Monday, September 27

The annual willow bash is almost here ...


Click here for all the fun
I am afraid the rendezvous with all of you have been rather sporadic of late. Please bear with me, but work has been hectic and, more pressingly and enjoyably, I have been busy preparing for The Third Annual Willow Manor Ball organised by our dear friend, willow of life at willow manor. The big affair is scheduled for this Thursday, September 30th, and willow is planning lots of fun for all who attend. For more info, click on the caption of the poster to the left.

A cursory look at my short list of talents and skills will reveal what anyone who knows me will readily tell you: ballroom dancing is not one of my, eerrrhhh, strengths. Indeed, I was thinking of sitting this one out. But how could I resist? The big fling, after all, is put together by the very best blog friend anyone could ever have. Indeed, 10 months ago, when I first began blogging, willow was the very first person to visit, first to comment on my blog and first to sign up as a follower after my bashful pitch for blog friends. Indeed, I think I started most of those first blog posts "Dear willow...", but sheepishly dropped the introduction just before hitting the 'publish post' button. She has been a kind and supportive blog friend ever since. And, more to the point, her own blog is consistently engaging, enriching and stimulating. Willow is one of the finest poets to be found in the blogosphere, as you can see by clicking here. And most beautifully, there are so many other bloggers who will eagerly voice these same sentiments, who make a stop at the willow manor a part of every blog day. The first toast of the night will most certainly be for you, dear willow. "You're the best", to use a favorite and generous expression of yours!

As far as I know, I will be the lone guest from Spain, which strikes me as a bit of a responsibility. So rather than polishing off my foxtrotting or lindyhopping steps, I will try to bring some flamenco flair and fire to the festivities. For the occasion, I have asked the incredible Eva Yerbabuena to be my dance partner. Watch and enjoy the video below, and see that I will certainly have my work cut out for me. So wish me luck and wish willow all the best, today, on the 30th and always. See you there ...



I hope you get as much from this video as I do, although I know it is impossible for this medium, as wonderful as it is, to convey the raw power of such performances. Back in the 1980s and early 90s, before my daughters arrived on stage, I was a regular at various flamenco bars, venues, cellar caverns and hovels in Madrid, much as I had haunted jazz clubs in New York for so many years. I became friends with some of these artists and others kindly tolerated my grateful, fascinated presence. It is beyond me to describe the impact some of those all-night sessions had on me as I watched and listened to some of the finest singers, guitarists and dancers perform for each other, after hours, sometimes until 8 or 9 in the morning or whenever.

Some of the dancers, like Eva Yerbabuena in the video, completely knocked me out. Flamenco music is rhythmically very rich and complex and the rhythms that define the various palos (styles) can be highly sophisticated. Yet that artistry is put at the service of something that at moments seems primal, almost atavistic, the stylized outpouring of a savagery and wildness that can really shake one. I hope you feel a bit of that ferocious artistry in the clip.

Through my friendship with some flamenco guitarists, I was fortunate to be able to sit in, literally, on dance classes at the famous Amor de Dios flamenco dance school in Madrid. Since the dancing is so bound up with the guitar playing and singing, they would actually have guitarists and singers there. These were classes, not rehearsals for a show; yet, they would have two guitarists (teacher and advanced student) and a singer participate in all of the classes. Sitting on the floor while all of this was going on, with the dance instructor and as many as 20 students working on their moves, whirling, pounding, clattering steps, with the thrumming guitars and the singer's plaintive call, all in front of a room-length floor-to-ceiling mirror was a privileged experience I will never forget. I can still feel wave upon wave of those driving rhythms surging up my spine from the spot on the wooden floor where I sat in rapt witness two decades ago.

But, I never did learn to dance … and what all of this has to do with willow’s dance this Thursday, I do not know. Oh well, blame it on Eva Yerbabuena. Check her out.

29 comments:

  1. can't wait to watch.
    your posts always whisk me away
    i so appreciate that.

    and I don't think I will be attending Willow's Ball this year , i'm rather new to all of this and want to be a wallflower this time .

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  2. Lorenzo, I hope you'll pencil me in on your ballspenden for at least three dances, because it's going to take at least that many just to get my feet flowing, which is not to say my feet will be doing anything as fast as Eva, or anything like flamenco. I can see I'll also need a handkerchief to wipe my forehead, something I didn't think of in my frenzy of ball purchases, so thank you.

    All fantasies aside, reading about your time spent with flamenco artists, dancers and musicians both, blows me away. I could totally feel the beat up my spine as you described sitting on the floor. Mesmerizing!

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  3. Hi, deb, yes, such powerful performances bring out the glibness in me, too. Hope you are having a beautiful day. I think willow's manor has loads of room for wallflowers. And I am sure there is always a welcoming kitchen table, where we can find as riveting conversation as I do on your blog Talk at the Table.

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  4. Ruth, those are precious memories for me. I am glad you enjoyed them. I hope to return to them again on the blog some time. As for pencilling you in for a dance, you do not want to see me on a dance floor with pencils or any other pointed objects. Let's just dance the night away. And at dawn, we can go watch Eva and her flamenco cohorts work their magic.

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  5. Fabulous, Lorenzo. Can I have a dance with your date, Eva, at the Willow Ball? I loved your stories about the time you spent with the flamenco artists. What great experiences! I trust that, for at least one dance, I will see your artistry with the great Eva.

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  6. I forgot to mention one other thing, Lorenzo. In case you haven't gone back to Bonnie's blog to see my response to your comments on the interview, rest assured that I really appreciate your kind and generous words. See you at the ball.

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  7. George, go right ahead and ask Eva. I am just another astonished and grateful admirer, with no authority over her art or dance favors. Yes, I did see your reply to my comment. I really loved the interview at Bonnie's, the best of the batch so far and they have all been very good. The interview was of the same cloth as your rewarding blog, but gave us a fuller vision and appreciation of the person behind Transit Note. See you at willow's.

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  8. well you certainly know how to pick them now dont you...smiles. i am glad to have found you lorenzo...your posts are always engaging as well as your responses in comments...

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  9. What a wonderful video & what an interesting story. So great to imagine this world of flamenco & with you in it! Thanks also for the birthday thoughts & links for Mary Oliver, one of our fine New England poets. I have enjoyed catching up with your always inspiring blog posts. Thanks!

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  10. Hi, Lorenzo. I will be a first timer at Willow's ball, but I'm looking forward to seeing all that will be offered. Willow's place is awesome. The flamenco dancer is so beautiful. I look forward to seeing what you have, too.

    P.S. - Before I even clicked your link, I knew I was going to tell you that I'm sorry for being so slow. Work and travel keeps me away sometimes. Then I read the beginning of your post and felt relieved. Of course, you understand:) Bless you.

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  11. There is something so hypnotic about the rhythm and movements. I can see how you could sit for hours mesmerized by it all. There is much to learn if we are willing to sit at the feet of the talented and daring ... and I don't believe for a moment that alone in a room, with a wooden floor, and a pulsing flamenco guitar, that after such an initiation, your feet would not move to the beat and your hands weave intricate words.

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  12. Hey, you're forgetting that we all dance like gods and goddesses in cyberspace! I'll be looking forward to your visit to Willow Manor, and also witnessing the great Eva whirl you around the dance floor.

    (Your kind and extra generous post gave my spirits a much needed boost today, Triple L, more than you'll ever know. No, this time YOU'RE the best, my friend!!)xx

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  13. lorenzo - good call to have someone come along who can be the lead in a dance!!! i'm still looking for the very right person. see you there. steven

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  14. It is easy to see what you drew you to her. Wowza! That is one hot dancer :)!

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  15. Hhhhow is this is humanly possible?? I have never seen footwork so fast, expressive, restrained yet passionate, all while her head is perfectly motionless! She is a goddess on the dance floor, just as Willow promised, and you Lorenzo, you lucky man, are her escort. Proud as a peacock, I'm sure.

    Flamenco is my mother's favorite form of dance to watch. She had a deep desire to enroll my daughter in flamenco classes as soon as she was able to walk, but alas, my daughter only wanted to dance ballet. Ballet suited her well and I adore watching her dance.

    I look forward to seeing you and Eva at the ball!

    I could have sworn that I had already clicked on your "Follow" widget thingee, but it turns out I had not -- until now.

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  16. Hello Lorenzo,

    No matter how blessed we may be in our cyber ability a bailar, Eva will give us all the opportunity to take a seat as we watch mesmerised!

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  17. Excellent choice in partner. My heart is always with my second homeland. Por favor de hacerme el honor de un baile Lorenzo!

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  18. I think a tango is coming up next, kind sir. Shall we?

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  19. I will take a short break and teach you to two-step this evening. Promise not to stomp on your toes and I expect the same promise in return. Though, I've had just enough of the bubbly to jeopardize the whole thing!

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  20. Wow, what a dramatic show of passion and rhythm in that video. I am trying to remember what artsy movie I once saw that had scenes of flamenco lessons, complete with musicians...this is going to bug me all day.

    Have fun at the ball, as you will magically get every step right. See you there!

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  21. lorenzo--absolutely beautiful--you and Ruth were magic on the dance floor!!

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  22. tap, tap .... on your shoulder....Remember you promised me a dance, my dear! Shall we....?

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  23. Whoa! She must soak her feet in coffee, thanks for the intro!

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  24. Hello Lorenzo
    I've just read your interview at Bonnie's which I like very much.
    So many people are so totally full of themselves and their own worth as perceived by them that your modesty rather impressed me.

    Thickheadedness? Do you speak German by any chance?

    Now that Bonnie has introduced me to your blog, - for which many thanks Bonnie, - I shall have to visit frequently to get to know you.

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  25. A week after your post on Flamenco and Eva Yerbabuena, I decided to check out the happenings in the arts and theatre scene. A word caught my eye - Flamenco. My eyes widen, Eva Yerbabuena??? Did I not just read of the name somewhere? OMG was that a coincidence or what?!?

    And this evening I watched, completely mesmerized, the raw passion, power and mastery of Eva Yerbabuena's performance.

    "outpouring of savagery and wildness" so aptly desscribed the performance.

    And complementing Eva's performance; completing it really, were the raw passion of the voices of the singers.

    Lorenzo, thank you, for the post, for introducing Eva Yerbabuena.

    Rebecca

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  26. Hi, Rebecca. Thanks for the comment on Eva. Where was she performing? I take it from your comment that you did see her life and are not just referring to the video clip. Either way, I am glad her artistry has touched you and very glad to see you on the blob

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  27. Hello Lorenzo,

    Eva Yerbabuena was performing in Singapore, as part of the Singapore Da:ns Festival. Almost half way across the world!

    Rebecca

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