Dear friends, students and Flamenco lovers in general,

I want to share with you all the amazing news for this week coming up: 

- FLAMENCO PERFORMANCE AT MINT CAFE 
My colleagues at Flamenco Diez and I will be performing at Mint Cafe in Headingley (http://mint-cafe.co.uk) next THURSDAY 21st at 20.30pm. 
Tickets are £5, and a Vegetarian Buffet will be available for another £5. Food served from 8pm.
Mint Cafe is a lovely but small place so come soon if you want to have a seat!

- FLAMENCO WORKSHOPS WITH NATALIA GARCÍA-HUIDOBRO

The great dancer and teacher Natalia García-Huidobro is coming to Leeds and she will be giving two interesting workshops at The Dance Studio leeds next SUNDAY 24th:
- Fiesta por Tangos for beginners (11 to 12.30)
- Fiesta por Bulerías for improvers (12.30 to 2pm)
Prices: £20 per workshop.


Bookings: ruth@feel-flamenco.com

Hello everybody!

2012 is coming to its end, and fortunately the Mayan people were completely wrong and our world is still alive!

It’s almost four months since I started with my Flamenco Classes in Leeds, and lf I look back, I feel really happy and lucky because I’ve found such wonderful people who is helping me from the beginning…and that’s why I would like to finish this year giving thanks to everyone!

Thank you Cervantes Institute (Marisol, Chema, José Luis, Asun and all the others) for trusting me and for providing me the backup of such a big Institution, as well as your personal support.

Thank you very much Patricia Skeet and Candy Kaiser for your warm and friendly welcome and for opening the Leeds Flamenco doors to me.

Thank you Mike Holland for carrying on coming to the classes and playing so nicely, for encouraging me every day and for helping looking for new opportunities, and also thank you Cath for being so lovely and for organizing the Peñas!

Thank you very much my dear Solveig for helping me with the English Language, for giving me ideas, good advices, for translating the texts for me, and over all for such great moments we are having together.

Thank you Ana L.Muñoz and Tenley Martin for allowing me to join you at Flamenco Diez, and for making me enjoy so much in the rehearsals! And thank you James Stephenson for your help introducing me so much people interested in Flamenco around Leeds.

Thank you Katie Hedges from The Dance Studio Leeds for giving me the opportunity to work with you at such a beautiful place, and for being so nice and helpful to me.

And, the most important of all…Thank you very much indeed my dear students, to the beginners and to the advanced, because I receive from you more than I give and I learn every day and become a better teacher with you. You already know I love my job, but you must know that it’s for you that the effort is worth it!

MY BEST WISHES FOR THIS 2013!! 

Dancers, musicians, flamenco enthusiasts, friends and families are all warmly invited to an evening of flamenco music and dance.
A relaxed and informal get-together where anyone is welcome to take part in dancing, singing or playing, or just to sit and enjoy!
Tea, coffee and wine will be available – please bring anything else you would like to drink.
Grey’s Fine Foods will be selling gourmet Spanish food to take home!
Entry: £3

FLAMENCO WORKSHOP WITH RUTH TEJADO
Technique class 4.00 – 5.00pm. Cost: £8
Choreography class 5.15 – 7.15pm Shawl for Ladies: Soleá (shawls won't be provided) Cost: £15

Food can be provided after the workshop at a cost of £5 if booked in advance (please book before 27th November) 

Address: Jubilee Hall, Layton Avenue, Rawdon, Leeds. LS19 6QQ.
Any enquiries: contact Cath Boardman
cathy_boardman@hotmail.com Mob:07712 814679

Hello everybody!

This post is specially dedicated to my complete beginners students, who are in contact with Flamenco for the first time. They are working really hard to go beyond the difficulties that all the beginners must face up to, and they are doing it really well so…congratulations!

Why do flamenco teachers always start with “Tangos”? As you are starting to know, some flamenco “palos” have strange, long and difficult rhythms, hard to recognize and follow for those who have never heard about them before. Nevertheless, “tangos” sounds  somehow familiar to you, doesn´t it? This is because Tangos is a 4/4 rhythm, which means that you can hear 4 beats in every “compás”, exactly like in Madonnas’, Elvis’ or Beyonces’! And that’s the reason why it’s so easy to identify for you, because you’ve been hearing similar rythms since you were born.

On the other hand, its lively and cheerful character, makes this palo perfect to be tought in the first months, students enjoy it and it is not as stressful for them to learn as a deeper  palo such Solea or Farruca could be.  But don’t forget: the easiest palo can become the most advanced one if a well experienced dancer performs it!  Examples? Here you have one, by the Sara Baras Dance Company. Enjoy!

Dear Students!

Sorry for the delay posting about Flamenco! The courses beginning has been thrilling and exhausting, but now I’m ready to start and I’m sure that you will enjoy all the info!!

First of all I would like to thank you for joining the classes…I’ve found an incredible group of people loving what I love and attending the classes with the same passion as me when teaching  them!. I would like to repay you letting at your disposal everything I know about Flamenco…So this is the first of a series of posts explaining any of the aspects of Flamenco Palos that we are studying in the class. Enjoy!

Today we’re starting with the Farruca. The farruca is a binary rythm palo (s 1 2 3), belonging to the Tangos family. Its origin is not clear, but the most accepted theory  says that the emigrant people from Galicia and Asturias were called “farrucos” when just arrived to Cuba or Andalusia, and as far as they sung sad songs missing their lands and their women, they decided to name the palo “ Farruca”. Nevertheless, this is one of the youngest flamenco palos, because the great migrations from Galicia to Cuba didn’t start until the beginning of the 20th century.

The Farruca is a genuinely male dance, with a sober, melancholic and lilting style, where is really important to include “redobles”, “llamadas” y “contratiempos” among others virtuous specifications, being for that reason a hard test for many dancers. Nowadays, one of the most important Farruca performers is Israel Galván, who has a very particular and daring style. Ladies who perform amazing farrucas are Sara Baras and Concha Jareño, among others.

You can find lots of beautiful Farruca in the internet, but, the funniest I have ever found (thanks to my colleague Mike for showing it to me!) is this one. Enjoy it! See you soon!

Summer is almost finished and you should start to think about dancing this winter...
Have you ever thought about Flamenco? It's a passionate, elegant and strong dance, that will improve your coordination skills, and will help you to keep fit. 

By the moment, you can find our clases at Yorkshire Dance http://www.yorkshiredance.com/  , with Cervantes Institute  http://leeds.cervantes.es/en/default.shtm, every wednesday with the following timetable: 

- 5.30 to 6.30 - Complete Beginners
- 6.30 to 8.00 - Beginners
- 8.00 to 9.30 - Continuation level

Every class will have a technique part and a choreographic part, and you will enjoy, be sure!

We are working very hard to find new places where you can join flamenco classes, as soon as it's ready, we'll let you know!

https://www.facebook.com/FeelFlamenco 

There`s something amazing and new about dancing very close to you...
If you live in Yorkshire, now you have the oportunity to dance Flamenco or Spanish Dance.
You will receive more information very soon!!
Feel the passion. Feel the dance!