Guitarist Miguelito. January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

1. To support the arts and the local flamenco scene.

Yeah...I know a lot of you are looking forward to the upcoming 10th Annual Flamenco Festival at Lisner Auditorium (I surely am!), but if it wasn't for us local artists and teachers tirelessly promoting the art of flamenco in the DC area, concert presenters like Lisner wouldn't be able to answer the question that needs to be answered: "Is there an interest in a flamenco festival in DC?"

The answer of course is a resounding YES. And thanks in large part to my website, DCFlamenco.com with more than 400 blog posts with thousands of pics documenting the local scene, people all over the world are aware of the active flamenco community we have here! And of course, thanks go to the local flamenco community for giving me material to photograph and blog about!

Flamenco dancer Emily Mazzotti and guitarist Miguelito. January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

The way it works is that a lot of people discover flamenco for themselves or reignite their interest when they come out to our shows or when they hear about classes at the local dance studios. But a lot of these shows and classes wouldn't continue to exist if we didn't have people supporting the local artists and teachers by regularly coming out to the clubs, restaurants and dance studios. We're the ones promoting flamenco year round and we need your support!

But while my ulterior motive is mostly to promote the Saturday Night Flamenco at Cafe Citron, don't just come out to my shows. Go checkout my colleagues at the other venues like Las Tapas, Vinoteca, Cabanas etc. Complete schedule at DC Flamenco.

Emily and Sara dancing Sevillanas. January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

2. Become a part of the community by getting to know other flamenco fans and aficionados.

Since the show at Citron has been around since 2001, we've gradually developed a regular following. A lot of them have come and gone—DC is a town of transients with people coming for college or internships, staying a while and moving on. But we do have people who are still around who have been coming to Citron's flamenco night for years! And we do have some who have moved out of town or to the other side of the world, but visit DC occasionally and make it a point to stop by and say hello.

What's cool is that while these people come from all walks of life, our differences don't stop us from getting know them through what we have in common: a love for flamenco!

Emily and Sara. January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

3. Experience flamenco in a relaxed ambience.

Let's get something straight here. This is not a concert hall. Cafe Citron is a bar, club, whatever you want to call it. So yeah, sometimes we have to compete with the noise of people having a good time but are not there necessarily to watch the show. It's to be expected. So we're a little less formal here.

We frequently have flamenco friends, singers, dancers and guitarists that stop by to support us. And we often invite them to join us onstage. You never know who will drop by, so it's always a nice surprise, even for me and I pretty much know everyone!

But in the interest of keeping things professional, this is not an open mic night. :-) Most of the time we'll gladly invite student dancers to come up and dance a copla or two of Sevillanas. It's fun for us and the people love it when we "spontaneously" invite someone to join us onstage. Actually, I've managed to recruit new dancers over the years this way. Haha!

Sara. January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

You'll pretty much see me playing guitar at Citron 99% of the time. Same goes for my dancer, Sara Jerez. But occasionally, she'll send a substitute such as dancers Ginette Perea, Emily Mazzotti, Sarah Hart, Kyoko, Pam de Ocampo etc all of whom have performed extensively in the DC area for years. But even though Sara Jerez is there most of the time, she keeps it fresh usually with variations in the choreography that she'll come up with on-the-spot. Plus the energy of the crowd is different from week to week so it's always a little bit different every time.

Flamenco dancer Sara Jerez with guitarist Miguelito. January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

4. Citron is a fun place to go on Saturday nights.

[Editor's note: this blog is getting longer than I planned, so I'm going to cut the list short here.]

Even if you're not a flamenco dancer or aren't really up to getting up onstage yet to dance some Sevillanas, you can still get your dance fix here at Citron after the show.

If you're into salsa, reggaeton, merengue, or pretty much anything Latin, the DJ's here are top-notch and it's pretty much obvious by the crowds that come back week after week. This place gets seriously packed with people who love to dance!

So come early in the evening. The flamenco shows are at 7pm and 8pm while the place is relatively uncrowded.

Call 202-530-8844 to make a reservation and be sure to specifically ask for a table near the stage. (For you old-timers, the show used to be in front of the bar but has been moved to back part of the club)

Or grab a seat at the bar. During the show, you'll have to stand near the dining area to watch. We finish up with the flamenco close to 9pm while it's still early enough in the evening to chill awhile before the crowds come and you can enjoy the rest of your evening dancing the night away at Citron or elsewhere.

Emily providing palmas. January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

Escobilla. January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

Smile of satisfaction--show went especially well thanks to the support of all of our friends! January 2, 2010 (photo by Jani)

Some of my flamenco friends (from left): Chris, Mutsuko, Cipri, Denise, Daniela, Emily. January 2, 2010

Remember how I mentioned that I recruit dancers sometimes when they come up and dance Sevillanas? Well, Emily Mazzotti (pictured above) was one of those dancers, really! That was almost three years ago, and now she's a frequent performer and an up-and-coming dance teacher based in Crystal City, Virginia.

Anywayz, here are more pics of many of my flamenco friends that came out to the première of Saturday Night Flamenco at Cafe Citron. Thank you everyone for your support!

Sherry, Mila and Rob. They reserved the table of the front of stage and it so happens it was Mila's birthday. January 2, 2010

I've known Mila (pictured above) since she was 13 while she was taking flamenco classes with Ena Camargo. I was very honored that she decided to celebrate her birthday at Citron on the night of my show. Happy birthday Mila!!!

Emily, Milagros and Jani. January 2, 2010

Jani (pictured above) is a longtime supporter of the local flamenco scene. He often volunteers to photograph my shows. In fact, he was my volunteer photographer for the show this evening. Thanks Jani!

Idi, Anita and Kristiina. January 2, 2010

I've known Idi for years. He's been coming to Citron for the flamenco show for as long as I can remember! Thanks for your support Idi!

Emily, Miguelito and Milagros. January 2, 2010

While I was very happy to see so many friends, it also happened to be my dancer friend Milagros Uribe's (pictured above) last time to party with many of her friends before moving back to Perú tomorrow. :-( I know you'll be back soon, but we'll miss you Milagros!!!

Checkout the pics of Milagros in performance last year.

Chris, Milagros and Emily. January 2, 2010

Just a few of my many beautiful flamenco dancer friends: (from left) Denise, Daniela, Mutsuko, Milagros and Emily. January 2, 2010

If you've scrolled through the pics, without reading anything at least read this:

The flamenco show at Cafe Citron is now on Saturday nights at 7pm and 8pm.

One last glimpse of the new stage setup before calling it a night. January 2, 2010

Ciao for now! Thanks for reading my blog! For more information about the DC flamenco scene, visit www.dcflamenco.com.

PS the DCFlamenco website will be 14 years old on January 10th!