Tango meets Flamenco at The Guanaquita

Over the past three weekends, Julian and I have been hard at work sharing our enthusiasm for flamenco and promoting our classes at a variety of events. Last night, we got to meet and perform for a lovely group of Tangueros from Kitchener-Waterloo and London, Ontario. Amid an evening of Tango dancing at Carlos Siri’s monthly Milonga La Yumba, held at The Guanaquita Restaurant in Kitchener, participants politely gave us the dance floor and graciously partook in our performance as attentive audience members.

During the remainder of the Milonga, we were greeted by former residents of Andalusia—the birthplace of Flamenco. Who would have thought that we’d all serendipitously end up meeting at a Salvadoran restaurant on a winter night in Ontario, Canada? A note about the Salvadoran cooking: the food and service at The Guanquita is great. As a Salvadoran-born, myself, I feel very happy to have performed there, among the wall art and cuisine of my birthplace. To the Andalusian who was in the house last night, I can only hope that my husband and I struck a similar chord with you, by paying a tribute to the art-form of your homeland; an art form that through history has also become part of Latin America’s identity and that is now growing in popularity in Canada.

Thank you to my University of Waterloo friends and flamenco students for coming out to support, to the Ontario Tango scene for welcoming us to their event, and to the Guanaquita personnel for opening and maintaining such an establishment! 🙂

Sincerely,

Claudia a.k.a. Calú

Bringing flamenco dancing to Mind Body Soul Studios

Thank you Mind Body Soul Studios for helping us bring in Valentine’s Day in style. On Saturday, we attended the MBS Valentine’s Day social and shared a Flamenco performance with attendees. Throughout the evening, we met fellow Scarberians who taught us about practices ranging from Cuban Rumba, Kathak, Filipino Martial Arts, and we even got to partake in a Bachata class! Given the interest in Latin dance at MBS, we thought it fitting to perform some “ida y vuelta” pieces, influenced by Latin and Caribbean music. Oddly enough, while I expected my moves to remind the audience of Latin dance forms, I was told my dancing looked rather like fighting!

On Friday, March 9th, from 7:30-9pm, we’ll be returning to MBS to lead a workshop on the basics of “por fiesta” (for partying) flamenco forms. Salsa, Bachata, and Kizomba dancers alike, you might find some of your own moves fitting in nicely. Equally, you might find the arms and hand technique enhancing your Latin dance style:

Thank you again to MBS Studios for your hospitality and for the coaxing my husband into dancing Bachata with me!

 

Workshop at MBS Studios

Join us for some fun at MBS Studios on March 9th, at 7:30pm!

This workshop will get you grooving to flamenco rhythms as we work on improvisation and dancing with attitude!

Here is an idea of what to expect:

All levels are welcome.

The workshop is 90 minutes. Cost: $20.

Registrations are still open! Register by emailing us at contact@calujules.com.

Let’s have a blast!

Fun with the Filipino Association

Last weekend we got to do one of our very first promo shows for the Filipino Association’s monthly dance at Ellesmere Community Centre. Suffice it to say, we had a blast (see the photo for the evidence). The opportunity came sooner than expected, which pushed us to get this website up as soon as possible, as well as put together a flyer and logo.

Lessons learned from this gig: don’t “plug and play”. My dad was kind enough to do our sound, which we tested at home earlier in the day. However, likely due to a travel mishap, my microphone cable stopped working mid-set! This led, at first, to some feedback and later to no sound from my mic. Not to mention, Julian’s fingers didn’t feel quite as supple after setting up. Thankfully, our audience was far too gracious to turn their heads up at us. They listened attentively, cheered us on, and helped make the evening special. In short, always make sure you get the opportunity to test the sound in the venue, ahead of time.

A tip to my fellow dancers: I do not recommend dancing on tile! I did it because the monthly event draws in many dancers, all of whom cover the floor. My portable flamenco floor would have surely been a tripping hazard. Instead, we found places in the hall that had a nice deep sound and placed a microphone near a “sweet spot”. Even still, my toes felt the impact the next day.

The highlight of the night was my first attempt at leading a flamenco-rumba line dance to Lolita’s cover of Sarandonga. Those members of the Filipino Association really know how to get down; and with plenty of style.

Thank you to the Association, the supportive audience, and to our friends and students, Nellie and Evelyn, for setting this up.

Happy dancing,

Calú (& Julian)