Winter in Spain. Not so bad after all! It was great to have the company of the ladies who joined the Sevilla Flamenco Tour - 2 weeks of flamenco class, live guitar accompaniment plus lots of time to enjoy relaxing in Sevilla. Tapas, glasses of vino tinto, arab baths, seeing all of the sights...
It was a busy time! Marinella, Zoe, Florence, Terri & Janice were studying dance. Kevin was also there studying cajon.
Marinella and I shared a flat, which was really nice as we went to many classes together (me running behind, catching up to get to class on time :-) We also had a chance to hang out every now and then - she introduced me to Amador the percussionist for Antonio Canales (with whom she's worked before). Through him we got the inside scoop on the flamenco world of fame! We also frequented La Tertulia - visiting with friends, listening to a celtic jam session (of all things in Sevilla!)
The other ladies shared an apartment around the corner, which was right in the heart of Sevilla. I tried to pop over for visits every now and then and every time the door opened, wafts of yummy cooking smells would come pouring out. Terri- I tried to make your baked yam slices and they just didn't turn out the same!! The ladies went for class every day, to barrio Macarena. Judging from what they told me - it seemed like they adored their teacher Leonor (and nobody complained about their curly haired guitarist Juan either :-)
They learned lots of new pasos - por Bulerias, por Guajiras (I found the stories of fans flying across the room particularly amusing) and they even had enough energy to add extra hours to the original course time. I don't know how they did it! PLUS they busied themselves exploring Sevilla...
We had a bunch of excursions. Some organized and led by me as part of the tour, and the rest of them the group organized on their own. We visited the Flamenco Museum, the Alhambra in Granada (one of the wonders of the ancient world and still an absolute marvel today), the Alcazar - palace of Sevilla, Giralda (world's largest Gothic cathedral), Triana (tradidional gypsy/flamenco neighbourhood of Sevilla), we had walking tours, a bus tour, a couple of the girls said the arab baths were the top highlight (must've been after a day of hard-core dancing :-), the ancient Roman site of Italica...and more!
Terri and Janice also added a few days onto their trip and I've been admiring Terri's beautiful photos of the area around Ronda, a famous archaeological cave site, the city of Cordoba, Tarifa - they really got around everywhere!
As for me, my time was spent in the usual way. Continuing to live my "other" life in Sevilla, hanging out with my friends, doing daily activities like shopping at the fruit and vegetable market. I performed at Arrayan & also rehearsed with another guitarist, with whom I am preparing some repertoire...and of course I continued my training (the most important reason for being all that way across the Atlantic), studying with Isabel Bayon, Manuel Betanzos, Carmen Ledesma and one very interesting class with La Farruca herself!
It was a particular whirlwind of a time - although I tried to live as I normally do, it was a bit busier with the constant changing of flats, friends visiting and new arrivals for the tour. But also a lot of fun! Dynamic, vibrant, intensely living and enjoying life, letting flamenco absorb into your very being. That is what the word Sevilla REALLY means!
Oh, the shows!! We saw plenty of them, larger venues, smaller tablaos, one interview with Estrella Morente who is a true star...from Pastora Galvan dancing to Rafaela Carrasco, it couldn't get any better!
Of course, we are all happy to be back breathing clean air (not smoke) and walking where parks are truly wilderness, not manicured urban retreats...and thank goodness there is flamenco here too! There is a line-up of flamenco shows almost every week in April...
Sevilla Flamenco Tour participants - please add comments to this blog and let others know about your favourite experiences during your time there!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I was also studying flamenco in Seville in spring 2007, at Taller Flamenco too! I loved it so much and I miss it like crazy! I feel as though my time in Seville was my coming of age both as a traveller and dancer. I've got to return someday...
Post a Comment