Dancing and Music

This weekend Albanini and I went to a great little bar called Cigar Bar and Lounge in SF. It's cozy and has a nice atmosphere. There was also a small salsa band who were fab and we danced the night away. A much nicer place than the salsa place close to our house which Albinoni and I go once in a while because we are too lazy to go far. So we have been to this place (the one close to us) several times and there are definitely regulars. There is this woman who is a fabulous dancer with long hair that generally flies about as she turns and little dresses which are rather low cut and I am always surprised they don't reveal more accidentally! But it is so funny when she dances there is usually a line of men standing to the side just watching her. Anyway we found out she is a bit of a slut. Then there is this smallish guy with slicked back hair who is so cool he wears sunglasses in the dance club. Gangsta material. The DJ there seriously sucks. Seriously. ok enough complaining about this club. One good thing about the club is the teaching hour they have before the band starts playing. The teachers are relatively good. Now i am finishing on a good note :-)

Last night we also went to a concert by the Kronos Quartet. I had only heard Kronos' soundtrack to Requiem of a Dream and I absolutely love their Lux Aeterna. So I had high hopes going to the concert. Alas the first half they played all these very modern atonal, discordent music which contained background synthethized sound and some whispers and voice additions by these guys. It was amazing to me how anyone could actually like this so called music. Given 2 violins, a viola and a cello, you can make the most beautiful, deep and harmonous sounds and when you hear deliberate jarring and scratchy sounds, you wonder. Of course, what do I know, for there were people who loved and clapped and expressed their amazement at the beauty of the "noise" after wards during the discussion with the band.
I really don't understand these modern arts, where you call noise music, and some splashes of color on a canvas, a masterpiece.

Fuego Flamenco

Last night I attended a flamenco concert by Edwin Aparicio and his company in the Gala Hispanic Theater in DC and oh... my... bloody dios!!! It was such a fabulous concert and the dancers were so good and hot and the choreography was so wonderful. My heart was pounding as they were dancing and I was getting sweaty just watching them and I was smiling like a bloody fool, just happy to be watching them! I didnt know what to look at, the guitarists (there were two Richard Marlow and Behzad Habibzai, both from DC), the singers (Jesu's Montoya from LA and Fe'lix de Lola from Seville) or of course the dancers (Edwin and his company and 3 guest dancers: Norberto Chamizo, Timo Nun~ez and Genaveva). The video above is from the martinete in the opening number when Edwin was just doing some great footwork. It was amazing, at times Edwin's feet were going so fast it was like he was levitating!
Here are some of videos from some of the other dances by the company - i can't remember if the choreography was the same last night but at least the dresses were the same in two dances!


Below is a video of Timo Nun~ez that I found, performing at some other fiesta - the dancing realy gets going around the 5'30" mark.

I wanted to include it because he was a special dancer - you wouldn't believe the interaction he had with the crowd and how he flirted with the audience! His solo was more fun and cute, rather than heavy and dramatic, and my heart was pounding.
I wanted to find a video of the other wonderful male dancer Norberto but i couldn't. He was very good, very fast and pretty interactive - refined and well put.
Anyway it was a wonderful night. I loved everything - actually i love everything flamenco. I really feel it inside my me, in my heart and in my blood. I will have to continue my lessons when i go to CA. most definitely!