What it's all about

Time certainly flies. Last week has been very hard on me. I started to feel very pressured and trapped and didn't know why. My classes are hard, but good. I'm enjoying the training and the sweating. It's tiring but I can already feel some progress: My back is getting stronger, I can hold the positions longer - I'm finally working on my body. And that felt good. So why was I feeling so anxious? I sat down to do some hard thinking and it finally struck me that I usually feel this way when I'm forcing myself to do something I don't really want to do. I've always had a hard time finding the difference between "want", "should" and "must". The lines are really fuzzy for me. But in the last few years, my body and my soul, or you could call it my inner child, have gotten better at letting me know when something is wrong. And when I dreamt that I was being held at gunpoint, I knew something was very wrong.

I thought to myself, 'why am I doing this school'? In my mind, I believe it's the only way to get better at flamenco dancing - something I definitely want to do. But when I think about it, I'm starting to doubt it. Of course, a 9-month academic intensive training will help me progress immensely. But the endless, daily, mind-numbing training has a way of killing creativity. Suddenly it's all about going to school every day and following the rules and trying to fit the mould. There are so many things one can do wrong in flamenco. It's an aspect I don't like about it. Maybe there's a more creative way to go on about this year? I will definitely keep thinking about it. And as soon as I realized what the problem was, I felt better already.

In other news, last week was quite exciting. Here's a quick resumé with pictures:

We went to see La Choni's show. She is our bata de cola and technique teacher. She is a master of the tail skirt and had such a playful and humorous dialogue with it, she had me grinning all the time. She dances Alegrías the way they should be danced - I loved her charisma, stage presence and the way managed to include batting her eyelids in the dance.

A procession took place in the same street that night (one Virgin was being moved from one church to another), we had a hard time getting to the venue. Catholic processions are a big thing in Sevilla. I am absolutely not religious but I had to admit there is something very spiritual about them: The solemn music, the way people from the whole neighbourhood march along. This kind of devotion is absolutely foreign to me.

On Monday I got to pick up my very own bata de cola! My classmates and I went to seamstress Pili Cordero. She was been making tail skirts for 30 years and is sewing for dancers such as Alicia Márquez and Belén Maya. It is one of the most exciting pieces of clothing I have ever posessed! 

 Finishing touches at the sewing studio:

Totally in loooooove! No comment about the color! ;) Sorry for the bad phone pics. 

This week I also saw an old friend of mine, Pedro Viscomi. He's from home, but went to Sevilla 5 years ago. He's now making a living as a flamenco guitarist. He gave a small concert together with singer David Bastidas on a rooftop terrace:

On Wednesday, we went to the Peña Torres Macarena, where the "Compañia CAFS" (my school) performed. They consist of Sara Lopez (dance - my castanets teacher), Lucas Ortega (singing), Eva Ruiz (singing) and Idan Balas (guitar - our cante accompanyist). It was a great performance.

After so much going out, I was tired and took it easy the rest of the week. But last night I went out with my Swiss friend and she took me to some very authentic tapas places. We talked and drank and it was a very relaxing evening. Thanks, B! First, we killed some Langostinos and Salmorejo at "La Bodega" (found it, Kaljinka! ;))

  

Then we went over to "El Rinconcillo", the oldest tapas place in Sevilla,
for Jamón Ibérico (killer ham!):

 

And we ended up in "Morales", a very old wine bodega, for some tintos de verano and finished with Solera, sweet sweet Sherry from Jerez...

Salud!

B has had an amazing life. For the last 13 years, she has been spending the winters at home working, and the summers in Spain, working as a tour guide and dancing flamenco. What a great concept. B is graciously subletting her Sevillan apartment to me while she goes home for the winter. I'm moving there next weekend. Can't wait to have my own place! Guests are welcome - COME!

Antonio El Pipa

This year in March, I only went for a week to the Festival de Jerez. So I missed the opening night, where Jerez-born Antonio El Pipa premiered his show "Danzacalí". Yesterday it was staged in Sevilla so we went to see it. I loved every single bit of it: The choreographies, the costumes, the lighting, the music, the singing - and the dancing. The show was pretty corny, but in a touching way, and Antonio is quite a romantic macho and has an amazing stage presence. Towards the end of the show he danced a soleá and the audience gave him a standing ovation for his bulerías "muy jerezanas". The show wasn't even over yet! Great atmosphere in the theater.
This is the trailer for Danzacalí:

P.S. Next year I'm going to Jerez for a week! I signed up for Alegrías with bata de cola (tail skirt) with Pilar Ogalla - so excited!

Good old stress

My body is slowly getting used to the strain. Last weekend I didn't do much - mainly slept and rested at home. On Saturday night I went out with some of the girls from my school, dancers and singers. I have to say we're getting along really well. Very happy about that. We wandered around town, went for churros by the river and hopped over the bridge for a quick sneak peak of Triana. Today I had the day off - it's Día de la Hispanidad, the Spanish national holiday. This is the day Christopher Columbus discovered America. Again we've been chilling with the girls, having coffee and chatting. It feels good to wind down.

There is so much flamenco in Sevilla! There are concerts and shows every night. So different from Granada. We have to be careful about our budgets... it's easy to blow a lot of money here. Yesterday night got to hear Rocío Marquez sing at my school. She is an impressive woman. I heard her in June at home with Leonor Leal. Her voice is mindblowing. She is one of the few singers I wouldn't mind listening to for hours. It was a small recital with an audience of about fifty. It was nice and intimate and she sang some very moving pieces. She seems so calm and grounded; I think she touched every single person in the audience last night. What a treat. In moments like these I realize how lucky I am to be able to live this dream.

Classes this week have seemed a little bit easier. I'm enjoying every single class, from ballet to castanets. The only thing I'm feeling stressed about is I'm not sure how to fit all of the materials into my one hour of practice time I get every day. Ah well, it never gets easier with the 'shoulds'. You cannot leave your problems behind, I'm afraid. So as always, I'm struggling to find a rhythm and a frame of mind in which I don't feel stressed out all the time, because there's so much to do and learn. It's becoming a classic. I was talking to a friend today about social conventions, rules, education and how hard it is to define the exact difference between 'wanting', 'should' and 'must'. The lines are often really fuzzy for me and finding out what I really want is still difficult sometimes. But I keep asking myself all the time. Some things are very clear to me. Some less. Being a perfectionist does not help. One thing I do know: I want be in Spain dancing flamenco and that's exactly what I'm doing. Relax girl!

Ugh

My classes are killer. I thought I was working hard and feeling tired from my two months in Granada. I had no idea what 'tired' really meant - until now.

Every single one of our teachers are pushing us to our limits. All my bones are aching. All day it's; 'Stand straight! Rise upwards! Belly in! Chest up! Shoulders down! Bottom in! Chin up! Elbows up! Don't strain! Don't block! Relax! Breathe! Don't let your arms go! Stand straight!' and so on. No time for anything but eat, sleep, go to class. Repeat.

I'm loving it.

First day of school

Oh boy, I'm wiped out! This morning I woke up feeling like a little kid. Back to school after a good long summer. Well, the weather here in Sevilla is much warmer than Granada. I had already resigned myself to the coming autumn and here I am, sweating with the 37 degrees we are having. Phew!

Anyway, so I made my way to school. We were welcomed by our main teachers, Miguel Vargas and Esperanza Fernández. Afterwards, Miguel made us dance hard core for two hours to find out our levels. Turns out I might try for the intermediate class. We got our schedules and I'm going to be a busy girl. I have 5 technique classes a week, 3 choreography classes, 5 singing classes (yeah!), 3 ballet classes, 3 castanet classes and 2 bata de cola classes. Whew. I'm going to have to get some dance clothes for all this. And ballet shoes, castanets and a bata...! Although I'm still sceptical how the school will be, I'm looking very much forward to have so many intensive classes in the many categories I lack training.

We are 9 students in all. I already met another girl from Switzerland and took her to Mercadona, my favorite Spanish supermarket, for some power-food-shopping. Carmen graciously made me some space in her kitchen.

After that I went and walked for a long time, searching for the perfect bicycle. The second-hand bikes I saw didn't fit me and renting cost too much for 9 months. So I went to see if there were any affordable new bikes around. I finally found this beauty:

I'm in love. Carmen told me I was completely crazy. But I don't care. I missed having a bike sooo much and the increased life quality a good bike gives me is well worth the money. Of course I got a very good chain for it too.

So I feel a bit more settled already. Sevilla here I come!

In Sevilla

I left Granada with a heavy heart yesterday. On Friday I had a great last night with my 'girls'. I took my closest friends to the delicious restaurant Mirador de Morayma to celebrate.

Before

After

It was hard to leave. I met some fantastic people and was feeling very at home in the little school apartment and in my dance classes. I felt understood by my friends and teachers. I felt like I could really spread some XM magic, hehe. My best friends helped me to the train station with my luggage and cried big crocodile tears when I left - that touched to the core of my heart. THANK YOU! You know who you are! The Granada chapter was an incredible experience. I will be back! 

If you want to see more pictures and are not on Facebook: Leave me a comment and I will send you a link to my photo album.

Now, on to Sevilla! I'm very excited to be here. I'm living for a month with Carmen, my landlady, and a dancer from Syria who will be studying flamenco for nine months like me. After that, I will go on about finding a flat of my own. 

Today I walked around the town with my flatmate. He bought a second-hand bike on the flea market and we walked and walked and walked around the center. The town is absolutely stunning. I'm reminded of the Spanish colonialist architecture I've seen elsewhere in Mexico and Cuba. Of course it comes from here! But it's the first time I've seen it in such magnificence. The area around the Cathedral is marvelous. I live right outside the historical center and I see many people rides bicycles here. I want one too! My feet hurt! I NEED A BIKE! I'm planning to get one as soon as I can!

Tomorrow my class starts at the Centro de Arte y Flamenco Sevilla. 

I am VERY curious how it will be...