The only certain thing ... and a rabbit with compas

I wish I could understand Raphael better. He tells stories that are obviously funny, and says a lot of important stuff about how to move. I've been pretty proud of my Spanish, but on the phone it's kind of rough going, or in a room that has weird acoustics, and a person who talks fast with a certain tone of voice and strong accent.
He imitates us fairly often to emphasise how not to move. It is actually pretty instructive. Much of what we do lacks control. That's the major thing in flamenco. It takes an enormous amount of core stability - keeping your torso often pretty calm while making explosive motions with legs and arms. Then some other movements are just way more subtle than we tend to do them. Toning things down takes control. Taking fast short steps is harder than big sloppy ones, where your hips are tilting all over. The "wrong" way to do it looks like other types of dancing. When he imitates our bad flamenco, at different times it could be breakdancing, reggae or bored rock band dancing.

I feel like I am learning a ton. The way he dances is so different from anyone I've learned with before. The other day we learned a Farruco classic - just a little piece. He explained about how Farruco once danced this in some sort of famous show. Today he mentioned a Paco de Lucia show where Paco started with a different palo (style of song) than what was planned and the adjusting that had to be done - how you can adjust footwork from one style to another.

This is a video of Farruco dancing, with guitar and singing of several other flamenco giants:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR4IAOGmxXA&feature=related

I have one friend. She is Russian and her name is Elena. She's been here several times, and is on a winter break from her work in the tourism industry, which slows down in Moscow in January. A warm person whose expression of genuine emotional response to several professional performers managed to break through their jadedness and connect her with them. One of these people has become her teacher and she told me about a visit to Isabel's house. Isabel is gitano, of course, and everyone in her family is flamenco. There are 11 dogs, and I couldn't quite manage to understand whether the one Elena mentioned specifically was the duck of the house or the dog of the house, but whoever it was had a very flamenco way of carrying themselves, as demonstrated by Elena, with a proud sideways glance. They apparently worked on some footwork in the house, and a thumping noise went along with them. Elena said the rabbit was in compas.