“Aprendí a bailar con las olas del Somorrostro, a mí me enseñó a bailar el mar…” --Carmen Amaya (“I learned to dance with the waves of the Somorrostro (beach in Barcelona), the sea taught me to dance...") Carmen Amaya. [...]
Shortly after accepting a position at Oberlin, I was encouraged to put together a flamenco symposium. Although that’s a pretty broad request, I knew immediately the theme I wanted to explore. Ever since I started to discover that flamenco has [...]
So I moved to Ohio. Not to one of the major cities here…I moved just north of Amish Country—to Oberlin, Ohio. There are horse & buggy parking spots at the Wal-Mart down the road. Endless cornfields—so many cornfields! With [...]
I wanted to share the link to New York University's Spring publication of Esferas, published by the Spanish and Portuguese Department and edited by Professor Lourdes Dávila. This issue is all about movement and language, and I had the honor [...]
What makes a good marcaje? First, let's start off by defining that word within the flamenco context. For me, it's any step that holds time, or marks time. Unlike ballet, flamenco does not name every step--in flamenco, a step's purpose [...]
A couple of flamenco dance friends and I were talking about the lack of nice studio space in Sevilla on a recent afternoon. Most of the studios available to rent for rehearsals are small, dark, full of dust, with uneven [...]
Isn't anyone alive today considered 'contemporary?'There are artists that push the limits, and those that want to simply uphold the traditions. Both are valid, as is everything in between. (Note: to push boundaries, you have to know the traditions that [...]
Earlier this year I was invited to give a TEDx talk on flamenco. For anyone unfamiliar with TED, here is their mission statement: "TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 [...]
Always to improvise. Always. Because that's what makes flamenco fun; that's what gives me a sense of freedom; that makes communication with musicians and the audience that much more real. But then again, there's something to be said for choreography. [...]
Why is it that stereotypes sell? I'm writing specifically about flamenco, but my guess is this applies to many other genres and fields...Why are we so attracted to the superficial elements instead of digging deep to understand flamenco? The way [...]
