what we were getting, it’s about 45 degrees and a cloudy day, which we learn is bad. When the clouds stay into the night it doesn’t cool down.
Photo log starts here: Seville August 2005 and ends here
 |
 | ||||||||
|
| ||||||||
|
| ||||||||
|
| ||||||||
|
| ||||||||