Arte y Pureza Flamenco Workshop with Cihtli Ocampo and Ethan Margolis

Cihtli Ocampo and Ethan Margolis teach in Santa Cruz November 6 - 10, 2208


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Join Cihtli and Ethan's workshops in San Diego, CA for October,November, and February!
For more info contact: solflamenca@mac.com

A LITTLE PIECE OF SPAIN
PRESENTED BY ARTE Y PUREZA FLAMENCO CO.

This summer serious flamenco enthusiasts across the USA will have the chance to take part in the first ever presentation of "A Little Piece of Spain", an intensive flamenco learning program brought to you by Spain's Arte y Pureza Flamenco Company.

Participants will have the chance to take as many as four hours of class per day as well as receiving exclusive passes to the private Fiesta given by the artists SOLELY for program participants.

PROGRAM ARTISTS:

AL BAILE: Saray Montoya (Granddaughter of El Farruco)
AL BAILE: Cihtli Ocampo (Arte y Pureza)
AL CANTE: Jorge 'El Canastero' (Acclaimed Singer)
Al TOQUE: Ethan 'El Liti' Margolis (Arte y Pureza)

SIGN UP NOW TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE!
***There are a limited 30 dance spots and 20 guitarist/singer spots available. If and when these spots are filled, there will be no further entries accepted. ***

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

Classes Wed-Sun,
5-6pm Dance class: Technique with Cihtli Ocampo
6-7pm Dance class: Choreography with Saray
7-8pm Bulerias with Ethan Margolis
9-10pm Cante class: Cante with Jorge El Canastero
***All classes will include cante and guitar during the second half of the class.

Private Fiesta (closed to public)
Sat. 9-11 pm

***Guitarists are encouraged to accompany all three dance classes and the cante class. All participants including those paying to audit are encouraged to attend all program classes.

Includes entrance to all classes given during the program and exclusive entrance to the Private Fiesta . One additional guest pass may be purchased by program participants for a fee of $50.


***Program participants are responsible for their own food, lodging, and transportation.
QUESTIONS AND HOW TO REGISTER:
Email: arteypureza@gmail.com
Call Ethan in Seville: 011 34 605 21 51 78


DISCLAIMER:
Due to the nature of live performance, program artists are subject to change without notice. In the event of an artist cancellation due to injury or inability to travel, the artist will be replaced by another professional artist of equal stature in his or her field.

We reserve the right to cancel the program in its entirety on or before the date of June 15, 2007 due to low registration. In case of cancellation, refunds will be issued by way of check within the following 30 days.

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Workshop Descriptions

UNDERSTANDING BULERIAS
(no pre-requisite...all levels welcome)

Learn the different rhythms that make up the buleria! Understand the importance of remates within flamenco music, song and dance. Learn how to listen to flamenco music so as to better your own private studies. This class is dedicated to dancers, guitarists, and singers and is a one of a kind course that helps tie everything in flamenco together. It is like a flamenco theory 101 class where Ethan will help you to feel more comfortable with the buleria and your ability to participate in a fiesta setting. The class will be accompanied by guitar, singing, and Ethan´s demonstrations of how to dance in a fiesta. The last day of class will consist of a fiesta por buleria where everyone can participate!


BAILÁNDOLE AL CANTE
(MUST HAVE TAKEN AT LEAST 2 OF ETHAN´S BULERIAS CLASSES)
*** FOR DANCERS AND AFICIONADOS OF INTERMEDIATE OR ADVANCED LEVEL***

Great flamenco dancing consists of understanding flamenco singing so that the dancer supports the music that is played. You will learn various flamenco verses from the towns of Jerez, Lebrija, Utrera, and Sevilla. Ethan will teach the different rhythms that make up these verses and how to properly "marcar", "rematar", and "llamar" within the singing. This is a very unique class that Margolis has designed with the purpose of helping dancers feel more comfortable within the buleria. Each student will get the opportunity to dance these new verses and delve profoundly into the "WHY´S, WHEN´S, AND HOW COME´S" of this beautiful art form. The class will be accompanied by singing, guitar, and dancing demonstrations.

FIN DE FIESTA
This workshop addresses all the things they don’t teach you in ‘flamenco class.’ It addresses the styles of street flamenco and how to take part in a fiesta whether you are in a bar, a wedding, or on a stage. The fin de fiesta is a special moment at the end of the performance where singers, guitarists, and dancers come together and let it all hang out. Anything seems to go, but there is still structure. The lack of knowledge of what to do in a juerga is often what keeps people from taking part in the fun. Margolis will explain the different aspects of a juerga, how to sing it, dance it, and play it. He will explain the loose structure of the juerga: When can I get up to dance? What do I do first once I’m dancing? When do I do the llamada or the pataita? What kind of palmas should I play? What is appropriate to dance and what is not? Should I do footwork?

The workshop will consist of five classes each with a duration of one hour. The classes will span over five days. Margolis will accompany the class with guitar and cante with the help of Cihtli Ocampo por baile.

SOLEA
La Solea is one of Flamenco’s most important palos. It has a depth and solemnity that very few flamenco rhythms posses. In this workshop Margolis will teach a strong base of compas por Solea, and then will proceed to explain the typical patterns of various verses or “letras” that can be found in Solea. With this knowledge the student will gain an understanding of how cante por Solea begins, develops, and then concludes. This knowledge is crucial in order to properly dance, sing and accompany this palo. With the help of bailaora Cihtli Ocampo, Margolis will teach the dancer how to properly mark a letra, while respecting the cante, and paying attention to the guitar. He will then teach the dancer what they must listen for in order to properly anticipate the climax within the music. Understanding the relationship between the cante and the guitar, and what is happening in the compas is of utmost importance in order to dance with “mando” and “sabor”. It is this understanding that most dancers, both foreign and Spanish lack. Ethan will go on to teach what the dancer and the guitarist should do before and after the letras, how to go into an escobilla, and how to make the transition from Solea to Buleria. This workshop is open to all levels, and to dancers, guitarists and singers. Some of the questions that will be answered in this workshop include:

-When do I begin dancing?
-What is marcaje por Solea and how does it differ from marcaje por otro palo?
-Where does the escobilla go and how do I start it
-How do I “rematar” the letra?
-How should Solea begin and end as a performance piece?
-How do I keep the guitar/cante/baile alive?
-What falsettas work for baile on the guitar? When do I put them in? Are there different falsetas used for marcaje and escobillas? How do I accompany a subida? What is a corte and when do I use it?
-How do I give my dance structure?

TANGOS
This workshop addresses the differents styles of tangos flamencos and how to play, dance, and sing them while maintaining “un aire gitano”. Tangos flamencos are very common in both stage performances and flamenco parties. Like bulerias, tangos is a palo that bases itself around the understanding of cante. It relies on significantly more verses than other flamenco palos (flamenco styles). Because of this, the success of the dancer and guitar player greatly depends upon their knowledge of cante por tangos.

Ethan will begin his workshop with a strong emphasis on compás (rhythm) and soniquete (flamenco feeling) within tangos. He will then move on to demonstrate a wide variety of tangos letras (verses). The purpose of this is to accustom the student to a wide variety of tangos verses thus facilitating their ability to dance, sing and play them. Some of these styles will include: tangos populares, tangos extremeños, tangos de málaga, tangos de triana, tangos de La Nina de Los Peines, tangos por fiesta, tangos-rumba, and rumba. He will also cover issues concerning the differences between modern tangos and tangos in the older, purer form.

Ethan will explain the differences between dancing tangos in a fiesta and dancing tangos on a stage. He will answer questions such as: How do we set a proper tempo for a stage performance? How long should I wait before I dance? What do I do first once I’m dancing? How do I rematar the letra? What kind of palmas should I play? Which steps are appropriate to dance and which are not? When should I do footwork? As a guitar player, where do I have to change dynamically in order to give my playing the desired aire?
The workshop will consist of one hour classes for five days. Margolis will accompany the class with guitar and cante with the help of Cihtli Ocampo por baile.

CANTE
This workshop is dedicated to the study of flamenco letras and compas por tangos and bulerias. The classes will consist of lessons in flamenco vocal technique, rhythms in singing, and a presentation of flamenco verses and melodies that Margolis has obtained while living in Seville, Spain through his studies with various cantaores such as Ines Bacan, and María Peña.

There will be a total of five classes each with a duration of one hour over the span of five days. Margolis will explain the importance of the counter-rhythm in flamenco cante and how to cuadrar cantes (two very important steps in understanding cante flamenco). He will also explain how to sound more authentic and why it is so difficult for foreigners to learn and properly understand the rhythms and melodies in cante flamenco. Cantaores tend to view compas differently than guitarists and dancers. The trick to understanding cante is being able to attack it from the same perspective as the cantaor. The flamenco ‘son’ is of utmost importance in understanding cante and Margolis will demonstrated various types of son in his workshops.

For more information and registration email arteypureza@gmail.com.