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The winner is...jaleole.com holds a first design contest for the sixth annual Fronteras poster design. By Rina Menosky
Watch for D'Angelo's design around Atlanta, on posters and fliers announcing Fronteras 2010.
¿Sabe usted hablar flamenco?Unveiling communication techniques between guitarist and dancer. By Erica PooleThis is the first of a three-part series exploring the non-verbal signals that make flamenco happen. Part I- Where is synthesis on the communication scale? Picture it: the evening of August 25, 2007, my year of initiation into flamenco, at Nicola's Lebanese Restaurant. La Meira, acclaimed New York based flamenco teacher, and her perceptive guitarist, Cristian Puig, had completed their afternoon por bulerías workshop here in Atlanta, and this comfortable duo was slated to perform. After which time, the floor was opened up for a good 'ole fashioned juerga for students to put their workshop strategies to use. Puig's toque was there, but no one was on the floor. La Meira walked across the stage, and pulled me by the hand to break the ice. I did not do a llamada of any kind. I was already in the middle of the floor staying in marcaje territory for a little while. After Carmen Deal's letra, I pounded out some insane, unstructured footwork which lasted much longer, and my salida was not even a salida at all. I literally tired myself out, faced the direction of my seat, and exhaustingly walked towards it when I had no more to give. On one hand, I had done my first pataíta; on the other, everything I learned that weekend about bulerías structure had gone out the window! As pensive as I am, the intrigue of how Cristian Puig "read me" during his accompaniment since then has not turned me loose. Because the situation was a juerga, there was no reason for us to have verbally spoken in advance about what I might have had up my sleeve in my intended baile. However, we were indeed conversing even during my floundering; he kindly salvaged my dance by giving it structure via his guitar! So often, we hear, "Life is not solely about the destination, but rather enjoying the journey." For this reason, I have no shame in sharing this learning experience because I choose to find a message in it.
Knowing that La Meira had visited Atlanta years before, I went back to the reliable jaleolé archives and found an August 2004 interview with her entitled, "Give a Little R-E-S-P-E-C-T." Having worked as a foreigner in Spanish tablaos early in her flamenco career, several of La Meira's responses gripped me: "I learned everything I know. I learned about how to improvise and about compás. I learned compás and how to play palmas there. I learned about the style. I learned about the meaning of things. You learn about all these verses and what it is that they're saying...Just imagine a foreigner who is a great dancer, can do really amazing steps and gets the chance to dance in a tablao. When you go to do that, they just put you into the cuadro, and it's just your turn to dance. So you better know you better be able to communicate. If you can't do it, it reveals a lack of understanding, and that is like a lack of respect." Those comments really speak to me because as a foreign language educator, the language acquisition process is the same. Native speakers know their languages intuitively as a result of having grown up in the culture, whereby everything I know is learned! It excites me that La Meira learned to 'speak flamenco' just as I learned to speak foreign languages. After all, education is meant to be the great equalizer.
Learning languages and, subsequently, flamenco communication are very high order thinking skills. Just about every foreign language teacher preparation program at some point mentions Bloom's Taxonomy best explained by envisioning a ladder where five rungs represent an acquired language skill: After Tier 4 of Analysis, skill levels off-shoot into a fifth rung with equal value: Synthesis and Evaluation. Tier 5 - Synthesis: To join, organize, compile, create, plan, formulate, or unite parts in order to form a whole; construct relationships for new situations. (The level of professional artistry that keeps us in awe via improvisation and choreography creation.) Evaluation: To make judgments, reason, defend, rate, select, and support based upon given criteria (validated decision-making by flamenco artists as it relates to their own art) Set your sights on one rung at a time, and relentlessly work until you're personally ready para subir!
¿Apoyo para los apodos?Contemplating the endearing support of flamenco nicknames By Erica PoolePerhaps Valentine's Day brought opportunities to reflect upon all of the "pet names" that we affectionately call our loved ones throughout the year. These nicknames are more than likely reserved for our exclusive, personal use. Not so in flamenco. Isn't it curious how flamencos acquired their "apodos" (nicknames) and are fondly, professionally, and publicly addressed as such for a lifetime? Take this short pop quiz and try to match the artist's birth name to the "apodo" (answers are located at the end of the article).
Flamenco guitarist, author, and nickname adoptee, Paco Sevilla, has an extensive 'stage names' chapter in his book, Flamenco Dance: Secrets of the Professionals. Sevilla categorically cites the explanations of nicknames covered in Manuel López Rodríguez's 1997 work, "Los Nombres Artísticos en el Mundo Flamenco." These Spanish artistic names can be attributed to any one of the following paraphrased categories: Sevilla also notes that generally, the nicknames are used in third person when speaking of the artist rather than directly addressing him or her. Even in Atlanta, local flamenco teachers and performers carry nicknames. There are Marianela "Malita" Belloso and Gloriela Rosas, whose first name is often shortened to "Loly." "El Moro," whose given name you really have to hunt: Kwajo Abeyie, ,says he prefers to be called Joe. Perhaps he was advised not take the stage name "Joe" because as Paco Sevilla explains, "It is very close to an Andalusian obscenity." If we are aiming for a continued presence on the "escenario" (stage) with a linguistic persona to match, the christening of an apodo is something to contemplate. If chosen, the Spanish nickname should embody your essence in brevity, evoke fervor in your cante, toque, or baile, and flow smoothly from the lips of españoles. Native Californian author and Sevilla-indoctrinated flamenco dancer, Susan Salguero, included a descriptive passage in her book where she pondered the adoption of a nickname for herself in The Gachí: My Gypsy Flamenco Quest. Gachí is the feminine, Romani gypsy apodo for women who are not gypsies (and it is considered an offensive word much of the time). She had a dialogue with her gitano husband and cantaor from Utrera, Spain, Francisco Salguero, whose nickname "Curro" is only one of several apodos for Francisco. Here is an excerpt: Pop Quiz Answers: 1.C 2.D 3.E 4.A 5.B
© jaleolé.com 2010
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