Fuerte

Lesson 6 and I have to say I kind of fell apart today. Felt as though I was getting the hang of the arm movements with hand twists and felt my teacher was getting a bit stricter today. He's probably fed up of me getting bits wrong all of the time and I think his patience is wearing thin!

We did our usual routine with new added elements (I will know the proper terminology tomorrow!) and  its obvious that my body is too rigid. The moves need to be more sensual, more relaxed, but also strong - with the upper body, big and grand.

Stamps today were also very weak. They need to be more fuerte!

So I am here, still getting basics wrong and I need to be there, starting on the proper choreography I want to learn as soon as possible. A lot of practice to put in. So I did an extra 2 hours at my secret space this afternoon, and it did seem as though I was progressing. But I can see now why they say its too dangerous to practice too much flamenco in one day...its very physically demanding.

The big win today was finding a potential space to practice in Barceloneta. There are civic centres here in Barcelona that have space either to use for exchange of a performance or to rent. And in Barceloneta, there is a room called Sala Carmen Amaya, so this evening I went down there to see if I could hire space.

It was a funny experience because the guy on reception made me really work it all out in Spanish, but all in good fun. There is a small charge for the rooms and all I have to do is decide which room I want and hope its available. Carmen's room seems too big for practice, so maybe this is a space for the final performance? Be rude not to.