Matic -> RE: SANLUCAR 2009 (Aug. 3 2009 8:19:59)
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I thought that last year was absolutely amazing, as amazing as it could get... but this year the edge of amazingness was pushed way up. One thing was that I was much more relaxed and confident regarding travelling (last year was my first time flying, first time organizing bigger trip and first time travelling alone...). Other thing is that this year I came to Sanlucar and first thing was hugging Mark, Christophe, Tom, Louise, Ricardo, Ramin, Henry... and other 'old' friends, while last year noone really knew me (except for the foro friends in a way) and it was more about meeting people and making new friends. Which is a lot of fun, no doubt. Just this year i was meeting new people, making new friends and having fun with the old chaps. We missed a few people, as Mark said there were fewer students. But the painful truth was that the level of fiesta leaped way into the morning hours... And there were victims. But I always got at least one hour of sleep before the curso started at 10am. Yes, I went for the advanced one. Mark gave me a speech on 'Why is it good to take Gerardo's advanced curso'... and after 12 seconds I knew I was in. And I'm glad I did it. The material Gerardo taught us isn't impossible to play as I thought it would be. I could even use some of the stuff in 29 years!! Seriously, he showed us some haunting soleares falsetas, loads of material in the key of Eb (bulerias, solxbul), tarantos, bulerias in A, tangos, rondenas.... And Tino was amazing. I don't know how he can do it. It's true that he knows some of Gerardo's material from previous years but he's actually able to learn the amazingly advanced falsetas in one afternoon. He may not be able to play it at Gerardo's tempo but he can play all notes in time... He's genious and a great teacher. He also played us his material after every repetition class and he always amazed me. His compositions are fab! Another great thing at the cursos were singers Gerardo invited for us to sing. Gerardo, Tino, Antonio Carrion and Ricardo accompanied them... I'm glad Gerardo puts an important emphasis on the cante. I'm waiting for Curso de accompanamiento. That would be fabulous. As Henry said, there was loads to enjoy this week if you are a cante enthusiast. I had goose bumps three quarters of the time there. The worst news during the week was when Henry and his girlfriend told me during our dinner that they met Norman and that he's gone back to Jerez. I SO want to meet you one day, Norman. You're like my guru, man! [;)] Oh, I bought Mundo y Formas del Cante Flamenco for 35€ in Granada. The '71 edition, in great condition. I'm so excited! After the curso Pimientito drove Annemarie, Hannet (2 coolest Dutch flamenco legends [;)] and great friends) and me to Granada. It was a fun trip. Kinda hot. [;)] In Granada I stayed at Kate and Harold's place. Wow! Everything was perfect. Kate and Harold are one of the coolest couples I've ever met, and Kate is a legendary cook. I envy Harold so much... you have to send me some of the recipes of the things I ate in your house because you spoiled me and I want more! Harold showed me his studio which was fun! Can't wait to return back. Granada itself is a beautiful city. I felt like in heaven walking along the streets of Sacromonte and hearing flamenco all around me. And the sound was not coming out of my headphones!! There's so much more to tell about the 2 weeks I spent in Andalucia... Thank you all for making it perfect, can't wait to see you again in a few months. Matic [:)] PS: I'm a bit worried about the constant delays and errors that are happening to the foro again. We invited many people over in Sanlucar and they were excited about joining us. But I'm afraid they won't be able to or will loose interest just because of the technical issues. I'm sorry if you find me annoying but it would be great having those people here, they have a lot to share! So what's up with the planned move to another home? Did I miss anything?
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