So much for rehearsal. :-) September 3, 2006
Raquel, Daniela, Isabel and Cindy in front of a Latin American restaurant in Virginia somewhere. September 3, 2006 10:32pm
You know me. I'm constantly nurturing the future generation of flamencos. So in this case, every other week I meet with several students of Ana Martinez and give them a taste of dancing flamenco with live guitar. Drawing upon my vast experience of performing flamenco in the local tablaos, I pass on whatever wisdom I can. Truth is that some things you can only learn by experience. I can only do so much, but every little bit counts!
What's cool about practicing with Raquel and her fellow students is that they are close friends and they are very supportive of each other. They know that when I shake my head in disapproval that I am about to give them an honest assessment to help them improve as flamencos. It's a good working relationship so far.
However, with today's beautiful weather and the fact that tomorrow (Monday) is Labor Day, these young ladies were more in the mood to party than practice. We did in fact practice for close to an hour which included some guided listening to some cante--I covered the basic four line structure of a soleá letra and introduced the concept of a remate. Plus we spent some time chilling out in the living room while watching the first half of Camarón movie.
We got a last minute invitation to a backyard BBQ party in Dupont, but it took these ladies time to freshen up, change into going out attire etc. You know how long that can take--guys, you know what I'm talking about. :-) So by the time we were ready to go, we called and learned that the supply of food at the BBQ was almost gone. But the party, we were told, was being moved to a nearby club called Panache, yay! Nevertheless we were starving so our first mission was to find a Latin American restaurant nearby and get some food.
Isabel, Raquel, Cindy and Daniela outside Panache. September 3, 2006 11:33pm
I got some lomo saltado, while the ladies nibbled on yucca, plátanos and tamale. With our hunger taken care of, we paid the bill, got in the car, drove to DC and searched awhile for parking. There were long lines at the more prominent clubs, but thankfully the line at Panache was short and we gained entry within minutes.
Ran into my friend Jen, owner of Shoe Fly in Clarendon, and her boyfriend Tracy. Also met Tez, owner of Eleventh, a trendy lounge, also in Clarendon. Of course I got Jen to take a pic. It's not everyday that I have the pleasure of walking into a club with four lovely ladies. :-)
Raquel, Daniela, Isabel, Cindy and Miguelito. September 4, 2006 12:13am (photo by Jen)
It's 2:11am on Monday now. Actually, I wasn't planning to go out this evening. Plus common sense told me I was supposed to go to bed early to get over my cold, but oh well. We still accomplished a few things during our short rehearsal. It's OK, to slide every now and then. At the next rehearsal we'll make up for it, I promise. Who knows? Perhaps these dance students could become the performers of tomorrow. It's in my best interest to see that I help them get off to a start in the right direction. Even if they don't eventually become performers, at least I gained friendship of four beautiful ladies. hehe
Just for tonight (Monday), the show is cancelled at Cafe Citron for the Labor Day holiday--although the club is still opening at 9:00pm. :-( Ciao for now!
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Comments
OO miguelito!! we always have fun with you :-)
We promise to REALLY ractice next time...and hope you get better!!..don't forget to take benadryl!!
Posted by: Raquel | September 4, 2006 10:57 AM