Belen Maya and her flamenco

"Belen Maya's company" presented "Dibujos" (Pictures) in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. It was amazing - I like flamenco a lot.
It was an interesting set of different pieces of music and dance. The music is by the flamenco guitarist Jose Luis Rodriguez, who was playing the guitar in "Dibujos".
Belen uses traditional, classic flamenco dance altogether with modern influences. It was like a dialogue between the guitar and her dance. And it made me sit and stare, with no moves, it grasped my attention. Flamenco is always very powerful, like a huge bird, majestic eagle who starts beating his wings at the edge of a high cliff. You see the sea waves below him, the enormous sky above him, the free space between them, and you feel his desire. Sometimes to stay, sometimes to fly calmly, sometimes to fly fast and risky. And most of the times all this at the same time.
The quality of the pictures is very poor, it was hard to take good ones with my camera.



La Tremendida, the singer:

Something

This is a little something, lyrics from "Budha Bar" compilation, that illustrate very precisely my attitude towards love. Not that I am not able to express it in my own words, but when it is already done, why not use it ;)

A lover knows only humility, he has no choice.

He steals into your alley at night, he has no choice.

He longs to kiss every lock of your hair, don't fret, he has no choice.

In his frenzied love for you, he longs to break the chains of

his imprisonment, he has no choice.

A lover asked his beloved,

Do you love yourself more than you love me?

Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live for you.

I've disappeared from myself and my attributes,

I am present only for you.

I've forgotten all my learnings,

but from knowing you I've become a scholar.

I've lost all my strength, but from your power I am able.

I love myself...I love you.

I love you...I love myself.

I am your lover, come to my side, I will open the gate to your love.

Come settle with me, let us be neighbors to the stars.

You have been hiding so long, endlessly drifting in the sea of my love.

Even so, you have always been connected to me.

Concealed, revealed, in the unknown, in the un-manifest.

I am life itself. You have been a prisoner of a little pond,

I am the ocean and its turbulent flood. Come merge with me,

leave this world of ignorance. Be with me, I will open the gate to your love.

I desire you more than food or drink

My body, my senses, my mind, hunger for your taste

I can sense your presence in my heart

although you belong to all the world

I wait with silent passion for one gesture, one glance from you

Et si je t'aime, prends garde a toi!

Last night I and two girlfriends we went to see "Carmen" at the Sofia Opera.
I know that the National Opera is not very good (and the National Ballet is straightforwardly a real disaster) but we don't have any other chance to listen to operas so there we went.
Carmen is my favourite opera ever. I have seen it many times and I love the music. In my opinion the art of opera combines music and theatre so I pay attention to the acting skills of the singers. Carmen wasn't good. She didn't look well, she wasn't beautiful, I didn't like her voice and she just didn't make me believe in the kind of love she feels. So I was disappointed. Not to mention strange decor and costume ideas (who thought it's good to combine red, orange and pink??), poor ballet-dancers, fat Don Jose... Escamillo was great - both look and voice. Michaella sang quite good but I just can't stand this character.
One advantage is that compared to other National Operas our is very cheap. And as said above I want to see not only hear the opera (this means I'm not keen on buying opera CDs. At least not much.) So I have no choice for the moment.
We usually go out Saturday evening - theatre and then dinner. sometimes piano bar afterwards. Hopefully the music of Carmen is so brilliant that we went out in good mood. But next time we're going to try to see some musical. Hair for example. I have the feeling I'll need iron nerves...