This is without a doubt my favorite class to play for. Why? There's such a positive vibe in the air. It's a combination of the studio and the enthusiasm of the students and Anna and the inspiring music (ahem!). :-) I knew I was going to be playing for two consecutive classes from 4:00pm until 7:00pm, so I drank a Red Bull and ate a Snickers bar to get me through it. I waited until 10 or 15 minutes after the hour, which was fine cuz they were working on repetitve exercises that didn't really need live music. As soon as I walked in, all twelve dancers cheered "Yay, Miguelito is here!"

Angelica, the unofficial class cheerleader asked me, "How's that for a welcome?"

"That was awesome," and it felt good and made me want to give them all I've got, which I did.

Time flew by and at 5:30pm it was time for the next more advanced class. Not quite as many students but they were just as devoted. By 7:00pm, I was ready to pack up and finally go home, but Genoveva happened to be in the waiting area. Due to last minute changes in her schedule (she was performing in New York this past weekend), she stopped by to give a class. I was pumped from playing all day so naturally, I asked her, "Would you like me to play guitar?"

"If you want.

"Yes, I do!

So I cheerfully went back into the studio ready to play for another hour. Genoveva's technique classes are very challenging and fun. She has such a bubbly personality you can't help but enjoy yourself while you get a serious workout. As a dancer you'll walk out of there with a smile on your face thinking "That was fun." Then the next morning you'll wake up with aching muscles but in a good way. By the time you come back for her class the next time little by little your muscles will be stronger!

I'm not saying this is an excuse, but I had been playing guitar all day and my concentration was starting to fade halfway through her class. Genoveva asked for Taranto, a relatively simple tientos-like rhythm and I was making dumb mistakes. Ugh. Training the muscles is one thing. But flamenco also requires concentration which is another skill altogether. TIP: a little sugar is good (emphasis on the word little) because the brain needs glucose to function . I was munching on peanut M&M's but it was a long day and I was just helplessly mentally exhausted. Oh well. I have to read up on how fast the sugar gets broken down to glucose and travels to the brain. Any nutrition experts out there?

I'm a pretty smart guy as it is, but flamenco is good for exercising the mind and I could always use the mental workout. As a performer, I have to memorize complex choreographies, rhythmic cues, cortes (stops), funky llamadas or mimic rhythmic motifs in footwork solos, pick up on half-compases etc. Fun stuff, but I have to really focus and sustain this concentration.

Back in college, I can remember in music theory class we would have dictation tests. The professor would play chords on the piano and using only our ears (we couldn't see the keyboard) we had to identify the quality (major, minor, diminished, augmented etc) and name the inversion. Challenging stuff if you're not a classically-trained musician.

Anyway, to get us warmed up he would quickly speak numerical sequences starting with short ones like 1-2-3. And we had to accurately write these down. Then he would increase the difficulty by making the sequences longer and more random like 5-8-2-3-6-9-2-5-1-6-3-7 and he'd speak faster. If I tried writing it all down as he spoke, I'd never get it. Instead, I had to relax and let my mind "record" the sounds of the spoken numbers and then "play it back" in my mind when he was done. This explains why, despite my classical training, I prefer to feel the rhythm sometimes rather than analyze it and count it out.

We musicians do this all the time when we're figuring out solos from recordings. Dancers do it in dance class when a teacher demonstrates a footwork pattern. The more experienced dancers can pick up longer footwork sequences without asking the teacher to repeat the pattern.

The point here is that flamenco requires sustained concentration. When you come to class or if you are getting ready for a performance, to get the most out of the experience and make progress, you have to be focused. Each person has their individual thinking style. Explore what works for you. End of lecture. :-)

By 8:00pm, I was spent. Using the cash that the girls from the 4:00pm class collected for me (they're so sweet!), I got some well-deserved nourishment at the Chinese place a couple of doors down and walked home satisfied after a long flamenco-filled day.

Tonight I'll be performing at Cafe Citron as usual. The dancer will be Jen. I believe this will be her first time to perform here as a soloist so please come and show your support! Oh yeah, this is National Dance Week the purpose of which is to "heighten the awareness of Dance and its contributions to our culture." I do this on a daily basis already, but just thought I'd mention it in case you hadn't heard of this event previously. This is a good excuse to take a non-flamenco related dance class for fun or perhaps write a 500-word essay on how dance contributes to our culture. Hehe. Seriously though, just think about it.