I just returned from seeing Eva Yerbabuena dance flamenco at UCLA's Royce Hall. It was a wonderful show! There is something so appealing to me about flamenco. I don't know the history or culture of it (I think it was started by gypsies), but it seems to have so many qualities of other forms of dance and music. Yet flamenco is totally its own form of dance and music. There are elements of tap, clogging, belly dancing, modern dance, even some vague similarities to Hawaiian dance. And the singing style is somewhat reminiscent of the singing I heard cantors chant in Synagogue growing up. Flamenco has all these elements and combines them with one main ingredient - emotion. It is all about emotion - raw emotion. The show tonight was full of emotion. And Eva's tapping was pretty amazing! There were four male dancers as well, who were all great. And four singers and four musicians. Pretty simple, yet pretty powerful. It is great to step out of one's life and watch artists in action. At one point, I was very aware of the audience, and the fact that there were several hundred people watching a few people onstage, expressing themselves musically. It is kind of surreal if you think about it. All these people gathering to watch others move their bodies and make sounds. I guess it comes back to art, and the enriching experience it can bring. As I've said several times before, thank God for artists!

Speaking of artists, what shocking and sad news about the death of Heath Ledger. He was a truly great actor. I had the honor of meeting him very briefly a couple of years ago (along with Michelle Williams), and he was incredibly soft spoken and nice (and surprisingly tall!). A photo was taken (not a great one) and I'll post it along with this blog. He will be missed by many.

And finally, an update on my health - since people are asking. I've finally been getting out of the house this past week, and my energy is coming back slowly. I started vocalizing one week ago today, and my voice is coming along slowly. My vocal chords are still a bit swollen, but I'm doing exercises to stretch them and regain their flexibility. My teacher thinks I'll be singing again in a few weeks. I hope so. I truly feel a loss not being able to sing. While I wouldn't want to repeat this experience, I must say that it has brought me many thoughts and understandings I would never have had, had I not lost my voice. One of the major ones is realizing what a gift it is to sing. I hope I never take it for granted. A "thank you" to all who sent messages, comments and emails. You have no idea how it warmed my heart to read your messages. It made a huge difference during my illness.

Stay tuned for more updates, including the release date of the new CD!

 

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