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Flamenco therapy...
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annemarie
Posts: 44
Joined: Jul. 29 2009
From: Utrecht (Netherlands)
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 RE: Flamenco therapy... (in reply to annemarie)
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Wow, thanks for the replies! It really is interesting to see what flamenco means for everyone.
Harry, I like what you said, 'a feeling of defiance', that's exactly what it is and what I love about it as well. And of course there are a million other ways to deal with stuff, such as techno and opera, or something non-musical, but it seems to me that flamenco offers a more complete package, because it's so complex and there's an entire life philosophy that comes with it. And like Changue says, there's something primal and original (and universal) about it. So if it happens to tickle your pickle, you're good for life :)
While flamenco (and especially good cante) offers relief for major issues of the heart and soul, at the same time (at least for me) the practice of it comes with its own set of insecurities and confrontations. Another therapeutic characteristic :)
So Ruphus, you think this applies especially to dancers? I like and agree with what you wrote about dancers not having to fake cheerfulness; what comes out is what comes out and what you see is what you get. This is also exactly why it is confrontational and scary sometimes, because there's nowhere to hide and to dance well means to give it your everything, out in the open.
But I also think singers especially need to open up and tap into their own emotions to perform well.
Is it true that guitarists hide behind their guitars? :)
_____________________________
Lejos, muy lejos de España
Yo me llevé un ruiseñor
Y en sus cantes decía
"Quiero vivir en Graná,
Graná que es la tierra mía."
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Date Mar. 21 2011 14:47:47
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: Flamenco therapy... (in reply to annemarie)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: annemarie
So Ruphus, you think this applies especially to dancers? I like and agree with what you wrote about dancers not having to fake cheerfulness; what comes out is what comes out and what you see is what you get. This is also exactly why it is confrontational and scary sometimes, because there's nowhere to hide and to dance well means to give it your everything, out in the open.
But I also think singers especially need to open up and tap into their own emotions to perform well.
Is it true that guitarists hide behind their guitars? :)
The confrontational dance between female and male dancer seems of sense to me, with sight on daily life.
Unlike with other classical dances which emphasize perfect harmony, truth in life is that intimacy requires foregoing dispute. You can´t have true friendship by omitting conflicts. Yet, fair and constructive struggle produces understanding and appreciation of each other.
After all, best and rather lasting relationships seem to be those with no fear of confrontation, but trust in respectful clearance / strengthening common ground.
Can´t tell from personal experience, whether guitarists hide behind their instruments. For, as a stage-frightened myself who prefers the closet from stage, I performed only a few times before public ( except of one or two cases, feeling very uncomfortable, while people liked the gig ).
But from looking at performing guitarists one could think of them hiding indeed.
Maybe not so much accompanying / in groups playing flamenco guitarist, who often times appear rather relaxed, but more so with solo players / classical guitarists, who often times shun the audience, keeping their eyes either on the fretboard or to the ground. Some even resting their head on the upper bout as if wanting to crawl into the corpus. :O)
quote:
ORIGINAL: edguerin
And therapy can entail a worsening of symptoms and a deepening of sadness etc. before it - ideally - starts to help.
I recall a report on an international congress of psychatrists, from maybe twenty years or so ago. The consensus was that classical psycho analysis had never helped a single individual, but rather caused harm by uncovering traumata, without simultaneous support. The plea was to let it be alltogther.
What do you think of my conclusion that ways to actual help would exclusively be active methods like with interactive role playing, or better even transactional analysis, which provide simultaneous / autonomous cognition to the patient?
quote:
ORIGINAL: Pimientito
Its very difficult to have your head full of other thoughts when you are practising.
For me, when only slightly down, practising helps distracting and at times even cheering up.
But when badly down best escape for me is to switch off awareness by going to bed early, though rather a nocturnal beast by nature.
Those will be the few moments when looking at the guitar won´t even trigger the desire to grab it.
Ruphus
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Date Mar. 22 2011 10:43:29
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: Flamenco therapy... (in reply to edguerin)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: edguerin
I wonder what kind of symposion that was. There's enough scientific evidence out there, that psychoanalysis and analytic techniques definitely help (when applied correctly of course).
It was reported on in "Der Spiegel" during a series about Freud´s heritance, I think. Guess it to have occured.
Also from personal empirics: How often have I seen people coming from a passive therapy so enthusisastically ( typically trying to talk others into it, as compensational back up ), while apparently nothing really changed ( with them admitting themselves over time ).
Therapists willing to see their passive methods as succesfull might be tempted taking such patient´s temporary illusion for real. - After all they are vulnerably human themselves, hence despite academic demand at times worshipers and believers against entity / unwilling to accept failure and to head on to other shores.
Further: Never has there been such a mass epxeriment like with psychotherapy in the US ( when it was outright fashionable among middle and upper class to visit classical therapists and pay up to hundreds of thousands $ fees to often times outrageous skimmers over the course of years ).
With just a hypothetically minimal effect the outcome should have been evident, which it wasn´t.
quote:
ORIGINAL: edguerin
Active methods CAN help. But not exclusively. And, without wanting to get too technical, cognition alone, unfortunately, isn't the sinecure one often thinks (e.g. why can't people quit a bad habit, even though they know it's deleterious? Why don't self-help books work?)
My claim is that it depends on the level of cognition.
The minute a person actually understands the trivial background of a mental irritation, it will dispappear simultaneously.
Again: Provided the causality is inherently / actually comprehended. - Which seems to be only possibly as an inner process / with active methods.
Accordingly, self-help books won´t work as they can´t subtitute autonomous realization.
quote:
ORIGINAL: Pimientito
A lot of people who do martial arts and Thai chi probably get something similar from their routine every day and I think it provides some kind of mental grounding and balence in the pursuit of perfection of your art. For me the daily "ritual" or warming up, exercises, repertoire and then learning new pieces is something that has carried me through some very difficult periods in my life and I think that is why it could be seen as therapeutic.
Re-reading it, this one seems worth a thought.
I once went into martial arts for exactly that, seeking balanced state of mind.
It never occured, despite so many years; 4 of them even fulltime ( 1,5 years 30 hours per week, 2,5 years 40 h/w ).
Neither did it appear as if fellow budoka developed remarkably different from average.
People do get more self-confident, especially with realistic disciplines like Wing tsun, Muai thai or grappling, yet not necessarily calm or wise.
Tai chi is very different from martial arts. Eventhough once born from Chi sao, it has nothing to do with fighting, but is a form of meditation by physical means.
Meditation again undoubtedly affects temper and mind.
Ruphus
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Date Mar. 22 2011 13:50:04
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).. On a practical level sometimes I wonder what on earth I would be doing with my life if it wasn't for flamenco (not just as a flamenco lover and dancer, but also as a producer etc).. 
