Excerpts:
How did you start dancing? What other dance forms are you into?
When I was little, I took up tap, jazz and ballet, and only later went on to flamenco. I have not always been a high level dancer or a professional, but I tried jazz, ballroom, salsa, and all those things. I really discovered flamenco in my twenties, and fell in love with it. Its fun and I love dancing. I love hip-hop, but I'm just too graceful for that. So I just admire it, but the rest of the dance forms I can easily pull off.
What kind of dance form is flamenco?
Flamenco is the dance and music of the early nomadic gypsies. The music and dance of the flamenco is about feeling. It's an artistic expression of many emotions-pride, passion and joy, as well as desperation, dejection, and suffering. El baile flamenco is a highly-expressive dance, known for its emotional sweeping of the arms and rhythmic stomping of the feet. While flamenco dancers (bailaors and bailaoras) invest a considerable amount of study and practice into their art form, the dances are not only choreographed, but are also improvised along the palo or rhythm. In addition to the percussion provided by the heels of the dancers striking the floor, castanets are sometimes held in the hands and clicked together rapidly to the rhythm of the music. Sometimes, folding fans are used for visual effect as well as mantons or shawls.
What is it about flamenco that attracted you?
With jazz or ballet, you have to start at a young age to develop your muscles well. But flamenco is the opposite; it's like wine and gets better with age. Actually the older you are, the more character and experiences you can bring in the dance. You grow into it. If you see old Spanish women dancing, you will know what I mean. I thought this was something I could do for the rest of my life, so that's what I love about it.
How do you find teaching students here?
It varies for the most part. For one thing, my students here are very well behaved and they can follow what's being taught. The challenge, though, is that they are not used to different kinds of rhythm. But they love to dance and I love their spirit. I'm actually grooming three adult scholars in SAA, who are the first generation, to teach and train so that they can take the baton, as I won't be here forever.
How many students do you teach? How many classes do they need each week?
Before the earthquake, the classes were really full and I had around 60 students. But after the earthquake, people are more cautious and some kids haven't come back to class yet. The more lessons you take the better, but right now, I'm only teaching them twice a week.
Are there any special assignments that you encourage your students to do?
There's only so much I can teach, sometimes you have to take the initiative and have the motivation to learn on your own as well. In flamenco, there are different kinds of music, so I'll ask them to read up on that, listen, and train the ears as the rhythm is very specific. It takes years to learn that. So I tell them to listen to them over and over again, and know the music.
Are their any competitions in the international platform for which you are training your students to compete?
More than preparing for competitions, I'd want them to focus on flamenco as an expressive dance. Even then, it takes years to perfect it. I'm still learning. My adult students just started two years ago and with hard work are getting there. So they are still developing and are working on toning up the muscles, what they know, the speed of the footwork, and coordinating everything together. It doesn't come overnight so you have to practice and build your stamina and then you can speed it up and go faster.
What are the possibilities of mixing flamenco with other dance forms?
It is possible, actually. We had a show last year at Nepal Academy hall where Subima Shrestha and I performed a fusion of kathak and flamenco. It worked out really well and everybody in the audience simply loved it.
How do you encourage the beginners? Any tips?
When you start anything, you have to go easy on yourself. At first, everything is going to be overwhelming and you will be tempted to quit. But you have to persevere. Give yourself at least one or two months before you quit. Because when you get into a class and see other people who've been dancing longer, you don't feel as coordinated, but you need to know that it happens to everyone. So I'd like to tell an enthusiast to not give up easily. You'll get what you put in.
Social media has made the art reach a wider audience. What do you have to say about that?
I understand that, but I refrain from posting my choreography online. It's something my teacher taught me and after all, it doesn't come out the same way. I want people to respect the art as a performance and not just a video. The Internet and social media have definitely helped spread the word about various dance forms, for instance hip hop is such a rage now, but dance shouldn't be limited to just online learning.
What are your future plans?
I hope to go to Spain at some point as there is so much more to learn about flamenco and you only learn it by immersing yourself in the culture the dance form comes from. It's not just the dance, but the culture, music, singing, and everything else put together that gives it the beauty and grace.
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