Spanish Gatherings 2019

Gatherings ~ Of Spanish music, wine & dance, in Singapore’s chic social club

It’s a heart-warming time of the year as we head towards the Christmas season. We wonder how fast the year has flown, and look forward to culminating it with friends and family. What better occasion than at our year-end festive gathering!

Be part our creative community of Spanish and local friends, students, dancers and overseas guest musicians. Enjoy dance, song, music along with an experience of Muga wines from Spain’s famed vineyards and a selection of cheeses.

Participate! We love…

Streetside Sevillanas in Hoi An

Romantic Sevillanas – The fountain of your mouth and the nets of your body

When I first started to learn the Sevillanas in my youthful university days, I mostly danced to songs that were fast-paced. Afterall, the Sevillanas is the dance that is danced at the largest party in Sevilla, the Feria de Abril (April Fair). Some versions go at Speedy Gonzales pace, I marvelled at how Feria folks fared, in drunken merry-making state and ladies in their voluminous Sevillanas dresses!

So when my friend, Paloma Navarro, sang a slower-paced, melodious version accompanied by…

Spanish Dance Flamenco Singapore Francesca Grima

Flamenco Workshop by Francesca Grima (Singapore, Sun 29 Sep)

We’re pleased to welcome our flamenco Guest Artists at Spanish Dance Singapore this month, Francesca Grima (Dance) and Andrej Vujicic (Cajon). Flamenco aficionados can join either of these classes:

SUN 29 SEPT
11am – 12.30pm: Flamenco Technique
12.30 – 2.00pm: Bulerias (with cajon accompaniment)
Venue: Dance on Us
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ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS
Technique Class

In the technique class, students will practice and clean up footwork, work to improve compás.

This class will allow students to learn a set of sequences in arms, upper body and footwork, which can…

Spanish Dance Flamenco Singapore

Spanish Dance Master Workshops with Paloma Gómez, 30 Oct – 3 Nov Singapore

Make time for Beauty this  30 Oct – 3 Nov! Fill your heart with inspiring dance and music, with Paloma Gómez. Her Spanish Dance Master Workshops are part of the Season of Spanish Dance (Oct-Nov), a collaboration with the new Sonata Dancewear studio, at Funan Mall. Here’s a glimpse of what to catch:

Paloma’s popular Classical Spanish Dance Technique (3 sessions)
Paloma’s castanets technique (2 sessions)
Two choreographies set to great Spanish classics – Goyescas & Córdoba
A special…

Spanish Season of Dance

Go Spanish at Sonata! Choose your workshop!

Enjoy a range of dance workshops for kids, adults and dance lovers! Go Spanish at Sonata, with Spanish Dance Singapore this Oct – Dec, at the new Sonata Community Studio at Funan Mall. Discover the vibrant dances of Spain – from classical Spanish dance to flamenco. Learn to use the Spanish fan, work on a Nutcracker choreography, or join our Masterclass appreciation on the styles of ballet & Classical Spanish.
A programme of the Spanish Season of Dance 2019

Organised by:…

Stay Cool Dance More

Dance and a Time for Beauty, this Sept – Oct

Make a dance date with Beauty-personified from Wed 30 Oct to Sun 3 November! Lovely Spanish dancer and maestra, Paloma Gómez, will be in Singapore soon.
Here’s what you can enjoy:

Two lovely choreographies – the Intermezzo from Goyescas by composer Granados, and Córdoba by composer Albeñiz. We’ll be completing the second part of Goyescas, which we embarked on when Paloma was previously in Singapore. Those who didn’t do the first part can still join, and enjoy this marvellous classic…

Seville Sevilla Architecture Streets

Irresistible Seville, Learn Flamenco at its Source

The southern Spanish town of Seville will steal your heart, with its charming streets, glorious architecture and traditions. Be contented getting lost in labyrinthian alleys and quaint plazas where ambience is cosy and intimate. Or hang out at the tapas bars to savour the many choices, chatting up friendly folks. And if you have some time, why not soak in the cultural aire and learn flamenco at one of the many established academies? Seville is, afterall, one of the greatest…

Flamenco Lab Manuel Betanzos Flamenco Singapore

Flamenco Dance Lab ~ What to listen ~ How to use your dance material (Sun 7July)

Learning flamenco in Spain can feel like an ‘easier’ process sometimes, especially when our classes are accompanied by flamenco singers and guitarists. Afterall, in the land of flamenco, there is much available talent. The holistic approach enables us to ‘fast-track’ what we absorb and practise.

It’s a different story outside Spain.  Most of the teachers and students I meet in the cities Manuel and I tour to, raise the challenge of the lack of guitarists and singers to accompany their…

Spanish Dance Flamenco Singapore Guitar, Song

Flamenco, Jazz, Bossa ++ Guitarist Social Hour! (Sat 18 May)

Grab a drink with us at Kith Cafe Marina Square (Sat 18 May, 9-10pm). Chat with guitarist Adien about playing across genres of flamenco, jazz, blues, bossa, rock and the Indonesian music scene.
Get to meet Terry, of The Guitar Gallery, wonderful supporter of the scene. Try out his array of guitars when you visit. We always end up playing or singing at his shop, one of the spontaneous places in Singapore. Meet some of the players and budding ones…

Flamenco Singapore Manuel Betanzos

Reach for Gold with the Olympics Coach of Flamenco, Manuel Betanzos!

Super-charge your dance with Manuel Betanzos, the ‘Olympics Coach of Flamenco’. Here comes the maestro who lights the way for students and hands them the Torch of Learning. Make your date with him in Singapore (Wed 3 July – Sun 7 July 2019), for our annual training programme.
 
Personalised Training
It’s a personalised approach to flamenco training that makes learning with Manuel Betanzos special. Nothing misses his eyes. Yes, those eyes that can ‘see’ what you need, lifting you to your…

Flamenco Dance Music Class Singapore

Know what you are dancing to in flamenco?

Have you been taking flamenco dance classes and thought about the cante (song) you dance to? What are the letras (lyrics), what do they say? How do we respond emotionally to, or interpret the themes of different flamenco styles. How are we equipped to express ourselves through our dance?

Perhaps we may have started out just learning steps and movement, to different rhythms and melodies without the benefit of cante in class. Afterall, this is one of the ongoing challenges…

Spanish Dance Flamenco Singapore-Vietnam

Dance Beyond the Studio, the Itinerant Ways of Flamenco

International Day of Dance came and went yesterday. Here’s looking back on dance activities of this month, sharing some memorable times of Singapore-Vietnam dance interaction.
Right after conducting flamenco workshops and talks, we scooted off to Hoi An for a chill-out. Rest and relaxation never taste sweeter than right after a project. Hoi An enticed us into its laid-back rhythm, scenic yellow-washed alleys and riverbanks. Down-time in such a space stirs ideas and  imagination.

 
Flamenco in Ho Chi Minh…

Alfonsina y El Mar - Song moments with Spanish Dance Flamenco Singapore

Spanish Song Inspiration – Alfonsina and the Sea

Once in a while, we hear a song online and can’t get it out of our head for some reason. Well, recently for me, it’s a song called Alfonsina y el Mar (Alfonsina and the Sea). Couldn’t get it out of my head for a good two weeks now.

As it floated across on my Spotify playlist (great way to discover music while working), the lyrics and melodies catch your ear. And though I didn’t listen that carefully to the…

Protected: Tango de Málaga

Dear Students

I’m starting this page on my site, so that you have access to learning, remembering what you did in class. And with this, there is a responsibility on your part, to make time for practice or simply mentally rehearsing it, even as I am making time to do this for you.

A good way of learning is practising what you don’t know. So you build your learning, that you know your own work and can execute it. You will gain for…

Protected: Flamenco Technique & Style

Dear Students

General Info

I’m starting this page on my site, so that you have access to learning, remembering what you did in class. And with this, there is a responsibility on your part, to make time for practice or simply mentally rehearsing it, even as I am making time to do this for you.

A good way of learning is practising what you don’t know. So you build your learning, that you know your own work and can execute it. You will gain…

Protected: Classical Technique

Dear Students

I’m starting this page on my site, so that you have access to learning, remembering what you did in class. And with this, there is a responsibility on your part, to make time for practice or simply mentally rehearsing it, even as I am making time to do this for you.

A good way of learning is practising what you don’t know. So you build your learning, that you know your own work and can execute it. You will gain for…

Protected: Sevillanas Classes

Dear Students

I’m starting this page on my site, so that you have access to learning, remembering what you did in class. And with this, there is a responsibility on your part, to make time for practice or simply mentally rehearsing it, even as I am making time to do this for you.

A good way of learning is practising what you don’t know. So you build your learning, that you know your own work and can execute it. You will…

World Dance Showcase Interview by Tania Goh Flamenco Singapore

Who are the Indie Dance Organisers in Singapore creating a niche?

Our chat: About the World Dance Showcase and the inspiration for it. The journey of an independent dance organiser, creating a niche and taking risks to innovate.
With: Candida Lee aka C. Kanake, the organiser and Tania Goh, Producer, Spanish Dance Singapore.

 

Tania (T): Candida, Thanks for inviting my company to perform at the World Dance Showcase (WDS). This is the second edition you are organising. Congratulations! I’m always interested in knowing how the seeds of the love for an art…

Transformative Flamenco Learning Experiences with Manuel Betanzos

 

 

Flamenco Festival in Jerez this year: the cold, rainy season couldn’t dampen the warmth felt indoors, in the flamenco classes and in the theatre. What an inspiration learning from our teachers and a privilege watching the many artists on stage. 

Maestro Manuel Betanzos taught two workshops – the Caracoles with fan and the Bamberas. We’ll be touring his Bamberas workshop to Taipei and Singapore (20 – 24 June 2018), as part of his Asia tour including Beijing, Hong Kong and…

Manuel Betanzos Flamenco in Singapore

Reliving Fun Flamenco

Dear FriendsWe had much fun with the Tangos at Manuel Betanzos’ flamenco master workshop in Singapore last year. Here’s a video glimpse of it. We worked on a choreography to the letra of the Tangos de Triana over the weekday evenings, and on a new one over the weekend.

Sensual, earthy, redondo (roundedness) – we explored what all this was to our body, how to work our physique to the style we searched for.

Technique – working our…

Manuel Betanzos Flamenco Workshop, Festival de Jerez, Flamenco Singapore

Your Date With Manuel Betanzos, Excellence & Inspiration: 20 – 24 June 2018. Not To Be Missed!

These recent weeks have been filled with much inspiration watching the great flamenco maestro Manuel Betanzos teach at the workshops of the prestigious Festival de Jerez in Southern Spain.

Two full-house workshops featured his beautiful and vibrant choreographies of the Caracoles and the Bamberas, accompanied by an amazing singer, Manuel Soto and an equally amazing guitarist, Javier Ibañez. It has been greatly heartwarming to see how much the international students accomplished within one week of daily 2-hour intensive studies.

It is…

Paloma Gomez, Singapore Flamenco & Classical Spanish Workshop Got to Move National Arts Council

The Balletic Spanish Bolero School (Escuela Bolera)

YOU ARE INVITED! SAT 21 & SUN 22 OCT are two special days – Here’s your chance to
know the Spanish Bolero School (Escuela Bolera), a balletic genre quite new to
Singapore.

Featuring 1 dance demo-talk and 2 masterclasses all conducted by guest artist, Paloma Gómez, former Principal Dancer of Spain’s acclaimed Ballet Nacional. This programme, the Heritage of the Spanish Bolero School is part of the National Art Council’s Got to Move nation-wide dance movement.

Calling Ballet Students: The Masterclass are…

Paloma Gomez, Singapore Flamenco & Classical Spanish Workshop 2017

Reaping Your Best from Spanish Dance Technique

With much anticipation, we finally kickstarted our inaugural Classical Spanish Dance residency with Paloma Gómez in Singapore.

This is an ongoing blog that will SUMMARISE elements of what was covered in each technique class, so as to help participants build their understanding of the Spanish Dance techniques, remember what was taught and apply to all forms of dance they do. Particularly helpful to those doing Flamenco too, as Classical Spanish Dance shares many ‘borderless’ elements and techniques. As…

Paloma Gómez Singapore Flamenco Classical Spanish Dance

Know The Essentials To Be A Better Dancer ~ Technique Of Spanish Dance

If so, whether you are a beginner or advanced student in Spanish Dance, or learning Character Dance, I would encourage you to consider the Classical Spanish Dance Technique course taught by Paloma Gómez, starting this weekend. This is one of the highlights of the 1st Classical Spanish Dance Residency in Singapore.

Have a look at the content here in this link, and you’ll notice that each class will focus on a particular technique. (https://spanishdance.sg/blog/1st-classical-spanish-dance-residency-singapore-23- sep-22-oct

Some of these are uniquely…

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