A thing I've always loved..

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Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

A thing I've always loved..

Is the way Flamenco singers walk away, or otherwise dismiss their being there after they have delivered their stuff.
It's like.... "There is nothing more to say...."
This IMO is why the Cante is so important to the feeling of the guitar.

cheers

Ron

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 1 2007 23:21:24

Kate

Posts: 1827
Joined: Jul. 8 2003
From: Living in Granada, Andalucía

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ron.M)

Yes, and I love the way they always acknoweldge the guitarist by raising their arm.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 0:30:29

Escribano

Posts: 6415
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ron.M)

I might suggest it is a way to let the audience know they have finished their interminable fandangos

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 1:32:40

Ailsa

Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Escribano)

You are bad Simon!

Yeah I agree Ron. Such a small gesture just says a thousand words. I wonder if it's something you have to practice or if it comes naturally.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 9:32:13

Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ailsa)

Yeah Ailsa,
It's such a peculiar way to end a performance compared to what we are used to in other forms of singing, where the artist will maybe end on a flourish with outstreched arms to receive the applause.

The only other performance art I can think of where the artist will walk off before the applause is actually stand up comedy!!

It seems to be so much ingrained in Flamenco, that often artists will make the gesture of walking off for a few seconds, before returning to receive the applause.

I wonder where this springs from?

Is it because Flamenco was not originally performed in public, but in juergas with family and friends and basically with the jaleo etc, everyone is part of the performance to a degree and the applause is more or less continuous throughout the piece?

Or is it as with parties these days where someone gets up to do their party piece, they hardly wait to take a bow, but sit down as quickly as possible afterwards usually with a few gestures of modesty and humility?

Anyway, it's just another little delightful quirk of this art form that makes it so different and unusual.

cheers,

Ron

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A good guitar might be a good guitar
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 16:17:52

Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ailsa) 1 votes

quote:

I wonder if it's something you have to practice or if it comes naturally.

I think kids just pick up on what is going on aroung them, like the kid here....who also does the walking away gesture.

Personally I can't stand precocious kids...I don't have the "Awww..cute!" emotion in me, so they just irritate me immensely.

(Probably due to Lil' Jimmy Osmond in the 60's.

)

cheers,

Ron

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A good guitar might be a good guitar
But it takes a woman to break your heart

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 16:56:46

gato

Posts: 322
Joined: Jun. 9 2007

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ron.M)

It's better than feigning the love of an audience. So many performers are so in to that here in America; it's like they think more of themselves than the performance, which says a lot. I think it's nice when a performer just walks away. And I wonder if that fits in with the over all life style of the flamenco artist. Here in America stardom is pretty ugly and self centered.....it's nice to see a real human being perform, perhaps that's one reason why I am drawn to the flamenco.....

Gary

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 17:10:26

Ailsa

Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ron.M)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ron.M
Personally I can't stand precocious kids...I don't have the "Awww..cute!" emotion in me, so they just irritate me immensely.

(Probably due to Lil' Jimmy Osmond in the 60's. )

I liked that kid - and I loved the way he just walked off before he'd even finished the phrase!

I know kids just pick up whatever is around them. When I was in Brazil studying samba I saw little kids imitating the sexually explicit dance they saw. That was a bit nauseating

Ron don't mention Jimmy Osmond. Most Foro members are too young to remember him. You're giving away how old we are !

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 17:23:26

gato

Posts: 322
Joined: Jun. 9 2007

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ailsa)

I just reached midlife and I have decided not to have my midlife crisis! It's bad enough having a hard time relating to youth; I now know what it's like now that the I'm so old and they are so young. Well, I can say now that when I was young the older people were right! I am going to stay happy....I have earned it.
Gary

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 17:45:30

Ailsa

Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to gato) 1 votes

quote:

ORIGINAL: gato
I just reached midlife ...... I am going to stay happy....

Hehehe good for you. I did have a midlife crisis and it's not much to write home about so I think you are right not to bother! It's a cliche but also true that I am happier now than I've ever been, so hell who cares how old I am!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 17:50:27

gato

Posts: 322
Joined: Jun. 9 2007

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ailsa)

Right!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 17:52:08

Ricardo

Posts: 14822
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ron.M) 1 votes

A lot of if has to do too with the way flamenco is learned...through imitation. To sing like Caracol, you would probably get into character a bit doing melismas, face expression, hand gestures etc. Doing that from a young age, these thing become naturally. It is not like they consciously think " I must now behave this way on stage...", it is just part of the whole package of the tradition.

Ricardo

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 2 2007 20:28:57

Estevan

Posts: 1936
Joined: Dec. 20 2006
From: Torontolucía

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Escribano)

quote:

I might suggest it is a way to let the audience know they have finished their interminable fandangos

...and as a favour to the accompanist, after so many places where the song might have ended - "I can't think of any more verses right now, so we're done (at last)!"

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 3 2007 20:13:22

HemeolaMan

Posts: 1514
Joined: Jul. 13 2007
From: Chicago

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ron.M)

i agree. with everyone. about everything you just said. because i'm in an agreeable mood. and I like agreeing. its a very agreeable thing to do, agreeing. best when parts of speech do it too. now that you guys are all feeling old, and happy, I feel wierd being not old. I'll pretend to be in my 60's, that;ll cheer things up.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 4 2007 5:25:24

Ailsa

Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to HemeolaMan)

quote:

ORIGINAL: HemeolaMan
I'll pretend to be in my 60's

You can take a joke too far boy! We none of us THAT old!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 4 2007 8:30:45

Florian

Posts: 9282
Joined: Jul. 14 2003
From: Adelaide/Australia

RE: A thing I've always loved.. (in reply to Ailsa)

I think flamenco singers stole that from rappers in the Us

watch out !, soon they will also be droping the microphone and do shout outs to all the relatives and neighbours on the way off the stage to as they hold theyr hands up in the air in a sign of Peace ( and hold theyr crutch with the other hand ofcourse

)...

or shout out some positive message as they walk off ...like: " Bullfigting events during the week is cruel !!! because many people are working and cant get there to see it !! keep it real guys , save it for the weekends... Peace !! IM Out !!"

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 4 2007 12:20:57