PUBLISHED MARCH 2007

This month's articles | Cinderella | Moment | Brain | NYC | Fronteras Date

Recent events in the life of a young local dancer have the makings of a flamenco fairytale. By Rina Menosky

In the cherished fairytale, Cinderella had one fairy godmother and a pair of glass slippers to create a happy ending. This is the story of a local young flamenca with two fairy godmothers, a pair of flamenco shoes, and a whole lot of jaleos!

Every Monday night at the home of Pam Alayon and Billy Cahill, one can hear a fair amount of noise coming from inside. The noise has nothing to do with the fact that the couple's youngest child just turned 1 year old, nor is it because the couple actually has total of five kids, ages 1 to 18. Pam, who in 2003, discovered her own passion for flamenco during her honeymoon in Spain, provides for flamenco lessons for her step-daughter, 16 year-old Brittneyanne, as well as for 12 year-old Lexi Dixon, who is considered a godchild by Pam and Billy's entire family.

For years, Lexi's mother, Eva Rivera, always related to Pam just how enthusiastic and talented her daughter Lexi was at dancing. She proudly described how Lexi could effortlessly mimic and pick up any dance moves at first glance, even from music videos on television.

Pam, who shared a friendship with Eva for ten years, always joked that both Eva and Lexi had the same long "orangutan" arms, and believed that Lexi would make a great flamenco dancer. The close relationship between Pam and Eva became even more evident when Eva passed away suddenly in April of 2006, at the young age of 33.

Since her mother's passing, Lexi has spent every weekend with Pam's family, and she attends flamenco lessons with Brittneyanne each Monday evening, with the support and encouragement of Pam and her husband. Pam, whom Eva Rivera had asked to be Lexi's godmother prior to Eva's passing, strongly believes that dancing helps girls in building their self-esteem. Furthermore, she believes that Brittneyanne, who herself experienced the pain of losing her biological mother at a young age, is well-suited to understanding and consoling her godsister, Lexi.

Billy Cahill and Lexi's father, Danny Dixon, aren't the only people cheering on these young flamenco dancers and their patron, Alayon, from the sideline. Silvia Roye, who recently had to give up her beloved flamenco dancing due to a wrist injury, was able to further support the cause when she learned that Lexi needed a pair of flamenco shoes. The growing 12 year-old had already outgrown a few pairs of shoes since she started her flamenco lessons, and was in dire need of another pair. Any devoted flamenco dancer can relate to just how expensive good flamenco shoes can be, so after hearing from the children's flamenco instructor about Pam's good deeds and need for a pair of shoes, Silvia immediately offered her own pair to "do her part" in supporting a young flamenco dancer. In fact, Roye drove several miles from the south of Atlanta to personally deliver the shoes, with a huge grin on her face that said, "I am so glad that I can help."

Fitting into Silvia's flamenco shoes perfectly, Lexi now smiles every Monday with lots of noise coming out of her feet. Emotional and spiritual support by everyone surrounding her is carrying her through a tough time...and, paso a paso y poco a poco (step by step and bit by bit), she's getting through it all. To Lexi Dixon and all the supporters of this young flamenca, we shout out loud: ¡olé!

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Jerry Fields says his latest flamenco creation will be spontaneous.

Flamenco dancer Ulrika Frank and percussionist Jerry Fields are reuniting for a performance at Ibiza Restaurant later this month. The well-versed flamenco performers say they'll create new ideas on the spot during the show, "Sueños Flamencos," hosted by Fields and Vecinos del Mundo.

"This show will be alive. We'll improvise and communicate in 'real time,'" said Fields. "Musicians, dancer and audience will get to know one another without the hindrance of trying to recall static music and choreography. The audience will feel part of the creative process."

The live flamenco show also brings the return of New Orleans guitarist John Lawrence and Robert Wagner on saxophone to the Atlanta flamenco stage. The artists bring their rich experiences working together and individually as professional performers to the stage.

"It's going to be loose, daring and full of surprises. Anything can happen," said Fields.

"Sueños Flamencos," begins at 7:30 P.M. on March 25. The group will perform at least two sets. Attendees are advised to make advance reservations. For more information, visit jaleolé's events page.

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Apply a little neurology to your art for a fantastic Fronteras 2007. By Julie Baggenstoss

Get to know your brain a bit, and you'll find an easy street to the most challenging guitar chords and overhead hand swirls. But, get to know your brain soon, so you can make the most of your new relationship with the body's amazing flamenco organ in time for a show-stopping performance in Fronteras 2007.

When students learn new movements, such as sliding the fingers along a guitar neck, their brains gradually develop new connections between cells to make the new movements become automatic. "'Practice makes perfect,' implies creating flexible linkages between neurons, which can be formed into new memories," says Roza Adamczyk, M.D., Neurologist and Lover of Flamenco. So, the movements needed to make a planta tacón are actually a memory, in scientific jargon.

Those linkages are called synapses, and they bridge brain cells called neurons. "So, when the memory is retrieved, the two sub-pieces form one unit "planta tacón," like the words in a sentence of a poem," explains Adamczyk.

When a person attempts a new activity repeatedly, one neuron reaches its arms to another one to make the synapse. "The repetition reinforces and improves the working of that synapse," explains Adamczyk. With a stronger synapse, a person is better at executing the practiced physical movement.

The brain is chock-full of synapses. So, to form a new one, the brain has to store an old one away in its crevices (making a biochemical memory). Thus, it requires tremendous amounts of quality practice time to stow an old synapse to make room for a new one.

Turns out, our practice time is for our brains, not our muscles or lungs or dexterity. Knowing the inner-workings of the mind makes the path to success clear. Unfortunately, it doesn't help make it shorter. So, a word to those who want to shine at Fronteras: Start working now on those new brain connections so they'll be strong when you're ready to take the stage.

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Local flamenca combines valuable workshop experience with the sights and sounds of the 2007 New York Flamenco Festival. By Rebecca Lutz

As a public school teacher, I try to take full advantage of the school calendar whenever possible. One such opportunity I recently took was to combine a workshop led by flamenco dancer La Meira with the final few shows of the 2007 New York Flamenco Festival.

On Thursday, February 22, I attended a performance by the Gerardo Núñez quintet, featuring Gerardo's wife, dancer Carmen Cortés. The group played some fabulous music which was very much flamenco but with definite jazz inspiration. Don't get me wrong --- this was nothing remotely close to nuevo flamenco; this was true flamenco but with some very modern elements (some of which were the work of a great double bass player and a fantastic cajón player). Even though Núñez headlines the group, he remained in the background quite a bit, allowing the other musicians to be featured. However, there were a few points when Núñez played solo with cajón accompaniment. During one solo, after quite some time, the singer joined in. This amazing moment really made me see and hear just how essential cante is: cante is what makes flamenco truly flamenco. The guitar was beautiful, but the cante further elevated the music.

The dancer, Carmen Cortés, was a true joy to watch. She is gypsy but is also known for her very modern style. That combination is exactly what I saw in her dancing. There were moments of raw gypsy and moments where she was truly another musician in the quintet, playing off the cajón and guitar with fantastic rhythmic variations. Her dynamics were out of this world! At times, her feet were like a whisper, then suddenly --- unexpectedly --- like thunder. Seeing how the Núñez quintet worked together like the jazz, woodwind, and string quintets I saw so often in music school was nothing short of inspiring.

The following night's performance featured El Pele; of course, he was amazing! It is hard to verbally express the perfection of his voice and singing. Everything felt and sounded so right and natural for him. He was joined by a guitarist, cajón player, and dancer. The guitarist accompanied Pele for nearly every piece, while the dancer and cajón player performed very little. Pele performed completely solo for a toná once during the concert. In very flamenco fashion, he left the microphone completely more than once to come to the front of the stage and sing, which was such a treat! For all of his power and emotion, he was so humble, repeatedly crossing his arms over his chest to bow and almost incessantly thank the audience (this was his first time performing in the United States).

Unfortunately however, the quite young cajón player in this performance was not always on top of things. He did not keep a consistent beat for the martinete, plus the dancer and guitarist had to repeatedly direct him to stop playing at one point in the show. The dancer, on the other hand, was terrific! He was extremely focused and just exploded on stage. He danced the perfect amount of time --- not too long but not too short.

The show on February 24, which focused on flamenco arts native to the city of Málaga, Spain, was also very good, yet different. The pre-concert lecture was quite informative and explained quite a lot about the history of flamenco and how the art developed from the mid-19th century to the present. The performance further addressed this history through the various musical and dance styles of Málaga. A pianist played several pieces by the Spanish composer Manuel De Falla (as well as works by one of De Falla's greatest influences, composer Enrique Granados), harkening back to the time of Franciso Franco's dictatorship, further illustrating how these composers did their part to keep flamenco alive. There was also some flamenco puro (cantes and palos made famous by singers and dancers from Malaga), more modern takes on flamenco, and two very nice performances of regional folk dancing and music.

In addition to the pianist and folk dancers, an actor performed beautiful and humorous poetry and prose throughout the show. There were three female singers, two of whom I really enjoyed. They all sang very lengthy solo fandangos typical of the region. There was also a male and a female dancer. The man was quite young and showy; although his footwork was amazing, he kept dancing and dancing, performing a lengthy (but funny) salida three times before exiting the stage. The woman was fantastic and did great work with her bata de cola and some very cool "silly-stuff" for a bulería.

As previously mentioned, I combined the festival experience with attending a La Meira workshop Saturday afternoon at Fazil's Dance Studio in New York. The class was super! It was a 2-hour workshop focusing on improvising in the "silly" section of a bulería. La Meira began by reviewing what she had already taught to the attendees, then taught a fun bullfighting step previously choreographed by Manuela Carrasco. Both what La Meira taught previously and the bullfight move are made up of small sections which can be put together the way you want for as long as you want, as long as you finish on the correct count of the compás. After we learned the bullfight move, we formed a circle, played palmas, and shouted jaleos as each student experimented with the steps one-by-one.

As some readers know, La Meira has a way of inspiring her students to get out there and take a chance, so I didn't feel uncomfortable or nervous at all. Both La Meira and her students made me feel very welcome. And I'm so glad to have taken a risk in front of all these "strangers" because it was great to feel the freedom of what I refer to as "controlled improvising". It was very liberating to get out there, try out what I had learned and, for the most part, have it work! Lastly we worked on palmas, incorporating lots of contra, and practiced this in a circle individually as well.

What was most notable about this workshop for me was seeing in a very concrete way how my hard work in classes and workshops this past year has helped me to improve. For example, the structure of bulerías is something I have worked on truly understanding during the past year. As a result, at the workshop, when La Meira referred to the different sections of bulerías, I understood exactly what she was saying. This in itself was a turning point for me because I experienced how this understanding opens up an avenue to concentrate more on compás, on the essential feeling of bulerías, and of being in the moment. My experience at the 2007 festival in New York is something I will not soon forget!

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The date is set for Fronteras 2007 By Julie Baggenstoss

Fronteras 2007 is set for May 5, at St. Pius X High School in Atlanta. This third annual flamenco student expo on the big stage will showcase the flamenco dance and music talent of performers from age 5 to over 50! Audiences will get to see improvement in Fronteras veterans, who have performed in the show since its inception, and they will get to see some new faces, including pint-sized dancers and guitar students.

There will be two presentations of Fronteras: a matinee begins at 3:00 PM, and the evening show will begin at 7:00 PM. More details will be released soon, so stay tuned!

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© jaleolé.com 2007