I Love Dance

I had a day to myself on the Saturday before Phil arrived so I decided to see the local ballet company called the Victor Ullate Ballet Comapany, they had a showing of all choreography created by their director.  The 6 pieces were based upon classic ballet fundamentals but had modern movement and interpretation.  It was truly fantastic! What was also very unique and consistent was the type of dances that have been chosen to represent this company.  All of the dancers, male and female, were very strong and defined, not grossly muscular but very prominent definition.  The females were not soft and dainty as some ballet dancers, and the males were some of the tallest ballet dancers I have ever seen (one had to be at least Phil’s height).  Despite this different variety, each was incredibly talented and beautiful; even though they were strong and carried such a presence the movement was complimentary and showed off the body as a piece of art itself.  Once piece in particular that was simply amazing was in the final where the dancers ended up in leotards and body suits in a nude color.  The lighting was not too bright so it seemed that the dancers were nude but without the exposure of body parts.  As I mentioned, each dancer was fairly defined, and the choice of a nude bodysuit amplified the creativity of the movement and the celebration of the human body.  Mixing point and classic ballet variations to modern jerky movement it was truly a blend of the classic and new to bring forth the vision of the director.  If you are interested in his work, look him up online, I haven’t had the chance yet but if I find a link I will post it.

Some friends and I decided to see another flamenco show, this time with a  dinner included…well so we thought.  There are many dinner/show places in Madrid, and the Casa de las Patas was recommended by my Spanish teacher.  A friend called ahead to make sure it was a package and she was reassured it was.  When we arrived to the restaurant we were seated right next to the stage and the our eyes were level with the stage (thus looking up a little to the dancers).  However, when we looked at the menu dinner was not included with the show and the show was already $25.  We were a little nervous because the menu was ridiculously expensive…Phil and I shared a half a bottle of wine and a small appetizer.  Despite the attack on our wallet I would have paid 100 more euro for the dancing we saw.  Two guitarists, four flamenco singers (including one female) and nine dancers graced the stage with a passion and talent that was hard to internalize.  Three of the female dancers were I older and experienced and another was a younger girl of apprentice level, however all of them despite “putting on a show” truly exuded the flair and passion that is typical of a flamenco dancer.  It reminds me of Zembekiko of the Greek culture where it is used as a means of expression for feelings and emotions…these women had the same.  There were some songs that were sad and the angst within their faces was as if their heart was just broken…you couldn’t help but cry too.  What was fantastic was that each dancer was different from the other in style and skill level…one woman was great at fast turns while stomping her feet, the younger girl was very expressive and stunning, the other could do amazing sequences minutes at a time without breaking a sweat…and the last woman to dance…words cannot describe.  She was androgynous looking because of her very strong features, but she was very beautiful at the same time.  She played on this look of hers and danced a finale in a male costume, which was similar to a matador.  Her entire body was solid and she commanded attention…you could not peel your eyes away from her.  Anyway, her sequence of movement, steps, stomps and variation lasted at least 15 min…the sweat was pouring down her face but she was still so beautiful.  I took so much video of her so I will post that too.  Anyway, the show lasted over two hours and by the time we left my ears were ringing and my heart was pounding from the intensity of it all…I felt like I had been dancing for two hours!  Oh and worth mentioning, the same dancers put on the same show 15 min later for another group of guests and another 2 hours.  After that show I was thoroughly convinced I need to start learning Flamenco.       

SPANISH CUSTOMS AND QUIRKS

I decided to try to keep track of the differences I’ve noticed in between the Spanish culture and others I have seen, here are some so far:

1 - Obvious – Obsession with Pork.  Every store that has food has Jamon Serrano, Jamon York and Iberico, two of which are the cured and dried version.  Now I have always been a sucker for prosciutto at home, but this is overkill.  I mean I love ham and cheese sandwiches but this has been my lunch now for over a month!  It’s the only thing you can get on the go without having McDonalds or Burger King.  Ok so this is the typical lunch on the go: there are bocadillos which are baguettes of bread with just ham (all kinds), just cheese, ham and cheese or tortilla (which is a omelet with just egg and potatoes).  Then there is sandwich mixto which is square sliced bread (called Pan Molde here, which my roommate and I thought meant bread with mold at first) with ham and cheese melted.  This is my favorite; I could eat like 3 of them to really be full.  Finally, there are the baguettes which are mini baguettes with any of the above mentioned fillers. 

2 - The cafeteria at school has these sandwiches as well as Amstel on tap and other beer and wine selections.  This is something unusual but fantastic!

3 - Spaniards are obsessed with donuts.  Dunkin Donuts are everywhere and another brand they sell in stores called Donuts that when you go to the store, people have about 10 of these packages in their carts.  I mean its intense.  I have not succumbed to the donut obsession…I prefer their homemade sweets like chocolate croissants.

4 – Spaniards are embarrassing beer drinkers.  Ok Im not sure if it’s a Reno thing, but I know I love beer and so do all the people I know back home.  Spaniards don’t have any world famous beers, their selection is Estrella, Mahou and Cruzcampo.  I think the latter is the most known…however Spaniards add lemon fanta to their beer…oh my gosh are you kidding me?! Call me crazy but just drink some juice with soda water!  You should see the looks I get when I have a beer without juice, bigger than half a pint and its like unbelievable when I have a Guiness (which by the way is not that tasty here).

5 – Spaniards and Europeans in general have to be matching.  If you have a pink shirt on, you most definitely have a pink bag, belt or shoes to match.  I know that matching is better than not in some sort of color scheme…haha I don’t know.

6 - A new fashion fad here in Spain...genie pants.  Almost every girl wears these pants, that are cotton with a fit loose around the bum and the crotch seem can either be at the knee or lower...basically it looks like you have junk in your pants.  Not to mention they fit at the ankle tightly like old 80s jeans...sometimes its cute, but most of the time its uh weird.

7 - I would say 90% of the teenagers in Madrid have facial piercings, and one in particular that is a small white ball that is under the lip or right above like a Monroe.  However, they are very small and so at glance it appears that all these kids have huge whiteheads on their face...sorry for the graphic wording but it cracks me up! 

8 - Phil has noticed this...most of the people in the stores HATE breaking a 50 euro bill, either they can't count or are too lazy but every time phil offers one they scowl and huff and puff and ask for something smaller.  

9 - Grandparents are a big part of the lives of their grandchildren.  Only on the weekends do you really see parent with their children, rather during the week most grandparents are out with their grandchildren.  Newborns to young teens there is a strong affection and relationship between the children and their elders…also there is a general respect towards elders that we don’t see very much in the states, from all ages.

Almost Done

My last two weeks in Madrid were a whirlwind, a movie literally on fast forward at like x34 speed and I was doing my best to keep up.  I had a midterm in every class that was either a test or project or both combined.  So all my work and studying kept me from venturing out too late or causing a ruckus in the streets of Madrid.  I did however finally make it to the Prado museum (which is free every night from 6-8) with Sonya and we spent three evenings wandering around and drooling over the incredible skill of the artists within.

The Prado has quite an extensive collection of the 13^th-17^th century paintings from Flemish, Italian, Spanish, German, and English styles.  I never thought I would be able to determine the differences between each, but once you look at enough within a short period of time and all together in the same area the differences are clear.  It is first important to note that all painters of this time were interested in depicting the life of Christ.  Whether it was the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, the Birth or the passion, I would guess every single painter had completed some work that was religiously inspired.  To me its beautiful not only because of my Christian background but because depicting something you have never seen before is the hardest and it is a true creation of the imagination of that painter.  Also, when you have 100 paintings of the Crucifixion it gives the opportunity to begin to interpret what the artist was thinking and what techniques he used.

The Flemish style of painting is very unique, because for me, it is the farthest from reality.  Typically almond shaped faces with very full cheeks and tiny facial attributes seem like the comics of the time.  Not to say they look ridiculous, just very different, and the second attribute is that they are very angelic like.  The subjects in the paintings are all very pale and angelic whereas those attributes are typically saved for angels or other supernatural elements in other styles.  Despite the different take on reality, I did enjoy Flemish painting, especially one in particular called “The Garden of Earthly Delights”.  This was painted on a three-fold panel of wood and depicts the earthly temptations that man comes in contact with.  There are literally hundreds of figures in this painting and creatures that I find absolutely amazing and creative.  You must look it up online.

This week I also experienced when public transportation fails you are basically screwed.  Sonya and I take three trains every morning to get to school, and the second train, line 6 is a joke.  Well they are doing construction on it but basically it runs when it wants to and is never on time.  So this particular morning we get to line 6, wait for 20 min then someone comes on over the loud speaker.  All of a sudden the masses are making a frantic run for the door and out of the metro.  Sonya and I are dumbstruck and have no idea what is going on because I could not understand what the heck the lady was saying.  So I ask a nice lady next to me and she says the train is not coming for another 30 min…well that sucks because our class starts in 30 min.  Luckily we were able to call USAC offices and they laughed that it wasn’t a big deal and they would tell our teacher.  What is hysterical is that there are only 4 girls in my class, one was out that day for a hurt ankle so it was the one girl with our teacher for 45 min till Sonya and I strolled in.

Speaking of my teacher, he showed us a Spanish film called “All About My Mother” which was part of Sundance Film Festival, I think, but at any rate was really good…I suggest it to everyone who likes crazy stories especially ones that include transgender and dry humor.  It was a fantastic story, but to be quite honest I was quite uncomfortable watching it with my teacher…well he is young so I guess it wasn’t a big deal, but there were many sexual references and heres the kicker…he kept translating some of these words and references into English!  Hahah oh man, this teacher is so funny, first of all because every time he says something in English his voice drops as if he’s afraid to speak English, and then he saying these words it was like the funniest thing I have ever seen.  Anyway, good movie nonetheless…

I took some friends of mine here to a Greek restaurant that I found a review for from the New York Times, called Delfos.  Oh man it was soooooo good.  To start we had hummus, feta, aubergine paste, roe paste, and three more with warm pita bread and dolmades.  Then we split some chicken souvlaki and the grand finale was a huge plate completely covered of sweets.  Baklava, galactobureko, rum cake, yogurht with honey and a few others.  There was enough for each of us to have at least 4 pieices, it was amazing.  Needless too say, my friends are hooked and want to come to Reno for the Greek festival.  The waiter there also spoke Greek and it was fun to switch between Greek, Spanish and English depending on what words I knew the best.  Which I have a new appreciation for people who are fluent in more than one language because I have had Spanish in my brain 24/7 for the past 3 weeks and it was sooo hard to remember the Greek words.  I believe the point of fluency  comes from being able to switch between languages without difficulty and without forgetting the words.  Some day ill get there!

more to come!