A SLIGHT CHANGE FROM WRITING to FLAMENCO

Carmen Linares

AS I WRITE THIS, I AM ON MY WAY TO SEVILLE, SPAIN, to study flamenco baile (dance) and cante (song). I say 'on my way', because there was a slight hitch in our travel plans. I've been in Calgary since yesterday morning. Mike and I were going to travel with Swiss Air (Calgary/Zurich/Seville), but after several delays, we were informed the flight was cancelled due to engine troubles. So here we are, in an airport hotel in Calgary waiting for our new flight, which (fingers crossed) should leave around 6:00 p.m. tonight. Swiss Air accommodated about 300 of us by covering our hotel and meal costs. Fortunately, our apartment owners in Seville are understanding and will hold our apartment until we arrive, which should be Saturday night. We've been rerouted through London, then Brussels, and then we'll be on our way to Seville.

I could complain about this, but I won't. Far better to be delayed, than to fall from the sky over the Atlantic.

Over the next while, I hope to blog about my experiences in Seville as I learn about the city and the people I meet, as well as flamenco dance and song. A good friend of mine wrote on my Facebook page that I should enter my classes with an open heart and no ego. It's good advice. Flamenco is very humbling. For my part, I've often felt like a beginner, no matter what level I reach. This is the way flamenco is. There's no end to getting better, stronger, faster, and exerting greater control, while at the same time appearing fluid, natural, potent, and expressive. Flamenco isn't for the weak of ego or faint of heart. It demands humility and passion in equal measures. I love it for all of this - it's a difficult form, mentally and physically, but it's worth it.

But any creative endeavour is like that, don't you think? Writing is exactly so. When we succeed in any degree, the sweetness of those accomplishments makes them worth whatever they demand of us.

The photo above is of the great Carmen Linares, a cantaora (flamenco singer), whom I greatly admire. She'll be performing in Seville during the Bienal, which is held every second year in Seville in September, and which is one of the reasons we are going to Seville now. I start my first workshop on September 3rd, a demanding mix of baile and cante. Hopefully, I'll be over my jet-lag by then. Wish me buena suerte (good luck). I have a feeling I'll need it.

Until next time, olé! - Susan.