You may have noticed in your flamenco class - most of us are over 20, even more over 30 and the majority over 40! We dance at any age and flamenco is the perfect genre to do so.
Flamenco is the antithesis to the North-American aesthetic where we have a limited window to be 'beautiful' and 'dance seriously'. This aesthetic is rapidly disintegrating as we are starting to recognize and embrace all stages in our life....but we are still a long way off.
Anyhow, the true secret to being ageless is in flamenco itself! Flamenco transcends our previous limitations and you find not your age, not your fears or your insecurities but just yourself. Your soul as expressed through the dance.
In Spain, dancers of maturity grace the concert stage. And it is them that many of the true aficionados come to see - the distillation of many years absorbing flamenco. The subtlety of their dance, the internalization of their emotion, the uniqueness of their interpretation... Flamenco has this lovely malleable quality that allows you to dance well, even when you have reached the point where the crazy footwork and wild turns no longer are physically possible.
Even at the end of her career, a true flamenco reigns.
Earlier this year, I saw a performance by Cristina Hoyos (whom you may remember from the movies Carmen and Blood Wedding). She was stricken by cancer yet again and could no longer perform much footwork but her performance remained awe-inspiring. I had never seen her before live, just videos of her in the past. But when she recited "Gracias a la vida" atop a pedestal with red velvet flowing around her, shivers ran up my spine, I was so moved. Then she danced with a long black bata de cola, her arms twining behind her in beautifully imaginative ways. And though I do not remember a single stamp, I recognized why she remains such an important figure in the flamenco world. Her show was amazing.
So with that in mind, I remain incredulous when people think that flamenco dancers need to retire at some point!
As a student of flamenco, ageing may start to matter when you allow yourself to succumb to the world of comparisons, pressure, insecurity - not recognizing your own worth and the reason why you may love this art form. I feel our society instinctively makes us feel this way - that we can't dance once we reach a certain age - that we have passed that window.
Flamenco also is more than a dance. I always say that a flamenco dancer is a performer, interpreter, percussionist, creator of movement poetry, listening and responding to the song, to the guitar, leading the dynamics of the piece, helping to 'compose' the musical structure...
Teo Morca in his book "Becoming the Dance: Flamenco Spirit" writes, "Never say, 'I am too old,' for being too old means you are dead and buried...Inspiration cannot age. Neither can joy and love and respect for the art. So if the mind and feelings stay young, then you will dance the 'inner flamenco dance' until the day that you die. That is living with flamenco dance, that is the secret of aging gracefully. With that love of lifting your arms in a joyous alegrias, laughing with your bulerias por chufla, crying a bit with seguiriyas that you feel in the blood. Let go. Do not worry about age. The idea is to think about life, and life with the inner dance of flamenco is what creative aging is all about."
"Dance your age with feelings and love and truth of your feelings, and you will be ageless, you will just be....flamenco."
Teo Morca is a performing dancer who tours all over North America. He is now in his 70's and still very active in the flamenco scene. www.morca.com
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Monday, December 4, 2006
PC Vote - what does it mean for the arts?
So...I have just heard the news about the PC leadership polling results - Ed Stelmach.
While I'm sure voters had many reasons why they choose him, I want to focus on what it could potentially mean for the future viability of artistic creation in Alberta.
First off, as you may know, arts funding started to dry up in the 80's and early 90's. There has been no increase in funding through Alberta Foundation for the Arts (our main funding body) in 15 years. This is a ridiculously long time. As a prosperous province (and we all know it is!) we also need to have a vibrant artistic community. A great economy means nothing if we don't have a soul - what is the soul of Alberta?
If we look at which cities we consider to be great in Canada - you may think about Vancouver, Montreal...cities like that. Part of why people want to live in Montreal is the amazing arts - the fantastic Jazz Festival...they are world famous for it! What is Calgary world-famous for?
Anyhow - back to Ed Stelmach. His website & policies mention nothing about increasing funding. He makes no such commitment. No such mention. The only thing he says is to increase tax credits for donations for foundations and charities and matching donations to such organizations. The ideas are vague and brief. He also does not mention support for professional artists themselves.
I believe that without support, arts as a career is not viable. As you know, arts is generally not self-sustaining, but is something that needs public funding. As such it enhances the quality of life for all Albertans. In Europe these concepts are well understood, but somehow we are choosing to forget this....
Anyhow, if a commitment is not made to increase funding (we are already the lowest funded province in Canada by far) the quality of arts will decrease. Funding creates both time and opportunity, allowing artists to hone their skills to the best of their ability and create world-class art. We are creating instead a cultural 'void' where really great artists choose to move elsewhere....
It is hard enough to be an artist. Harder still to live in a province which shows no continued support.
If you care about this subject, one thing you could do if you wanted would be to let Ed know that we need Arts funding doubled (at least). That is the commitment Jim Dinning promised. Ed could at least match that.
Phone 1-780-481-0011Toll Free 1-877-483-0011
Email: info@stelmach.ca
While I'm sure voters had many reasons why they choose him, I want to focus on what it could potentially mean for the future viability of artistic creation in Alberta.
First off, as you may know, arts funding started to dry up in the 80's and early 90's. There has been no increase in funding through Alberta Foundation for the Arts (our main funding body) in 15 years. This is a ridiculously long time. As a prosperous province (and we all know it is!) we also need to have a vibrant artistic community. A great economy means nothing if we don't have a soul - what is the soul of Alberta?
If we look at which cities we consider to be great in Canada - you may think about Vancouver, Montreal...cities like that. Part of why people want to live in Montreal is the amazing arts - the fantastic Jazz Festival...they are world famous for it! What is Calgary world-famous for?
Anyhow - back to Ed Stelmach. His website & policies mention nothing about increasing funding. He makes no such commitment. No such mention. The only thing he says is to increase tax credits for donations for foundations and charities and matching donations to such organizations. The ideas are vague and brief. He also does not mention support for professional artists themselves.
I believe that without support, arts as a career is not viable. As you know, arts is generally not self-sustaining, but is something that needs public funding. As such it enhances the quality of life for all Albertans. In Europe these concepts are well understood, but somehow we are choosing to forget this....
Anyhow, if a commitment is not made to increase funding (we are already the lowest funded province in Canada by far) the quality of arts will decrease. Funding creates both time and opportunity, allowing artists to hone their skills to the best of their ability and create world-class art. We are creating instead a cultural 'void' where really great artists choose to move elsewhere....
It is hard enough to be an artist. Harder still to live in a province which shows no continued support.
If you care about this subject, one thing you could do if you wanted would be to let Ed know that we need Arts funding doubled (at least). That is the commitment Jim Dinning promised. Ed could at least match that.
Phone 1-780-481-0011Toll Free 1-877-483-0011
Email: info@stelmach.ca
Friday, December 1, 2006
Part of the Green Explosion
Being nominated so soon for CEO for the Calgary West, Green Party of Canada, Electoral District Association was unexpected - but definitely a welcome challenge! The momentum that has built up after Elizabeth May's second place finish in London has really propelled us forward. We are starting to get out there, planning our fundraising, taking the first few steps to help the Green Party become a force to be recognized in Calgary West! We have a great team of people together....it is wonderful to be surrounded by such visionaries who are taking action!
Please note this is a personal, not a political blog. None of the ideas expressed here are endorsed by the Green Party of Canada or the Calgary West Electoral District Association.
Please note this is a personal, not a political blog. None of the ideas expressed here are endorsed by the Green Party of Canada or the Calgary West Electoral District Association.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
