Yohanna Escamilla Flamenco
WHY DO YOU DANCE?5/21/2020 I lost count on how many weeks we have been on lock down. I get confused on what day of the week we are at sometimes, and I keep hoping that we will come back to socialize soon. It has been difficult not to feel my students’ energy in class and I miss performing (my humble moment to share my art). I have sensed the lost of excitement from my students because we are usually getting ready for the showcase at this time of the year. This is the opportunity they have to share and express what they learned during this year’ session, and this time, after 4 years, we won’t be able to do it. At this point, I feel that some of them cannot find the reason to practice the choreography, and I understand. We worked for so many hours to craft and plan the steps, music details, outfits and rehearsals and all to end not performing in front of an audience. Our lives are upside down, and for some it is difficult to remember the sequence of a dance. But, I remember how many times I have taken classes and learned uncountable choreography during my life and never got the chance to perform them. I think, if the situation was different, the perspective would be different. Or maybe, I haven’t address my teaching in the right direction? When I start a year session, we do it with technique, and toward the first quarter of the year, I redirect the class to a choreography so the students can connect the technique with it. But, beyond the choreography and technique there must be a feeling. In flamenco, if you don’t feel, you cannot transmit. You can have an impeccable technique, but without that “music-feeling” connection, it will be only an empty dance. If you are reading this article, and you are taking any dance class right now, I want you to ask yourself why are you doing it? What’s your goal? What are your expectations? I can think on a couple of right answers now, such as, I dance to keep my body in shape; or perhaps, because I like to express through movement and release stress; I love music and I like to transmit that feeling with my body, etc. But we are in a different living scenario right now, and we can’t get together and share what we have learned. I feel that we need to redirect our goals and expectations with the activities we used to do before the pandemic, and find deep inside our hearts why do you connect with that dance class you are taking. In my case, I dance, not only because is my career, but because it is the only way I can connect to the real me. I dance to myself and not only to an audience. It is the only way I can share how I feel deep inside in a specific moment. No matter how much choreography I know, my movements are mine! I give myself through my movements and every class, performance, or day is different! I love dancing and I cannot stop doing it because it keeps me alive and make my days happier! Why do you dance!??
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BREATHING THROUGH YOUR MOVEMENT4/24/2020 In the past I never paid attention to my breathing. I used to dance without thinking about it and ignored how important it is not just during dancing, but in our everyday life movements. One day after performing, a lady asked me if I wasn’t tired after doing so much footwork, which I replied that I was just fine and that my body was used to it. On a second show, another lady approached to me and said: “If I do that I had been exhausted after 2 minutes of dancing”. And many more comments like these made me start thinking about how did I get to that point of dancing for 10+ minutes without fainting after the first Escobilla (Long footwork section in a Flamenco choreography). I began analyzing the breathing process during the classes I teach. Each teacher begins her/his classes with a big movement adding an inhale and an exhale during it. This is necessary to bring oxygen to our muscles that will then execute the movement with fluidity. “If a teacher or choreographer has ever commented that your dancing looks stiff, the problem could be that you aren't breathing effectively. "When dancers aren't breathing, their shoulders are up and there's no length in their movement. They start to look like they're just waiting to get to the next thing", says Maria Bai, artistic director of Central Park Dance in New York. You will get used to it after repetition and at some point you won’t even notice that your breath is integrated with your movement (article)”. But yes, we are talking about a performance where you do not have time to analyze if you are breathing properly or not -even though your body will signal you if you are not doing it right because you will feel like giving up, or having cramps in your legs and toes after it, yes! You read right, Toes! But, with the right technique and enough practice, everything will work as it needs to. For me, the first thing that works is to have control. Having control of your movement and where do you need to apply it. For instance, I usually start dancing with a gentle walk or marcaje (refers to the marking of the beats of the compas/rhythmic cycle), where you can feel or even hear your breathing. This also helps to bring your nervousness down!. While walking you are controlling how your first footwork is going to be or how do you want it to be. Do I want to do it loud and fast? Or do I want to do it slow and gentle today?. Those first steps will set up the rest of your dancing. Once I’ve passed the first footwork and Letra (singing verse), I feel my breathing is working in sync with my movement and I can control what is coming next. I tend to go back to a marcaje to gain energy and breath more before I start the long footwork section. For this part, depending on the palo (name given in flamenco to the different musical forms), and the experience of the dancer, in this case me; I like to start on a medium speed. During the footwork, it is essential to keep breathing through the nose. Although I tend to open my mouth a tiny bit unconsciously - to exhale- and this is totally fine and normal. Our focus is on the footwork and our body does the specific adjustments to what is experiencing at the moment. When I get to the peak of the speed and cannot go any faster, I had to make the quick decision to do the Llamada (specific steps that a dancer does to signal the musicians for the next part of the dance). At this moment, my heart is beating fast, and my breathing is going fast too! But this is the best part -for me- because I end up with a big exhalation into the last part of the choreo. I come back to breath through my nose and getting control of the whole experience once more. With the last bit of air I have left, I usually do a quick subida (speed build up), and go back to my seat. It is incredible to think on how many things we need to add when we are dancing. Our body never stops! And we are never aware of our breathing while we walk, eat, or do the everyday movements. It is an unconscious act. A very natural act in fact! Breathing through the movements makes a big difference in a choreography, and it helps us to be more aware of our feelings while dancing. At least that’s how I feel and how it works for me. Let’s keep breathing and make our movements and our life better through it. <3 article mentioned: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dancemagazine.com/amp/these-5-breathing-tips-will-transform-your-dancing-2622971176 THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVISATION4/17/2020 With our current reality, and been apart from each other, the classes are transforming into a mechanic activity. I can’t correct my students properly and I feel the empty space in the studio - more like an empty teacher feeling-
I have forced myself to practice my choreography, but I haven’t been successful. The feeling of the live music and the “butterflies in the stomach ” before a performance are such an important part for an artist to bring the inner self out and enjoy and transmit it with the audience. I miss it very much!! The other day after class, I decided to just let go. I played some of the new songs I downloaded recently, and I started to move. I found myself out of compas (rhythm) a couple of times, making silly mistakes, and at some point hopeless. But I didn’t give up! I recorded my improvisation and I realized that I was limiting myself to a few combinations, and that I was repeating the same steps over and over - I know! I am my worst judge!- But on the bright side, I also saw that I was trying to feel more. To connect with the music, and with my thoughts! I wasn’t throwing complicated footwork or very tailored choreography steps. I was trying to “find myself”. First, I started with a Tangos Flamencos’ song that I never work with before. Flamenco students know that Flamenco music follows a structure and we “sense” when the singer is going to finish a musical phrase by the decrease of his/her voice tone. My inner knowledge knew how to follow that structure but my body wasn’t responding sometimes, so I decided to do what I could in the moment. Then, I moved to dance Caña and I stole some of my students’ choreography with some Manton's work additions! I did enjoy this Palo more than the tangos. I think I was already in the mood by that time. ArchivesCategories |