I’m so excited that I had the opportunity to photograph a show from the International Vancouver Flamenco Festival and to bring together my two passions of flamenco and photography. What I really love about photography is that it lets me see things in a different way. It allows me to show other people the world in the way in which I see it. In a way that I’m sometimes not even aware that I’m capable of seeing in. I wanted to do more than just capture beautiful poses and stills from the show but instead I wanted to capture the essence of what it felt like to be in the audience watching the show. The beauty of the colors. The intensity of the expressions. The mood. The lighting. The drama. The movements. Every single sensation and shiver that the audience feels. For someone who loves flamenco its very exciting to share that experience with everyone who was there and those who weren’t.
I first fell in love with flamenco about 4 and half years ago. Although its hard to imagine my life or identity without it. I saw it for the first time in my hometown of Saskatoon where one of my best friends was a very talented dancer. I still hold onto the memories of spinning layers of beautiful fuchsia ruffles and the haunting rhythms of guitar accompanied by incredibly intense singing. After seeing the performance I knew that I somehow had to be a part of this beautiful art form. That’s the thing with flamenco. Once you fall in love with it you can’t really stop. I was hesitant to start. Like any self-important 18 year old I thought I had my identity already created. But something in me took over me and registered. I felt very liberated that I could start at that time in my life and didn’t have to feel pressured that I didn’t start fifteen years earlier when I was a child who really nothing about what I liked. It didn’t take long before I was hooked. Sometimes you see other people watching flamenco and you know they don’t really get it. It doesn’t do anything for them. But those of us who love it feel something from the moment the guitar starts. And it’s amazing how this overwhelming feeling ties people together. People of all ages from completely different lives and experiences. We have one thing that ties us together. Its flamenco. Some of us are better than others. For some of us it’s a passion for others it’s a way of life. But we were all brought to flamenco somehow through different series of random experiences and coincidences.
Like anything you are passionate about..the initial passion may fade but every time you perform or see a performance. Every time you master a dance. You can feel it again. You know you love it and you can feel it. The energy. The excitement. The passion. Its all still there. And maybe you can have to work harder to feel it buts it’s amazing when you do. When you can relive the passion and motivate yourself to put more into it once again.
One of the things I love about flamenco as opposed to other forms of dance is that you aren’t restricted by body size, flexibility or age. You can never be too old to perform. Age doesn’t hold you back but instead improves you and marks you. You can’t help but feel an overwhelming respect for dancers who continue through the years. The energy and passion that they have is incredible. Something can only come with time and experience. In a culture so obsessed with youth and beauty its not only refreshing but also inspiring to see an art form which celebrates age, which allows it to be something which takes wisdom, time and experience. By saying that flamenco gives people opportunities isn’t to say that’s it’s easy. Flamenco is very complex. It’s very intricate. It takes a lot of skill a lot of hours, time and effort before you can even claim to begin to understand it. Three years minimum is what ive been told. Sometimes I find flamenco incredibly frustrating and I begin to wish that I could have chosen something easier. But then I realize it’s the challenge which makes it exciting. Its easy to give up along the way or to not pursue it seriously. I’ve seen a lot of people do it. But its rewarding when you do and can..
The thing with flamenco is you can’t let yourself get too competitive. One of my favorite sayings from a flamenco teacher is “there is always going to be somebody who is going to kick your ass”. And I find myself thinking about this a lot. Whether it’s a hidden talent who shows up in the class; a teacher; or a performer from Spain.there is always someone better than you. It’s a good challenge to our ego. And besides we can each do our own to love it. To express it and to become good at it because once you fall in love with flamenco, you really cant live without it. I plan to dance my whole life. After four years I feel like im just on the brink of understanding flamenco. But hey I still have 47 years until im 70.
