Let's dance flamenco!

Laura Ruiz Fernandez, Elisa Ruiz Fernandez - cousins 

Laura Ruiz Fernandez was thirteen when I first met her five years ago.  She loved dancing then and tried to teach me the rumba.  This time, she's in college majoring in dance.  And today it was my flamenco-dance-lesson day.  Over the many months as I prepared for my aventura de España, I teased with the idea of dancing flamenco.  As the trip came to fruition, I realized I wasn't joking at all.  Could my Spanish DNA have a bit of what the Spanish call duende?  Could I learn to stomp my feet, twist my wrists in that circular fashion, whip my body into a frenzy to Spanish music and dance flamenco?

My cousin, Laura, was ready and eager to make it happen today.  I tried not to be tímido (timid).  I've always loved to dance, loved to feel music thrum through my body and today was no different; it was magical.  Laura couldn't stop smiling at me, happy to see my interest.  She speaks no English, so we used the translation APP a few times.  She told me I had a pretty smile and patted my cheek when she said I was following her instructions bueno (good).   Really?  I hoped so.  With many American dance routines set on default in my head, I found it difficult to straighten my legs, my arms, twist my wrists or to curl my fingers in that steady motion that appears so natural to her.

Elisa (her older sister who speaks English) helped me a few times with some ideas she'd learned.  She told me when I reach my hand upward and curl my fingers before bringing my hand down toward my face in a sensual fashion, I should pretend I was pulling an apple from a tree and slowly bring it to my mouth as if to eat it.  It worked!  These girls are amazing.

The music was so different than anything I was used to.  The motions she taught me along with the steps and where to place my hands, arms, feet and swing my hips were foreign.  But I had such fun trying to keep up with Laura, that I just wanted to clap my hands and hug her to pieces afterward.

No, she didn't wear flamenco shoes and mine aren't ready yet. (Did I already tell you I ordered custom-made zapatas de flamenco in Estepona a few weeks ago?) Regardless of wearing street shoes, that girl definitely knows how to dance and tell a story with her movements.  What I really enjoyed when I watched this beautiful, young woman was the look on her face when she dances.  Her love of dancing seems to shake her soul.  When she teasingly lifts the corner of her shirt and taps her feet around in a circle, her eyes sparkle.  Her fingers dance on their own, quickly, darting around her head, her body and seem to talk to the music.  Duende?  Yes, she has it.  Me?  I am looking for it, trying to feel it.  But she said this is lesson #1.  During my sabbatical, we hope to meet a couple more times.

In the meantime, I videotaped her doing a complete dance.  My homework is to watch the video and study it carefully.  I am glad there is nobody below my house here... as I plan to tap my way into flamenco slowly but surely.  Feeling the music and moving in a flirty way as Laura does will take a lot of practice and I am eager to begin.

Music, dancing, my Spanish family and my surprising ability for independence is bliss.  After the dance class, Elisa prepared a glass of Tempranillo (red wine), a plate of manchego cheese, Serrano ham and sliced bread...and wouldn't let me pay for any of it.  We sat and talked for quite some time and she drew a map of places in Malaga for me to discover.  She is a delight.  Her father, Pedro, (the owner of the restaurant where I met them and danced in the back area) hovers, smiles and I think wishes he spoke a little English.   Seeing the pride in his eyes when he looks at both of his daughters touches me.  I felt like family.

For me, I learn something about myself each day here in Calahonda.  It's good to wake up to absolute silence and knowing that the day ahead will make no demands on me.  It is as if a coiled spring in my mind is gradually unwinding.  Maybe dancing a bit of flamenco, if only for myself, will add to the inner peace I have gradually found in my life the past few months.  

Since I arrived in Spain, my adventures have only added more magic.  At the end of the day, life is simple; a glass of wine, tuna empanadas, a salad.  And despite the discomfort of a sunburn, it was nothing compared to my day...Perfecto.