Carole Edrich Weblog

Taller Flamenco Seville, Day Twelve

Yoriko from Japan and Steve (who is English but lives in Madrid) joined our dance classes on Monday. Both have a good standard of flamenco and learn fast, and are already dancing the choreography with more confidence than me.

I love it when we use our knees and body shape to create height or the illusion of being small within the dance form. I feel; and hopefully can convey, huge potential energy in a semi crouch, and a willowing leafiness when I’m upright. The tension conveyed by flamenco dance doesn’t just come from the music, palmas and taconeo, but also from the way the body is held, the way it’s expressed with face and arms, the centre of gravity and what you project. I especially enjoy watching Lidia demonstrates; poetry in motion.

It’s getting very difficult to take notes and photos and learn at the same time. I feel like the slowest learner in the class and am surprised that I can demonstrate what we are learning when asked. Lidia says that the trasnitions to paso to paso are important and easy. They might well be easy in themselves, but put them between two pasos and it all gets hellishly complicated again.

I think I’ve interviewed most of the Taller Flamenco teachers now, and hope to get separate features on learning flamenco dancing, palmas, guitar, singing and technique from them. It’s interesting to hear what each different teacher believes to be our biggest challenge, and a real personal challenge to interview in Spanish and make notes in English.

There is one thing that all teachers agree on. In fact, every flamenco performer and teacher I’ve ever interviewed says the same thing. If you want to be good you have to listen. Listen to lots and lots and lots of flamenco music. Listen, understand and feel. Lidia Valdes says “flamenco is a form of living, all of your being has to be flamenco, I can’t teach you properly unless you know in your stomach where flamenco is from.” She says more; “Sin tecnica que una tonteria hacer una coreografia” I guess the closest would be “If you have no technique, it’s pointless to do a choreography.” This was in response to a question about holiday flamenco dancers who want to feel that they have learned a choreography without spending any time on basic technique.

Esther Velez says she loves it when her teaching helps her students express what they want. She says that flamenco isn’t just a way of moving but “a form of presentation, of living, of communication, of everything”

Manuel, the guitar teacher is really impressive. A well known and respected performer in his own right, he has a wonderfully structured approach to teaching flamenco guitar. But; like everyone else in the flamenco world, he emphasises the way you feel “It doesn’t matter if you can play flamenco with flawless technique, it won’t sound right unless you feel it. Like Lorca said, Duende is all-important”. He talks about helping flamenco guitarists feel secure in their feelings for the music and adds “Many people don’t understand that while the feeling is important it is also important to play with good technique and confidence. Those working on their flamenco guitar should work on one tiny thing until it’s right. If you can’t feel and interpret and do one thing right, you can’t do the rest.”

This second week of Compas and Palmas is much more demanding. It is incredibly difficult to start clapping Bulerias on the first beat. As a dancer, I am used to just starting at whatever point the dance requires and I’ve only just now consciously realised that dance teachers always start clapping or counting on the second! But it makes sense that musicians, percussionists and dancers think of the same rhythms in different ways as it is this combination that gives flamenco the feelings of suspense and energy that make it so passionate.

Flamenco Lexicon

Photo log starts here: Seville August 2005 and ends here

Posted by carole at August 10, 2005 11:26 PM