A night of Cafe Flamenco

Got back from dancing in a flamenco show with Yaelisa's students tonight in San Francisco. We had to get there at 6PM even though the show didn't start until 8. And after changing into costume, painting my face with makeup, and going through some last minute entrance and exit instructions, I found myself back upstairs in the prep room that was getting increasingly stuffy from all the hour-before-the-show rehearsal that was going on around me.

After a quick run through of my number (a farrouca), mostly in my head, I decided to save my energy (and sweat) for the actual show. A quick scan of the room found very few unoccupied spaces, but there was a tiny window in one corner with a chair propping it open. I squeezed over to that bright patch of light and fresh air. It was getting dusky outside, but not yet dark. Settling down I enjoyed the light breeze for a moment, then pulled out the much-neglected-this-past-month sketchbook to do some drawings.

* * *

The complexities of flamenco costumes.... Pinning on a mantone properly for the solea number apparently required multiple pairs of hands.

A young dancer sitting still for a breath as mom fixed her hair. She was impatient to be off!

The chaos and colors of sevillanas. Swirling skirts and bright fluttering fans!

Drawn on brown paper with black, grey, and blue markers, as well as a white gel pen for highlights.

Ah, as for the show itself, it went wonderfully, to a fully packed audience!