Messages and Lessons on Life

We Notice and We Practice

And we notice while practicing.  I know that in order to improve, practice is necessary, but paying attention and noticing are equally importante.  The importance of focus, something I’m not always so good at doing… So everybody is talking about New Year’s resolutions right now.  I don’t really remember having made any for the past several years. [...]

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Flamenco Keeps Teaching Me About Life

Is this why I do it? You see, I’ve noticed that flamenco is always telling me things, important things that go waaaaaaay beyond the art form.  Sometimes I am able to hear, sometimes I am not.  So it tells me things again and again, just in case I need reminders… which I usually do.  Estoy [...]

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Mensajes de Músicos – Messages from Musicians

So Toshi keeps asking me to do these shows with him.  I am considering myself to be very lucky.  And I am considering the rehearsals to be like free concerts, free concerts for meeee! Then today during our rehearsal for Sunday’s show at Tuapi, I realized the musicians were sending me messages.  Many many messages.  [...]

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Transitions

So my biggest issue with bulerías when I got to Jerez was the transitions.  Well, ok, that’s not really true, my biggest issue after fear.   But about the transitions, it was like all of a sudden I couldn’t see them. And I didn’t know what to do. It was my first time in Ana María [...]

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How Bulerías Helps Me Learn How to Learn

So, I’ve been talking a lot about bulerías over the past several days.  I guess because there is a lot to say, and today shall be no different. For me, doing bulerías is kind of like taking a happy pill.  Simply put, it makes me feel good.  Even when I do it for just five [...]

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I Used to Hate Bulerías (While Secretly Loving It)

My main obstacle to bulerías has always been fear, not trusting my instincts.  It’s no different from my main obstacle in life.  It is what makes me so indecisive.  No wonder bulerías has always been so hard for me…I don’t trust.  Wah! This realization was profound. In a moment I’ll share with you some things [...]

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And it’s Fear, Yet Again

I guess you could say I was kind of consumed with fear during my time in Jerez.  I did things anyway, but I also didn’t do things. Below is an excerpt (with some side notes) written during my first week alone there.  For those who are new to this blog, I had been in Jerez [...]

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Lessons from First Graders y Más

Ok, so I’m not in Flamenco Land anymore, but here is más o menos what I’ve been up to in Portland flamenco-wise during the month of June, followed by a little taste of what my friends were busy with in Jerez. Getting Back to Regular Classes I was beyond excited to begin teaching again, inspired [...]

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About Akiko

Allow me to tell you a bit about Akiko, one of the many inspiring people I’ve met during my time here in Jerez.  Not too long ago Akiko began taking classes in Japan from Harumi, an incredibly graceful flamenco dancer from Osaka who básicamente seems to have mastered las Bulerías de Jerez…she even co-teaches with [...]

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