The new look.

I've been blogging for a very long time...long enough to see blog technology evolve over the years. And after 4 years (and 500 blog entries!!!) of using Movable Type, I'm switching over to the cutting edge in blogging software: WordPress.

Not that you really care about the techy side of things. But from this day forward, you can access my well-known flamenco blog at this new easy-to-remember URL:

www.dcflamenco.com/blog

And if you subscribe to my RSS or newsfeed, here's the new URL:

www.dcflamenco.com/blog/?feed=rss2

Posted by Miguelito at 8:45 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Manuel Liñán at DC Dance Collective. September 23, 2010

It's 9-something pm on Sunday as I type these words. Between rehearsals, private gigs and my usual fun Saturday night gig at Cafe Citron, it's been a busy couple of days for me. But I finally got a day with nothing on the schedule so I "unplugged," stayed-in and seriously caught up on sleep! I'm up now so I might as well crank out a quick blog entry.

So this past Thursday, I decided to drop by DC Dance Collective to check out Manuel Liñán's ongoing masterclass and also say hello to the many dancers that I know but don't see on a regular basis. I checked my blog archives and it turns out that I did meet Manuel briefly at a post-concert party during Lisner's flamenco festival in February 2007. But that was years ago so I can't expect him to remember me.

I arrived at the dance studio about 20 minutes before the class started and gave the dancers a heads up that I was going to take pics. Met Manuel for moment and got the OK to bring my camera into the studio. Got caught up in a few conversations, time flew by and before I knew it the class started and I got to work!

Manuel demonstrating a step. September 23, 2010

I realize that sometimes people get a bit nervous when someone's taking their pics. So I have this way of holding the camera in my lap and discreetly have the adjustable display viewfinder screen pointing up so I can see what I'm taking pics of. Sneaky? Perhaps. But my intent is to document the class and at the same time, not make anyone feel self-conscious. Y'know what I mean?

Of course there are a few dancers I know that feel completely comfortable in front of the camera. In fact, there is one that seems to always sense when my lens is pointing in her direction. It's Mariana (pictured below) who took a second to pose so I could capture this moment. Thanks Mariana! ;-)

Continue reading "Manuel Liñán Masterclass at DC Dance Collective. September 23, 2010" »

Posted by Miguelito at 9:22 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

At Bambule in 2003 featuring dancers Marta Chico Martín and Sara Jerez with guitarist Ramin Rad and percussionist Jason Vera y Aragón. August 14, 2003

It's almost 1pm on Thursday as I type these words. Those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter knew that I had a Hispanic Heritage Month gig yesterday. The typical routine:
1. Wake up early to meet up with the dancers and singer to carpool together to the gig. (these shows are typically at noon)
2. Setup sound system while the dancers change into costume.
3. Ceremony starts. Speech or two then we go on stage.
4. 20-minute flamenco performance. Applause applause.
5. Put away sound system and collect big fat paycheck. :-)
6. Deposit big fat paycheck and spend it.

Easy money, right? Yeah it is. But we deserve it. Us full-time artists have paid our "dues" practicing for years developing our flamenco skills so that we can crawl out of bed, show up at a gig, perform, and get paid an extravagant amount of money considering we're only actually working for 20 minutes.

But I left out one tiny but still very important item from the above routine. Can you guess what it is?

It's the tablao!!! For those of you who don't know, a tablao is very simply a wooden stage to give the flamenco dancers a percussive surface to showcase their footwork. And yesterday for the Hispanic Heritage Month performance, we had to bring a tablao to the gig because the room we performed in was carpeted.

So we arrive at gig and the singer and I carried the tablao from the car to the room. It's something I've come to accept as a part of my duties as a flamenco guitarist...supporting my dancers. But yesterday as I was carrying the tablao, a very large piece of plywood requiring at least two people, my hands were feeling a little pain. So I said to the singer, "Dude, my hands are in pain here. I shouldn't be doing this to my hands. I'm the guitarist and we have a show in 20 minutes."

Our security escort, dressed in business attire took my hint and offered to carry the tablao. 20 minutes later we went on stage and I played guitar just fine. But still c'mon I shouldn't be carrying heavy stuff right before a gig.

This morning I was thinking about how most of our clients have no idea about the technical requirements of a flamenco show. It's not their fault of course. It's up to us flamenco performers to educate them. And I'm not about to impose upon you my ideas of what kind of stage is most appropriate...because each dancer has a different level of what they'll accept as suitable for a performance. So for the benefit of those thinking of putting on a flamenco show in a restaurant, private party etc here's a small sample of some of the tablaos I've seen over the years here in the DC area.

8' x 8' on a raised platform Pictured at the top of page. Built by Jason Vera y Aragón, this consists of two 8' x 4' birch wood sheets supported by 2" x 4" lumber around the edges. This allows the sheet to have a hollow space underneath giving it a nice sound for flamenco footwork. The platform raises the stage about 6-8 inches and locks onto the latches. This kind of stage is pretty costly but it was a long-term investment for the show.

Continue reading "The History of Tablao Construction in DC" »

Posted by Miguelito at 12:38 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Ginette dancing soleá accompanied by Miguelito at Las Tapas. September 21, 2010 (photo by Даша)

It's almost midnight on Tuesday as I type these words. Got home about an hour ago. I really should go to bed at a decent hour for a change. I have an early day tomorrow and I can't afford to show up at the gig half awake. It wouldn't be fair to the dancers and the singer not to mention our audience! But since I'm up I might as well crank out a quick blog for now and make myself productive.

For the longest time, the Tuesday night manager at Las Tapas, Даша (pronounced DA-sha) has been offering to take pics of the show. I finally took her up on it for this evening's show featuring dancer Ginette. Thank you Даша!

September 21, 2010 (photo by Даша)

My usual routine for Tuesdays is to arrive a couple of hours before showtime. Here's the thing: I have more than 100 pounds of sound gear that I cart around on the metro. And it's not really practical for me to do it during rush hour when the trains get seriously packed with people. It's not a total waste of time to arrive a few hours early though. I can take my time setting up my sound system, warm-up my hands properly and relax a bit before the show.

But I must've been a little distracted this afternoon because I forgot to adjust the EQ. It's not disastrous when it's a bit off, but it's just not as inspiring for me as a performer when my guitar doesn't sound its best through the sound system. I don't want to get into the technical details, but the thing is that each venue has different acoustics and so I have to do a sound check every single time I set up. And today I forgot to do that. Bad Miguelito, bad bad bad! :-)

Ginette dancing Sevillanas. September 21, 2010 (photo by Даша)

Despite the minor EQ problem the show was still pretty good. Ginette danced wonderfully as always. On the other hand, my mental focus drifted several times when I would catch myself having a mental conversation with myself: "Ugh...what's the matter with the sound??? Just let it go. It sounds good enough. Relax and have fun with the show!"

It's easier said than done. But eventually I did just let it go and had fun. After the show, I was pleasantly surprised by the many compliments from the audience as we made our way across the dining room. Even though I was still a bit unsatisfied with how my guitar sounded this evening, the inspirational energy Ginette and I shared onstage more than made up for it.

Sometimes, I get great sound on certain nights, but the audience response is so-so. And other times sound is so-so and the audience response is great. Tonight was the latter. OK...time for me to stop whining now. In the grand scheme of things, it's all good.

Flamenco shows at Las Tapas are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00pm. Thursdays at 8:00pm and 9:00pm. Call 703-836-4000.

Posted by Miguelito at 11:41 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)