Bodies interweave, hurried steps pass by, endlessly past through puddles, glances that casually notice nothing. Am I alone in this city, in this world, or is there always someone watching over me? Some inner force, some light that allows the chrysalis to be reborn as a butterfly. That too can be called God. When you have found it within yourself, fallen in love with yourself, then you can lift your eyes to another and fall in love with God in the other person. Butterflies are drawn to the light, people to love.
Sevillanas is the first of the flamenco dance styles I have started to learn at the Spanish dance club Duende. Of course, one must start from the most basic movements - learning posture, arm movements, counting the rhythm, and then the steps. Classes take place in small groups, which is beneficial in that dance teacher Ilvija can give individual attention to each person, correct mistakes, and monitor the execution. The hour allocated to each class passes unnoticed. What follows is a little about sevillanas itself.
I noticed this film during the White Night and the day before yesterday found it online to watch carefully from opening to closing credits. The film fascinated me and made me think - why do people need spoken language, if everything can be expressed through facial expression, gesture, a glance, sound, music and dance? The body does not lie even when the spoken words are pure pretence.
On Thursday evening, 10 August, I attended the open class at the exotic dance centre Alegria, held at 4 E. Birznieks-Upīša Street, in the hall of the Young Technicians' Centre. Centre director Ilze Zariņa introduced four dance styles that can be learned from Alegria's teachers - belly dancing, Indian dance, flamenco, and Gypsy dance. To illustrate each dance style, there were teachers' performances (see video).
For the second year running, the exotic dance festival was held at the Madona Culture House. The concert consisted of modern belly dance performances with certain show elements, khaleeji, saidi, and oriental. Šarma had taken care to include the Hawaiian dance style in the programme. However, compared to last year, a certain uniformity was noticeable; Indian dances, tribal dance, and Andalusian dance rhythms were lacking.
Tango, to me, is associated with quite an intimate interplay of bodies. Of bodies specifically, not of souls. A dance danced in the street, on cobblestones, beside a café, beside a drainage gutter, in the presence of curious eyes, in defiance of oneself, one's partner, or someone watching.
«Feria de Abril» - that is also the name of the spring festival celebrated every year in the southern Spanish province of Andalusia. This festival is especially popular in Seville, where flamenco parties go on for entire days and nights and everyone dances sevillanas. Traditional bullfights and trading also take place there. Spanish culture in its most recognisable expressions - hot-blooded music, flamenco dancing, open-hearted conversation.
Sirtaki (συρτάκι) is widely regarded as an integral symbol of Greece and considered to be a Greek folk dance. Although this dance is gladly danced in Greece today, it turns out that the belief about its roots is mistaken. Whatever the case, sirtaki can be considered proof of what dance and dancing mean to the Greeks.
Flamenco music and dance contain a great many improvisational elements, which is why every performance is unique and flamenco is difficult to transcribe in musical or choreographic notation. The art of performing flamenco is usually passed from teacher to student through training and observation.
Dance as a physical activity, a developer of posture, balance and movement, and a creator of physical freedom, relaxation, and outer and inner peace. Dana (meaning "black pearl" in Lebanese Arabic) has been practising belly dancing for more than 5 years. She continuously expands her knowledge with dance teachers in Egypt, Greece and right here in Latvia, Riga. She also teaches and passes on to others her knowledge of Egyptian and Arabic dance choreographies and the skill of expressing her feminine allure through dance.
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