Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Just like the great Mercedes Sosa sings, "Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto," (Thank you, life, for giving me so much,) I have many things to be thankful for: my husband, my kids, my family, my health, my business and especially this AMAZING picture of my daughter, Maia, and I on stage together when she was 5. (Sadly, she isn't interested in flamenco anymore, but she is still muy flamenca in every way!)
But today I am thankful for FLAMENCO because it has given me so much. I have a whole list of things, but here are my top 3:
PURPOSE
My purpose is empowerment and personal expression for myself and my students. Performing is an avenue for my own expression, but I thrive in the dance studio and online teaching my students. Seeing them inspired and progressing and becoming self actualized as dancers gives me so much joy. It also keeps me focused and reaffirms my purpose of sharing my love of flamenco with others.
COMMUNITY
Flamenco doesnāt exist in a vacuum. We need each other, our people.
I love, love, love my flamenco community within my own in person classes, the wider flamenco community in Los Angeles AND my online studio. Together, we offer support, encouragement and just that feeling of belonging. Iām grateful for each one of you for being part of my life. But, especially I am grateful to all my flamencas in class who make me laugh, laugh, laugh.
COURAGE
This dance form cultivates courage, whether standing in front of an audience or challenging limiting beliefs about what a woman can do as she ages. This art form gives us the strength to take up space and be seen. Every step, every move is an opportunity to express ourselves without hesitation. Meeting women from around the world at various stages of life has profoundly touched me and shown me this courage.
And this COURAGE translates into more CONFIDENCE. What has flamenco given YOU?
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SAVE THIS!Ā
ššAll solos in flamenco for tablao follow a particular format, so that performing without rehearsal is possible. There are 4 basic elements to a dance- letra, falseta, escobilla & macho. But here is a general detailed outline of a dance:
ā¢ Falseta ā Guitar melodic solo that always starts the number.
ā¢ Singer Salida ā The entrance of the singer that generally begins with the āquejĆoā (ay, ay, ay!)
ā¢ Dancer Salida & Llamada ā The entrance and opening break of the dancer. She may enter during or after the singerās entrada. Her llamada will be a percussive and dramatic move that spans a few compases and ācallsā the singer to begin singing the first letra.
ā¢ Letra ā The first verse of song where the dancer follows the singerās lead.
ā¢ Llamada ā Another percussive and dramatic move by the dancer to call for the second letra.
ā¢ Letra ā Second verse of song.
ā¢ Falseta ā The dancer allows the guitarist to shine here.
ā¢ Escobilla ā Long footwork section. There can be multiple rounds of escobillas.
ā¢ Subida ā At the end of the escobilla, generally, the dancer will increase the tempo and then end with a cierre (a closing, just like llamada, but at the end) to call for the BulerĆas, etc.
ā¢ BulerĆas/Tangos/Macho ā Fast verse of song with high energy.
ā¢ Estribillo ā The singer sings the ending chorus while the dancer leaves the stage.
Of course, if you have time to rehearse, then you can change everything!
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Flamenco takes CONSISTENCY
ā
It takes dedication, and lots and lots of practice if you truly want to reach a higher level of expertise. ā Before I had kids I had time to go to the studio and practice all the time! Even better, when I was first learning flamenco, I was a dance major in college and I had access to free studio time at the university. Now THAT was amazing!
ā
But our lives evolve with kids, work or other commitments, and that sometimes gets in the way of us practicing the one thing that will soothe our souls and breathe life into an otherwise hectic day. And especially now with being full on into the holiday season, it's so easy to just sit back and finish off that Halloween candy rather than putting on those flamenco shoes! š
ā
What Iāve come to realize is that it can be an all-or-nothing proposition. If I canāt devote a full hour of sweaty and intense practice, then forget it!
ā
ššš If you want my help in creating an intentional practice, then I invite you to join the Online Flamenco Studio. There are over 60 courses for all levels in technique, choreography & flamenco theory, plus a thriving community and lots of help to keep you motivated! Just RESPOND IN THE COMMENTS and let me know you want to join. Iāll send you a link to join with a 10 DAY FREE TRIAL!
ā
#RinaOrellanaFlamenco #OnlineFlamencoStudio #Flamenco #FlamencoDancer #OnlineFlamenco #ArtofDance #FlamencoJourney #Flamenca #FlamencoPractice
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š Ready to āSPEAKā Flamenco so you can truly DANCE it?Ā
Join me for a FREE live Zoom lecture on Tuesday, October 29 at 10 AM Pacific, where Iāll break down the STRUCTURE OF FLAMENCO DANCE.
Discover the language of flamenco by identifying key components like letras, falsetas and escobillas, so that you can ultimately dance flamenco with confidence.
This is essential for all levels ā¼ļø
Canāt make it live? No worriesāa replay will be available. š„
Sign up now to start speaking flamenco, and let your dancing follow! šš¾
www.onlineflamencostudio.com/free-lecture-structurā¦
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Join me for a FREE live lecture on Zoom and youāll be able to SPEAK flamenco as you DANCE flamenco!!
FREE STRUCTURE OF FLAMENCO LECTURE
October 29, 10am Pacific (Los Angeles) on Zoom
CLICK HERE to sign up and YES there will be a replay!
www.onlineflamencostudio.com/free-lecture-structurā¦
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Iāve been introducing the Rina Orellana Method of Flamenco- Speak, Feel, Dance Flamenco!
Itās everything I feel and wish to express about teaching, learning, performing, living flamenco. And it all always starts with the HEARTBEAT of flamenco: the COMPAS!!! š
The compĆ”s is everything. Itās the beat, the rhythm, the driving force. Without it, we are lost and just flail!
Letās look at the final part of the method: DANCE FLAMENCO
It's more than *just* technique. The goal is having that flamenco "look." That confidence and strength in the movement. The mobility and presence in the upper body. It's the difference between someone dancing some flamenco moves and someone who IS a flamenca!
Of course we begin with the compĆ”s, but we also KISS flamencoāKeep It Strong & Simple by focusing on key accents and building an intentional practice.
KEY ACCENTS
This means two things. 1) Hitting the accents of the compĆ”s no matter what technique youāre doing. This means perhaps emphasizing the 12-3-6-8-10 in Solea por BulerĆas in your marcaje or taconeo, for example. 2) It could also be how to achieve that accent in your body-whether itās with a flick of the wrist, a twist in the ribcage, an extra strong planta in your footwork, etc.
INTENTIONAL PRACTICE
You only get better at dancing flamenco (or anything!) if you practice, practice, practice. But itās not enough to practice randomly. If youāre working towards a show, then thatās a great opportunity to focus on improving.
But if you donāt have a show coming up, it helps to still have goals. Learn a new choreography. Work on a particular escobilla. Practice contratiempo palmas. And itās even better if youāre tracking your progress. Itās as simple as video recording yourself!
Thanks for reading and I hope that my musings on Speak, Feel, Dance Flamenco has inspired and helped you. Let me know what you think!
Have a great week!
ā¤ļøRina
ššš If you want my help in creating an intentional practice, then I invite you to join the Online Flamenco Studio. There are over 60 courses for all levels in technique, choreography & flamenco theory, plus a thriving community and lots of help to keep you motivated! Just RESPOND IN THE COMMENTS and let me know you want to join. Iāll send you a link to join with a 10 DAY FREE TRIAL!
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Iāve been introducing the Rina Orellana Method of Flamenco- Speak, Feel, Dance Flamenco!
Itās everything I feel and wish to express about teaching, learning, performing, living flamenco. And it all always starts with the HEARTBEAT of flamenco: the COMPAS!!! š
The compĆ”s is everything. Itās the beat, the rhythm, the driving force. Without it, we are lost and just flail!
Letās look at the second part of the method: FEEL FLAMENCO
This is what really brings the dance to life. It's the difference between a dancer whoās technically flawless but lacks emotion and one who might be less perfect but completely captivates. It's about expressing that 'aire'āthat special charisma, cultivating that confidence, fostering the courage to stand up and be seen.
Of course, we want to BE amazing flamenco dancers. But is it all about technique? No! There's that pursuit of the effervescent moment of duende that happens when everything locks into place with yourself, the singer, guitarist, audience and it feels magical. However, this definitely doesn't always happen!!!
So, part one of this is deciding how do you want to FEEL as a dancer. Happy. Proud. Strong. Explosive. Feminine. Profound. Make the decision and step into that feeling while practicing or before stepping onto the stage and definitely the dance studio! Remember a time you felt that way, visualize it, feel it and bring it with you into your dance. Give yourself a jaleo everytime you pass a mirror.
As dancers we want to express ourselves and feel connected to our compaƱeras in class or the cuadro on stage. But how can we connect with others if we can't connect with ourselves?
The next aspect is stepping into the aire of the palo weāre dancing. AlegrĆas? Guajijras? Solea? BulerĆas? Each one has its own attitude and styling. Understanding that helps you as a dancer express yourself.
So, before DANCING flamenco, we want to FEEL flamenco. Next time, weāll go over the cover our favorite part- DANCE.
Have a great week!
ā¤ļøRina
ššBe sure to follow me on Instagram and check out all my free videos on my YouTube channel!
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Last time I introduced the Rina Orellana Method of Flamenco- Speak, Feel, Dance Flamenco!
Itās everything I feel and wish to express about teaching, learning, performing, living flamenco. And it all starts with the HEARTBEAT of flamenco: the COMPAS!!! š
The compĆ”s is everything. Itās the beat, the rhythm, the driving force. Without it, we are lost and just flail!
Letās look at the first part of the method: SPEAK FLAMENCO
No, this isn't about speaking Spanish! It's about grasping the VOCABULARY, the STRUCTURE of a flamenco dance and its various PALOS (rhythms).
VOCABULARY
There are, of course, endless terms in flamenco because you know, itās another language! There are words that are just the Spanish equivalent from English, but there are many terms specific to flamenco. Building your flamenco language is important to understanding the structure of a flamenco dance!
PALOS
A palo is a particular rhythm of flamenco. Each palo is identified by the chords, tempo and overall aire. So, you could hear a few notes of an AlegrĆas and be able to identify it as suchā even if there are different lyrics. (Itās like Stairway to Heaven notes and tempo but with different lyrics!)
As a dancer, youāre not expected to know ALL the palos that are out there. However, if youāre learning a particular one, you should understand the aire, the feeling of it, and the overall structure of it. Which leads us toā¦..
STRUCTURE
It's the difference between merely performing a dance routine by memory and truly DANCING with an understanding of each part and the reasons WHY these elements matter.
Itās all the parts, sections or components of a dance. Iāve had countless dancers come to my classes (live or online) and lament that they took years of flamenco and STILL didnāt understand it. They learned plenty of choreographies but still couldnāt dance freely with the knowledge that they actually knew what they were doing!
So, ultimately, we learn to SPEAK flamenco so that we can DANCE flamenco with expression and confidence.
Next time, letās talk about FEELING flamenco!
ā¤ļøRina
ššš Want a Flamenco Cheat Sheet that you can download that guides you through some vocabulary, structure and other elements of flamenco? Let me know in the comments and I'll send it to you!
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Hola mis flamencas! I love this time of year. We have glimpses of fall here in Southern California. But once we have a cool day, then we get more heat. But fall will come!!! š
Plus this time of year feels like itās time to get stuff DONE! Itās the whole āback to schoolā vibe. Itās āback to lifeā for me--- or perhaps āback to businessā. And itās quite the balancing act to cultivate my artist side as a flamenco dancer and my business/teacher side with my flamenco classes and online studio.
I think the word balance is misleading, though. Life isnāt always balanced. We have seasons- whether itās intense work or intense play or intense child rearing! But I try! So for me, during this fall, which I love for taking inspired action-- is really about trying to do ALL the things- not so balanced!
While trying to do all the things, I try, try, try to make it simple and make sure it all makes sense!
One revelation has been my teaching methodology. This has been YEARS in the making from 20 years of teaching in studio classes and 9 years of teaching online!!
I have always known that flamenco is more than just learning choreography. Itās about understanding the structure. Itās about being detailed with technique. Itās about allowing yourself to explode!
So, I talked about the mind, body & soul of flamenco plus having coraje, corazon y compas, KISSing flamenco. It was getting out of hand with all the descriptors and then āSPEAK, FEEL, DANCE FLAMENCOā just smacked me on the head and that was that.
Itās everything I feel and wish to express about teaching, learning, performing, living flamenco.
More on that soon!
ā¤ļøRina
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šš» Whatās your #1 CHALLENGE in flamenco dance???
ANY OF THIS SOUND FAMILIAR??
*My hands look like claws when I dance and I canāt coordinate them with my arms.
*I feel good about my dancing but then I see myself on video and I look so bland and non-expressive
*I overthink about all the steps so I always look so flustered while dancing.
*I can dance the steps but I donāt ālookā like a flamenco dancer.
*My footwork is sloppy.
*I get lost in the compƔs.
*I lose balance in my turns.
This is ALOT but can you relate to any of this? I hear this ALL the time from NEW BEGINNERS through ADVANCED dancers.
How do you āfixā this? How do you ACTUALLY get better? Yes, you need good instruction. Yes, you need to practice. But you āmayā be getting overwhelmed by getting TOO MUCH input or focusing on the WRONG thing.
Itās time STOP with learning more and more choreographies and time to START with cleaning up, refining and strengthening what we have already.
I call this šKISSing flamenco! Keep it strong and simple and weāll do this in our 4-Day Flamenco Technique Tune-Up!
Join me live on Zoom from September 3-6 as we shake off that summer sluggishness and return to your flamenco practice with intention, energy, and power!
In this workshop, we will:
šš¾ Emphasize the ONE key element that will transform each technique from bland to strong!
š Reinforce the true fundamentals of each movement and develop the upper body carriage for that authentic flamenco look.
š Focus on a different essential technique each day:
*Braceo (upper body)
*Marcaje (marking steps)
*Taconeo (footwork)
*Vueltas (turns)
This workshop is perfect for dancers of all levels. Letās refine your technique and set the stage for a vibrant and dynamic dance season ahead!
And the best part? Itās only $10! Canāt make it live? A replay will be available for you.
šš Reserve your spot now and letās dance!
my.onlineflamencostudio.com/flamenco-technique-tunā¦
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Learn to dance flamenco here with Rina Orellana. But if you really want to SPEAK, FEEL & DANCE Flamenco, then join us inside the Online Flamenco Studio!!
OLE! TOMA! šš» šš»
ā¤ļø Rina Orellana