PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 27, 2005

This month's articles | Ruffle | Dream | Say What | Paco Peña |Company

Under My Ruffle

Laura Chason seeks to sew the perfect flamenco skirt.

Laura Chason spends a lot of time creating the perfect image of flamenco. The third-year flamenco dance student splits her efforts between the tick of compás and the whir of her sewing machine. Chason's progress with both is especially evident when she dances in her self-made red satin flamenco skirt.

That stunning ruffled skirt is a far cry from what Chason wore to her first flamenco class: pants and boots. And, it has been a long time in the making, with three unsatisfying predecessors left to crowd Chason's closet.

Chason says her first skirt was a major challenge. "There was no pattern for [a flamenco skirt]. So, I had to find something that I could kind of work as a pattern and then improvise from there." Chason has tapped her vast sewing experience to overcome her biggest hurdles, including finding an existing pattern and realizing the best skirt shape and fabric weight.

Chason is no beginner to hemming and stitching. Her grandmother taught her to sew when she was a child.

	LAURA'S SKIRT ADVICE
	AVAILABLE PATTERNS Simplicity 5359 Bellydance pattern available at any fabric store; Laura omitted the contrast panels www.shira.net Bellydance Web site that explains how to cut out pattern, how to measure fabric & more www.folkwear.com Dress & skirt pattern available  SEWING TIPS Cotton is probably going to be too stiff, but then it lets you breathe, whereas the chemical fabrics (i.e., polyester, rayon) don’t let you breathe. Use a ruffle to add weight for movement and to cover up a messy hem. Consider how you want your body to look. Some patterns look better on your upper thighs and belly than others

[Learning to sew] is like learning anything, you get frustrated at first. And you have to learn different techniques," says Chason. "I didn't realize how important it was to have a flat surface for hemming. It's important to have the right equipment, like sharp scissors, a tape measure, a cutting board, and of course you've got to have a sewing machine. Then, not everything can be done on the machine. You're going to have to do some things by hand. That's just going to take practice until your stitches look good, just like keeping in compás.

Chason's now fine-tuned sewing skills are a source of accomplishment and flamenco fashion freedom.

"It makes you feel good knowing you're wearing the skirt that you made. You can say, 'I did it!' You get to choose what you want instead of being bullied into choosing what's out there."

"Half of us started dancing flamenco so we could wear pretty skirts and twirl around with them. So you want to make sure you have something that twirls and not just hangs there."

For now, Chason is content creating flamenco skirts for herself, while she perfects her craft. She hopes to one day offer her services to other people.

"I think it would be fun to see my stuff up on stage and to say, 'yeah, I know her foot movement looks better because it's taking place under my ruffle!'"

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Percussionist Jerry Fields prepares for major flamennco performance, and shares his inspiration for the project.

Percussionist Jerry Fields is reuniting with flamenco pal Ulrika Frank for a March spectacular. The two will perform just outside of Atlanta, with guitarist/singer Marija Temo in Flamenco Dreams, An Evening of Flamenco. The show marks the first time that Fields and dancer Frank are working together since Frank moved away from Atlanta last year.

Fields is producing the show, which has been in the works for nearly a year. But, Fields says the inspiration for the show has been around even longer. It came to him in a dream, which he recorded in the following poem.

Flamenco Dreams, An Evening of Flamenco happens at Lagrange College on Tuesday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. Visit jaleolé.com's events page for more information.

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Frank and Temo to teach while in town in March.

When flamenco communication guru Marija Temo and former Atlanta flamenco dancer Ulrika Frank come to Atlanta in March, the two will offer a flamenco communication workshop to dancers and guitarists who want to know more about the nonverbal conversation that takes place in flamenco.

Martha SidAhmed is hosting the workshop, set for March 18-20. Shey says it will be "a full immersion, high energy flamenco experience with singing, palmas, guitar and dance."

Frank plans to teach a short soleá por bulerías choreography to dancers. Temo will explain the different "parts" of the music, giving dancers the reasons why Frank does certain moves at certain times. Then, dancers will get the opportunity to make up their own dance on the spot, while Temo plays guitar and sings for them.

SidAhmed expects high turnout for the workshop and encourages everyone to register early. For more information about the workshop, visit jaleolé.com's events page or contact SidAhmed at molybones@earthlink.net.

Company Class

The Paco Peña flamenco company teaches local flamencos.

Nearly 40 Atlanta flamenco dancers learned from the Paco Peña flamenco company while the visiting artists were in town for a performance at the Rialto Center for Performing Arts. Company dancers Angel Muñoz and Charo Espino led a master class at the Athletic Club Northeast just hours before the group went on stage on February 19. Guitarist Rafael Montilla accompanied the class, with Paco Peña himself looking over all the activity.

The learning opportunity was free of charge, thanks to the Rialto. It created quite a buzz among local flamencos, who competed with each other to reserve a limited number of spaces in the class. Those able to attend took home tips on footwork technique, posture, new rhythms and more.

Beginner flamenco student Kristina Doerr comments, "I had taken other workhsops before, and I always felt like I could keep up. But this workshop pinpointed where my weak spots were, especially with speed and agility of my feet." Still, it was an enjoyable learning experience for Doerr. "It boosted my confidence knowing that I can do this and now I know what to work on in order to get there."

"I picked up more awareness of how to use my hands and skirt," commented Julia Stork, who kept her eye on Espino. Stork has studied flamenco for years in Birmingham. She made a two-hour trip to get some pointers from the pros.

Stork says she recognized some workshop movements as things she learns in her weekly classes with Laura Garrigues. Stork admits, "Sometimes you don't get it until someone else (besides your teacher) says something to you."

It's a sentiment echoed by Sabrina Rincón, who says she put forth extra effort in the master class, just as she does in other workshops. "Workshops are very exciting, because you put all of your energy into them and you realize and say to yourself, 'I can do this,'" she says.

"The master class was powered with duende and I am convinced now, almost at my first year flamenqueando, than when practicing in class or at home, you always have to make yourself remember that the duende is there. You just have to wake him up."

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Flamenco In Concert

Atlanta embraces the Paco Peña flamenco company at the Rialto Center for Performing Arts.

Conversing guitars. Fast footwork. Smooth castanets. Chilling vocals. Flowing arms.

Everyone who had the pleasure of seeing Flamenco in Concert by the Paco Peña flamenco company took away something different from the artists. Isn't that the beauty of flamenco?

Sure, there is agreement that show presented at the Rialto Center for Performing Arts on February 19 was full of technical, virtuosic mastery. These excellent talents left a glow in the hearts of theater-goers, and that is where local flamencos enjoy the individuality of flamenco.

"Many times, I felt my heart was smiling and shaking," says Luciana Martin.

"This is the first time I saw musicians and dancers on the stage in this proportion," says Luciana Martin. "My pupils in my eyes were very wide open. Many times, I felt my heart was smiling and shaking. My heart was beating of happiness, excitement."

Alone, Paco Peña sounded like he was playing more than one guitar at times during his show openers of granaina and alegrias de cordoba. When actually joined by a second guitarist, Rafael Montilla, the pair let us eavesdrop on a musical conversation between old friends during their duet of guajiras. "It was like when you know someone and youre talking and you finish each other's sentences," comments Martha SidAhmed, long-time flamenco dance instructor and director of Perla Flamenca Dance Company.

"I think my favorite part was when the female dancer was playing castanets," says Martin of the duet by Pena and Charo Espinol. The two sat together, creating a delicate rendition of zorongo and De Los Cuatros Muleros. "She moved her hand suavely… She could express feelings in playing [castanets] with her hands."

Espino's castanets were complemented by Angel Muñoz's unforgettable footwork, showcased in a zapateado that closed the first half of the show. Just when you thought he couldn't get any faster, Muñoz turned double time into quadruple time in is feet for a full-throttle finale.

"I started jumping around in my seat and I wanted to yell something," says SidAhmed.

The second half of the show began in stark contrast to Muñoz's rapid footwork, with a solo by María del Mar Fernández. Her martinete eventually gave way to a caña, with the ensemble joining her piece by piece - dancers to interpret her words, guitarists to adorn them. Fernandez and singer Miguel Ortega helped the company ease the audience into theater flamenco. With their words and the already proven musical and dance talent, the group took the leap into a presentation that made clear the essence of flamenco.

"I started jumping around in my seat and I wanted to yell something," says SidAhmed. "Angel got really charged up. He really took off in that [soleá por bulerías]. He made the jump to that other plane and just stayed there until the end of the show."

And what fun they had from that moment. Not just the artists, but also the audience members. Jaleos blossomed from one or two to a bouquet of cheers. And, the bow around that bouquet was a standing ovation and requests for multiple encores. Atlanta couldn't get enough of flamenco, its conversing guitars, fast footwork, smooth castanets, chilling vocals, or flowing arms.

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