In the city of Chennai, the images of deities carved in stone, moulded in bronze, adored in temples, are given life in dance and find their voice in song through the Bharatanatyam, the millennia-old classical dance of Tamil Nadu. Continue reading “The Living Deities of the Bharatanatyam: A Photo & Audio Essay”
Dance, a wise man once said, is a terribly inefficient way of getting from A to B. Around and about we go, not aiming for any particular point in the room we sway; in dance, we play. Once this is properly appreciated, you will more fully enjoy the dance, and life, itself. In Spain’s south, they have a wonderfully inefficient way of striding around in circles, a dance they call the sevillanas. Continue reading “Dancing Sevillanas Face-to-Face: The Southern Sound”
Hidden from my sight behind the column of smoke bellowing out from an old fifty-five gallon drum sit the heroes of the night: two big round men with two big round zambombas secured between their two big round thighs. Continue reading “¡Zambomba! Celebrating Christmas in Jerez”
In the golden age of the Persian Empire there was a community of thinkers, Sufis they were called, whose poetry and song celebrating wine, love and spiritualism had them demonised by the pious as heretics, debauchees and drunks. Their Holy Trinity was their lord, love, and leisure, and for them the three could not be separated: if God was love, then love was god, in all its amorous array. Continue reading “Leonard Cohen (1934-2016): A Sufi Maestro”
When I was looking for a good dance teacher to train me up in time for Jerez’s Feria – a week long fair of horse-riding, drinking and dancing – someone said to me “Ahhh! Juan Parra! Yes, you must go see him, he is the best!”, while another declared “Ahh! Si! Juan Parra! There is no other!”. Continue reading “Learning Flamenco with Juan Parra, Maestro and Caballero”
Sunday night at the Guitarron is always a daydream. A glass of cream sherry warms you up after strolling through the air-tunnel alleyways, and a saludo from the team of veteran barwomen welcomes you while the slow strum of a guitar greets you Continue reading “Scenes from Jerez #6: Day of Rest”
In the back streets of Jerez, in the barrio of San Miguel, we found a cave-sized bar filled with cathedral-sized hearts. Continue reading “Scenes from Jerez #2: Alegría (Happiness)”
Lives and Times 