They are not Spanish, they are not Andalusian, nor are they gypsies, but they feel flamenco as if it was theirs. They know the palos (forms), their origins, the meter, the technique... everything that is needed to dance. In Spain, they are seeking out the essence of this art form, as well as their own character. They turn to the best teachers in the country, they get money from wherever they can to pay for their classes, and they devote over four hours a day to practicing. They are flamenco enthusiasts and they want to make a living from this art. Many of them succeed.
A dance class in Amor de Dios with the accompaniment of Talegón de Córdoba's singing.
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Shelly Almog was born in Israel 27 years ago. When she was a girl she studied classical and contemporary dance, but at 14 she discovered flamenco and was captivated by it. She learnt it in the Jewish homeland from the bailaora (female flamenco dancer) Silvia Durán, and she performed it so well in the Biennial Flamenco Contest in Israel, that a jury –whose president was Cristina Hoyos- decided that she deserved the first prize: a grant to continue her studies. It was clear to the young Israeli that this was her opportunity to study in Spain. "First I went to Granada, which is a city where dancing is felt particularly strongly, and then I came to Madrid to learn a different style". Shelly can already be seen performing on stages in Spain and Israel.
The Japanese Akemi Sugimoto, who is 40 years old, started twenty years ago with a Japanese flamenco teacher, and six years later she decided that the time had come for her to increase her knowledge in Spain. "I came for two whole years, and since then I have been alternating, spending a year here, and the next one in Japan. There, I am a dance teacher, but I don’t want to stop learning", she adds. El Güito, Ciro, Merche Esmeralda, Manolete, Antonio Reyes… have all been her teachers since then. Furthermore, Akemi has already stepped onto the stage to perform in her country.
The 22-year-old Georgia Gebaner is Swiss, with a Chinese mother and German father. She studied Music, the flute to be precise, although she began to dance flamenco when she was 12 with a Swiss teacher, and during the summers she used to think up ways to take dance lessons in Spain. "As soon as I finished my degree in flute playing, I left Switzerland to move definitively to Madrid", she recounts. "Now she is not just a flute player, but also a great bailaora", says La Tati, who did not hesitate to include this Swiss dancer in her dance company.
Shelly, Akemi and Georgia are students in the Centro de Flamenco y Danza Española Amor de Dios (Amor de Dios Flamenco and Spanish Dance Centre) in Madrid. All three of them clearly felt that to study flamenco properly, they had to travel to Spain. "It's like learning a language without being in the place [where it is used]", Shelly explains.
La Tati, bailaora and dance teacher in Amor de Dios.
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The Japanese and flamenco
It is no secret that one of the most numerous, and best, collectives of flamenco enthusiasts is in Japan. Akemi recognises that flamenco has a strong attractive power in her country. "My classes are full, and besides, I have students from every age group, from 10 to 60 years old".
La Tati, who has been teaching for 30 years, also remembers that until a short while ago, all the classes in Amor de Dios were full of Japanese. "Now there are fewer of them –she comments- because they have returned to their country and they are teachers there, but they still come back to get a breath of fresh air". This is the case of Akemi, who does not want to stop coming to Spain, although she is already a dance teacher in her country. "In Japan, I teach flamenco, but here I feel it more strongly. I practice with a cantaor, a guitarist, with palmas (rhythmic hand-clapping)… The sensations are different, and this is what I want to pick up", she stresses.
Talegón de Córdoba, who gives singing lessons, also in Amor de Dios, recognises the perseverance and sacrifice of the Japanese who study this art form, and admiringly highlights that "they don't look for what is easy, they look for what is most difficult and pure, and they don’t stop until they get it right. Even if it takes them 20 years to do it. It is the greatest collective of enthusiasts in the world, and there are many things that the Spanish should envy".
However, Japan is not just a source of students and flamenco artists; it is also a country where there is a great demand for professionals. According to Maruja Palacios, a teacher in the same Madrid academy, "there are more tablaos (establishments with a stage used for flamenco performances) there than here, so there is more work, even for Spanish artists".
The whole class pays attention to their classmate's zapateado.
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The language of flamencos
When Shelly arrived in Spain, she didn't have a clue about Spanish. She came with a dictionary that she brought along with her, wherever she went. However, this wasn’t an obstacle for her. "When you want to, and you have an interest, you absorb things. I wanted to understand what they were telling me, so I made an effort to do so. I listened to the radio, television, and to everything that I could learn from. I didn't go to any Spanish language school, I learnt it from books, and by talking to people".
Language was not an obstacle for Georgia, either. She claims that to dance, "all you need to do is to watch and wait". Of course, it is true that the first language that she learnt was the flamencos' language. In fact, Akemi, who currently manages a limited vocabulary in Spanish, says that what she knows best is how to count from 1 to 12. "The meter is the only thing that I understand, I don't get a word of the rest of the things they tell me, but I watch and I do it", she honestly acknowledges.
Spain doesn't just receive foreign dance students, but also students seeking to learn flamenco singing, "the most difficult art form there is", according to Talegón de Córdoba. In his class, the cantaor receives pupils from Finland, Japan, Germany, the United States, Taiwan, Portugal, Italy… and they don't speak Spanish. "I have a Chinese woman who can't speak Spanish, and she knows how to sing. Yesterday we clapped her loads, but if I congratulate her, she doesn’t know how to reply". He adds: "I just can't figure it out, after all the years that I've been doing this! Going to a different country and singing their lyrics in their language, that would be impossible for me. How is it possible that they come here and, without knowing Spanish, they start singing flamenco"? Well, they do.
A student in a dance class wearing a mantón (Manila shawl).
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The most difficult thing
"Flamenco isn't just a dance form, it is a culture", La Tati says. According to the teacher, who has taught students from all over the world, "what they find most difficult, is understanding the roots; you need to understand the history". Shelly is very conscious about this. "Flamenco isn't just technique, it isn't just dancing. It has a history behind it, a concept, a heart, a stomach…", she explains.
What the Israeli found most difficult was discovering her personality as she danced. "You can pick up details, technique, but when you are copying someone, it doesn't come out well". Georgia agrees that this feeling must be sincere. "The most difficult part is expressing yourself, you can learn the technique, but you need to manage to really feel it". For this reason, Akemi doesn't want to stop coming to Spain to "feel" flamenco. She claims that "you never stop learning".
However, the teachers believe that although it costs their students a lot of effort, they end up feeling it. According to La Tati, "even if they're not Spanish, through flamenco, they have found a very powerful form of spiritual development for their everyday life. It's like a poison, or a way of conceiving life".
The cantaor Talegón de Córdoba's singing introduces a bailaora.
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At all costs
"If they could, they would make a living from it", says La Tati, "but most of them have to combine their work and studies". When Shelly arrived in Madrid, she found herself a job in a gym where she gave lessons of jazz and funk to be able to pay for her flamenco lessons. Now she works in an office in the mornings, which "only" allows her to practice from three o'clock in the afternoon until ten o'clock at night. "If I can pay for them, I receive lessons from teachers, and otherwise, I practice with friends".
Akemi's friends in Japan don't understand why she spends so much money coming from and going to Spain. "They see it as a different world, and sometimes it's difficult to make them understand it, but it's my life, isn't it?”
La Tati has memories of several pupils who almost turned Bohemian in order to make a living out of flamenco. "They have left their country, their house, their steady job, and when they arrive here, they give language lessons or anything they can to pay for their flamenco lessons. And the ones who want to be successful, they manage to; they go to all the festivals they can, and they pick up information about everything. They are lovers of flamenco, much more so than many Spanish people", the teacher assures.
"They come to Amor de Dios to learn, in order to become professionals", adds Maruja Palacios, who agrees with La Tati, in that they are students who are harder working, more serious and formal than Spanish ones. "Here, flamenco is not valued, whereas outside of Spain it is very highly valued. They truly come to dance, not to let some time pass, or to do some exercise".
Talegón de Córdoba has three Japanese students who run an academy in Japan. "In their countries, there isn't any flamenco singing, and that’s why they come here". The cantaor highlights the perseverance and enthusiasm of his pupils. "They have studied with me for four years. They carry it inside of them, and it’s their profession".
"Of course, it's more difficult for foreigners", Shelly acknowledges, "but if you have talent and a little bit of luck –she adds-, you can find your space". "I have never felt foreign. I know that I'm not from here, but I accept it and I'm content. Maybe it's because I don't try to be what I'm not: neither Spanish, nor Andalusian, nor a gypsy”.
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