senem BALABAN - flamenco DANCER

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THE HOUSE OF INSPIRATION

If you think enough of a topic, the reality about it will reveal to you at some point. If you explore enough, you’ll find the best solution to a seemingly tough problem. If you endeavor enough, you can create amazing things with your art/craft/job.

Because work is the key to the house of inspiration. The act of work may be thinking, exercising, trying, exploring, asking, observing, consulting, writing, reading, meditating and whatever we think that may work for our aim or help us blaze a trail.

The qualification “enough” which in this context goes parallel with determination, patience and intensive desire may be thought as the front garden of the house of inspiration. You have to pass through the garden before you try the key on the door of the house. Otherwise you’ll at best force the wrong door in vain and give up quickly. -I’ve tried but couldn’t make it. -But have you tried enough? Are you determined to achieve your dream, do you have the patience that will encourage you not to give up easily and do you have the desire that will always keep the fire inside you burning?

We should attach importance to work for the things we really -but really- want to learn/achieve/understand, things, we think, are good for us to do. We should work. Not extremely but enough… I’ve been trying this for long years now and I’ve seen that it works, that I can proceed in life very solidly this way and I recommend everybody.

I wish you all plenty of inspiration!

” SENEM BALABAN

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—-UNTEACHABLE SIDE OF FLAMENCO—-

FOOT WORK is the ALPHABET of flamenco. You cannot write without knowing the letters.

BODY TECHNIQUE is the GRAMMAR. It is necessary to build up a meaningful sentence.

FLAMENCO, on the other hand, is something much larger than all of them. FLAMENCO is LITERATURE!

Technique is the teachable part of flamenco. What cannot be taught is the part that has to be acquired in time by livig with it, internalizing its culture. Just like you cannot teach someone the accent of the foreign language she/he’s trying to learn, also you cannot teach him/her ‘being flamenco’.

However, the characteristic of flamenco music drags a dancer to do certain gestures (if she/he contains the flamenco culture within -which can only happen by listening/watching/observing much, constantly thinking on it, trying/applying it and keeping himself/herself close to flamenco-) and that makes flamenco the best teacher.

” Senem Balaban