It was perfect timing cuz teacher Lisa Scott (subbing for Anna Menendez) was just finishing up the technique portion of the class (where having live music isn't really necessary). Today's assignment: a taranto llamada as choreographed by Rafaela Carrasco. So I drifted off into taranto land for awhile and time flew by as I jammed with Rafaela's funky rhythms and modern moves.

At 5:30pm it was time for the more advanced class, also taught by Lisa, which worked on a soleá por bulerías. llamada and letra. I was enjoying myself again of course (been in a good mood all weekend), but I was starting to feel a cold coming on. The air conditioning was on full blast and I tried shifting my chair a few inches this way and that to get away from the Arctic draft. I was about to call it quits for the evening (yeah I know it sounds wimpy) just to get out of the DC Dance Refrigerator but when Lisa called for a water break, I went outside for a few minutes actually desiring some heat and humidity! :-) Got back into the studio feelin' warm again and ready to finish up this class and get ready for Genoveva's 7:00pm group, yay!

There were students from the first class who were back again. There were also a few new faces. Like the last time I played for her class, Gen worked on technique exercises that didn't really require live music. So I chilled out for the first half hour or so and sat on the couches and watched the class (see pic at top of this blog entry). I overheard some latecoming students talking about how Genoveva's inspiring performance the previous night at Fuerza y Pasión was more than enough to convince a LOT of people to think to themselves, "I wanna study with that girl!!!" So at 7:00pm on a Sunday night when your average person would prefer to relax at home and go to bed early to get ready for work Monday, Gen had 14 students!

I already wrote a glowing review of Genoveva's teaching ability, so I won't rehash it here. OK I'll just say one thing: she has an exercise that she knows can help you improve your footwork technique (if you promise to practice it everyday) and trust me when I say this: Gen has some of the fastest and cleanest footwork I've ever accompanied!

This technique class is an addition to an already great Sunday at DC Dance Collective. Welcome Gen! You all know how much I love to play for Anna Menendez's classes--they're fun and filled with enthusiastic students and their energy and Anna's is contagious! Any serious student of flamenco should make it a point to come try out the Sunday night flamenco boot camp here at DCDC with these two awesome teachers. I'm not even a dancer myself, but you can count on me to be there whenever my other flamenco commitments don't interfere. See you there!