Mission accomplished! April 10, 2006
As you can imagine, I meet a LOT of people at Cafe Citron. It's a very popular place even on a Monday night. Occasionally I meet people who dance flamenco such as my friend Karina Valverde. I first met her here almost two years ago when I said, "I'm going to have you dancing on my stage by next summer."
Well, OK, I made that promise in June 2004, but I did finally get Karina to dance on my stage and for all four coplas of Sevillanas. Mission accomplished! I know it's only Sevillanas, but it's a start.
Mariya and Karina in Sevillanas. April 10, 2006 9:39pm (photo by Diana)
The pictures were taken by my friend Diana who sat at the table in front of the stage. As you can see in the following photos, the audience seating is very intimate in relation to the stage. That's the cool thing about the setup here at Citron. It's easy for us performers to feed off the energy of the audience (and vice-versa) cuz they're so close. Plus they're a little more lively due to the fact that it's a bar which means that a lot of the people are a little more relaxed and at times rambunctious. :-)
Mariya introduced me to these two girls from Russia and Ukraine respectively. I got to practice my Russian language skills, yay! Anyway, they heard about the show through my announcement on Club Zone.
April 10, 2006 9:45pm (photo by Diana)
Mariya. April 10, 2006 9:49pm (photo by Diana)
I know palmas look like they're easy to do. Basically they are easy but they still require concentration and you have to connect with the other performers. Notice Jason carefully watching Mariya as she dances tientos/tangos.
Mariya and Jason. April 10, 2006 9:50pm (photo by Diana)
April 10, 2006 9:50pm (photo by Diana)
Mariya, Karina, Lilly and Diana. April 10, 2006 10:07pm
Jason, Madiha and Gerard. April 10, 2006 10:09pm
I first met Madiha here at Citron in August 2004 and funny thing is that for the first few weeks that I hung out with her, we only spoke Spanish! Anyway, she used to come to Citron every single Monday for a couple of months and she was always accompanied by her (at the time) single female friends, Ivana, Gisele and Lilian who gradually stopped coming to Citron as they each hooked up with a boyfriend. :-( Madiha still comes to Citron every now and then.
Like many of my friends, Karina has a dayjob and other commitments that make it difficult to come out and party on a Monday night. But she did come out and stayed past midnight despite having to go to work the following morning. Thanks Karina!
Karina and Miguelito. April 11, 2006 12:07am
OK it's 12:13pm now and the weather, again, is gorgeous. So I better shower, get dressed and get out of the house. I'll be performing at Las Tapas tonight. Genoveva is performing so come out and see her while you can. She's an excellent dancer and may be leaving the area sometime soon. See you there!
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