At UCLA World Arts & Culture's Spring Pauhana in 1995 20 years ago this month, Flamenco beckoned and I answered the call. I had been at UCLA for two quarters and was looking to take a dance class, any dance class. I had danced daily during all four years of high school and had gone into UCLA thinking I would be a lawyer one day (yeah, really), so dance was not part of my scheduled curriculum.
Of course, being the dancer I'd always been, I missed it terribly after only a few months of my new college life, so I grabbed the schedule of classes and decided I would look for a dance class I could take in the Spring quarter. The only class that fit within the schedule of my required courses was "Introduction to Flamenco". The rest, well, you know the rest...
On this anniversary, I lovingly look back on all of it. The years of study, my time in Spain, magical moments, and embarrassing moments, relationships forged and relationships faded, my teaching experiences, my teachers, costumes made and costumes torn, food shared, late night bonding ridiculousness, one bad dressing room after another, repetitive dreams about missing shoes and dresses that don't fit, my knee injury, my toe injury, my eye injury, my former back injury, and my current back injury. All of it.
And all I can say is, I love and am grateful for this Flamenco life I have lived so far and I am also grateful for all of my teachers, my colleagues, my students, and all Flamencos everywhere for keeping such a beautiful tradition alive. I'm looking forward to what's next for all of us. ¡Ole!
If you're a fan of flamenco, feel free to share what you love about it down below. If you just want to share something in life you're grateful for, I'd love to hear that too!
If you liked this post, please share it with a friend!
Of course, being the dancer I'd always been, I missed it terribly after only a few months of my new college life, so I grabbed the schedule of classes and decided I would look for a dance class I could take in the Spring quarter. The only class that fit within the schedule of my required courses was "Introduction to Flamenco". The rest, well, you know the rest...
On this anniversary, I lovingly look back on all of it. The years of study, my time in Spain, magical moments, and embarrassing moments, relationships forged and relationships faded, my teaching experiences, my teachers, costumes made and costumes torn, food shared, late night bonding ridiculousness, one bad dressing room after another, repetitive dreams about missing shoes and dresses that don't fit, my knee injury, my toe injury, my eye injury, my former back injury, and my current back injury. All of it.
And all I can say is, I love and am grateful for this Flamenco life I have lived so far and I am also grateful for all of my teachers, my colleagues, my students, and all Flamencos everywhere for keeping such a beautiful tradition alive. I'm looking forward to what's next for all of us. ¡Ole!
If you're a fan of flamenco, feel free to share what you love about it down below. If you just want to share something in life you're grateful for, I'd love to hear that too!
If you liked this post, please share it with a friend!
RSS Feed
