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PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2006 |
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Technically SpeakingReturning workshop teacher Barbara Breton says technique is the base of expression in flamenco dance.
"By doing (technique), you will be aware of your body, how to posture and feel more secure about what you are doing at class. You can understand better the flamenco rhythm, music and maybe start expressing yourself with basic steps," says Breton. Improving technique is a matter or repetition, practice and listening, according to Breton. Her four-day workshop is a starting point for anyone who wants to take their flamenco form or footwork to the next level. "In four days, you can understand and learn what to do, how to practice and how to challenge yourself with technique," says Breton. Breton realizes that flamenco is about more than perfect posture and speedy feet. She says work on such technique will help students get to that other important part of flamenco: expression. "Technique allows you to express properly in flamenco, and many times it even pulls out your duende," says Breton.
Forma de VivirJerezano artists remind us that flamenco is a way of life.
For singer/guitarist Jose Galvez, this means he learned lyrics and chords from his father, renowned singer Francisco Galvez Lazoto, famous for his jondo singing. His father learned from the generation before him, and so forth, as they all are part of a gypsy family known in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, for its flamenco talent. Galvez's strong power of expression comes from deep within himself and the unwritten stories of his family. Students in Atlanta were fortunate enough to hear Galvez explain some of the flamenco facts that he absorbed from his family. Galvez told students in class, there is no such thing as soleá por bulerías. He said seguiriya lyrics speak of crying because the palo was born of ladies who would mourn for the poor when they died. And, he set straight the differences between sevillanas, rumba and flamenco. Galvez says, these are flamenco facts that he has heard in family stories again and again throughout his life. Not stories, but songs are a constant in the life of singer Rocio Soto. She says she listens to flamenco music from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to sleep, even while ironing and cleaning. Soto searches the songs for emotions to which she can relate. She says those are the only ones she'll perform. "She was not so much interested in 'teaching' me the compas through counting or theory, but more through the experiences that I had (and experiences she had) with certain emotions," said Atlanta flamenco student Cristina Bermudez of Soto, after a few classes with the Jerez-born singer. "We talked about how our personal experiences shape our flamenco style. This was emphasized a lot by Rocio and Jose throughout the entire time they were here: flamenco is not about counting, theory, choreography or technique. It's about how you feel and what method you choose to express those feelings," added Bermudez. Here, in modern day Atlanta, the emotional display of the artists in JEREZ en DIRECTO and Regalo de Jerez remind us of the roots of flamenco: nomadic people eager to express themselves in a lifestyle wrought with prejudice. Their ability to share feelings with one another made way for rich celebration, which is now studied and copied the world over. Those first "flamencos" probably never dreamed that their art would transcend Spanish neighborhoods or the gypsy plight. As the appeal of flamenco spread around the world, it has carried with it the importance of its sentiment to a few who study the art. "A few days after Rocio and Jose left, I was doing laundry and my washing machine started making a funny noise. A noise that to me sounded like a tangos. I immediately without thinking started doing palmas, rather than trying to figure out what was wrong with the washer," says Bermudez. "I then laughed as I realized that this is exactly what flamenco is: daily life expressed in such subtleties that if you blink or hesitate you miss it."
Transfixed and Teary-eyedMolly Simmons took less than 24 hours to review JEREZ EN DIRECTO, which played in Roswell on Sunday, Oct. 9.
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As much as they inspired Atlanta, the Jerezano flamenco artists who recently visited Atlanta reminded aficionados that flamenco isn't just an art; it's a way of life. They are a group of people constantly surrounded by, contributing to and sharing flamenco, whether while leisurely visiting with friends or formally performing in JEREZ en DIRECTO and Regalo de Jerez
As Rina Menosky said when she introduced these artists, I felt lucky to be there (at JEREZ EN DIRECTO) and felt sorry for those who weren't. As soon as I heard that Rocío Soto would be singing, I knew I would have to be there, because she'd sung for a workshop last year and gave us all goosebumps. Well, that was nothing compared to hearing her sing full-out yesterday. Her voz afillá soared up to new heights on tangos, and I was absolutely transfixed. Singer, guitarist, and percussionist José Galvez also sang some gorgeous cante jondo, including a seguiyiras that
brought tears to my eyes, a soleá por bulerías, and a granaína ending in a rondeña (thank you to Martha SidAhmed for helping me
identify that last one). José de Guadalupe's baile made the perfect accompaniment, giving emphasis with footwork where needed but not overwhelming the singers. He was a seamless part of the cuadro and added a touch of elegance to each song he danced in. 
The bulerías were what really made the show, though. Everybody in the group let down their hair and sang, danced, and gave jaleos. Maybe because I was on the front row, I really felt included in the performance as the audience around me joined in the jaleos. This was definitely not your average performance in the United States, where the audience sits quietly in their seats removed from the action that is taking place within a tightly-defined space on a stage. Gracias a Dios! And gracias to José de Guadalupe for bringing this group of artists to Atlanta.