My flamenco teacher, Valerie Scannura, is working on a spot for her school that will be aired on Bravo! soon. Take a look at what they have so far – looks really great, I think!
Ritmo Flamenco (you will need QuickTime to view the movie).
This past Saturday, I had my first Flamenco performance!
After having searched the malls and expensive stores along Yonge St. for most of both Friday and Saturday, I finally settled on a very bright red top by Guess, quite expensive, but definitely worth it. It looked great on me, and it’s funny – I hate the colour red, but it’s one of the few bright colours that actually suits my complexion. Well, that’s okay. At least I don’t have to look at me when I’m wearing the colour I dislike so much!
I paired the bright red top with an intensely bright red lipstick by Mac, a black swirly skirt I got a year ago and barely ever wear, and proper Flamenco shoes bought from The Art of Expression (if you live in Toronto and need Flamenco shoes, be sure to get them from this store – high quality, great service).
The dress rehearsal lasted all afternoon, during which I got to see varying levels of performers. It was really quite inspiring, and I’m looking forward to working on this more. July classes will be starting soon, and they will run for an extra half hour than my beginner’s class is used to – time to start pushing to the next level!
In any case, the performances went fairly well (there were two). I made a couple of mistakes, in each one, but recovered without looking like I’d done too much wrong. And it was quite exhilerating to be up on stage – the second audience we had was quite rowdy, shouting out ole’s! and other such things to us as the energy levels of the dancers demanded. Wonderful!
I didn’t get any photographs, but I’m looking forward to some being posted on the Ritmo Flamenco website at some point in the future, possibly, and there will be a video produced a little later, which I will obtain for a mere $20 and send off to my parents for their proud viewing enjoyment. 😉
I will be performing in Ritmo Flamenco‘s 2006 student showcase, Fiesta del Sol, this weekend.
When: Saturday, June 24, 2006 @ 6:00 PM (there is also an 8:00 PM performance; I am performing in the 6:00 show)
Where: St. Vladimir Theater, 620 Spadina at Harbord
There is a reception following the 8:00 PM performance that you are all invited to. Tickets are $15. Please call 416-435-4223 and speak with Valerie to purchase them.
From the school’s website:
“It promises to be one of the most exciting evenings featuring all the students of the school, including the new children’s division. Please come and support your fellow students, friends and family members.”
I’m looking forward to the performance; just bought myself some real flamenco shoes! I hope to see many of you there…
My flamenco teacher, Valerie Scannura, also runs her own dance company. Saturday night, I saw the company perform the concert Noche Flamenca at the Al Green Theatre here in Toronto.
And what a rousing performance it was! From the very beginning, I wanted to get up and dance along with them (I don’t have the skill, yet). I was impressed by the passionate guitar playing, the energetic drumming, the skillful and coordinated dancing. The dance was so evocative of femininity and yet so powerful, controlled and fierce at the same time. It really is an empowering dance for women. I was wholly inspired by the entire performance, and I finally got to see my teacher in full action.
The entire audience seemed to have enjoyed it too. Whoops and hollers of encouragement (mostly from the males in the audience, it seemed) could be heard throughout the applause when each dance was completed or halted for a few moments.
On the learning side, the flamenco lessons have been extended until June/July, and I find each week I’m a little better coordinated. I’m looking forward to the day when I can put on a pair of flamenco shoes and pound the floor as fiercely as the performers I saw on Saturday.
Considering I’ve never attended before, the Toronto International Film Festival had quite the impact on me this year. The second of the two I saw, The District, had me in instant awe of its unique and creative animation style, even through the shock of its content. The impact of the first of the two, however, was slower at developing; but I know the direction I’m about to take as a result of seeing Iberia at the festival will lead me to new heights of mastery over my body.
In March, I will embark upon an eight week beginner’s course of Flamenco dance lessons, courtesy of the Ritmo Flamenco dance school here in Toronto.
The expressive, sensual flamenco that was portrayed in Iberia, combined with my deeply-engrained passion for dancing to songs that energise me, and my desire to pursue a more established and controlled form of it, inspired me to explore Flamenco. I am looking forward to my first steps in pursuit of a grace and poise I’ve never before been able to achieve. I’ve never been this fit before – thanks to a regime begun on my trip to Thailand, where I had six weeks to develop a habit of working out in my parents’ community gym – and really, it’s time for me to build upon that by developing a more refined comportment.
But, perhaps my sights are set too high just yet. It is, after all, only a beginner’s course, and goodness knows I’ve never been one for the elegance and femininity that is meant to be “inherent” in a female’s body. We shall have to see how well my body complies to the messages my brain is going to have to deliver to it. I shall keep you posted.