Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company - 30th Anniversary

 And so here is the start of another week and another Monday blog post. How are you and yours?  

We celebrated Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company and School of Dance's 30th anniversary on Sunday with a mini Fiesta in the courtyard of the Bunbury Art Gallery. It hardly seems like five years since I posted about their 25th Anniversary here - Ole-celebration-of-25-years-of-flamenco

Due to the Covid restrictions this year, we had a very different year of dancing with almost two terms of no dance classes. But with our 30th anniversary coming up we were determined to put on a show - albeit much smaller and with only family and a few close friends. However it still proved to be a wonderful afternoon of celebration. 

Unfortunately I didn't dance due to a cold I came down with last week, but I was very happy to be able to go along and take photos (whilst socially distancing), a few of which I will share here. With the late afternoon heat in the courtyard we certainly felt like we were in Spain! 

We were also treated to Gabby from the South West Opera Company singing Habanera from Carmen, Steve Hensby playing acoustic flamenco guitar and Montse and Cesar from Food with Passion South West cooking authentic Spanish paella for us. Montse teaches Spanish cooking classes, so she knows her stuff. Yum! 

We would have dearly loved to have more of our supporters join in the festivities, however, it has been a tough year for everyone, and Covid restrictions meant we had to keep numbers small, and the show as low key as possible. We will be back in 2021 with more for our amazing friends and supporters. A huge THANKYOU to everyone who contributed to our Anniversary celebrations, and danced with us and supported us over the last 30 years.

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Dancing in the dark

A celebration of 25 years of Flamenco dancing in the South West

Weekend of art and dance

Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company

Instead of falling numbers of Covid cases it seems numbers are rising around the world. I do hope you and yours are staying safe. I have had a cold this past week, but I know it is just a cold, as we have no community spread here in Western Australia. I feel so lucky to be here - it feels very safe in our corner of the world - though I know it is dangerous to become complacent. Perhaps that is how I caught an early summer cold? 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this little look at our 30th Anniversary celebrations. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. 

Please stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask if required and have a wonderful week.  

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

All Seasons 
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf
Sharon's Sovenirs 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.
Thankful Thursday 
Der-Natur-Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit
 Month end link up @ Live love craft me

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Dancing in the dark - Sol y Sombra

Hi everyone, it has been a busy week last week as I danced in two sections of the Bunbury Eisteddfod with my dance group - Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company and School of Dance. 
We were awarded first place in both our sections. 

Here are  a few photos....though none taken by me :) 

Wednesday - Over 25s theatrical style troupe -  dancing to Ricky Martin's la Copa de la Vida - a fun dance

my daughter in law and me

And Saturday night -   the flamenco dance Bulerias in the "Any age dance - National Troupe". This dance has no music, just keeping the rhythm and timing with clapping (palmas) and footwork. A more serious and precision dance. 

We just love these colourful sparkly shawls which were simply wrapped around our black leotard and black flamenco skirts.  And of course, add flowers and sparkly ear-rings!

These are all back stage photos as unfortunately they do not allow photos to be taken of the performances. 

That is our teacher and choreographer, Nicole, second from the left. 
I am 4th from left. 

 And our second teacher, wardrobe mistress and makeup artist - Susie, first on left.

 A huge thank you to my flamenco family and to Delia Dillon, our newest dance company member, for these images. All phone photos - I love the editing she has done on this last image. 

I've been a part of Sol y Sombra since 2012 after my daughter-in-law invited me to join. In 2015 we held our 25th anniversary celebration. I blogged about it here Ole - Celebration of 25 years of flamenco
 
Learning flamenco has been both daunting but wonderful too being with this amazing, kind, generous, talented and supportive group of ladies and our one male, Peter. 
I thank them all for their support and encouragement over the years. Flamenco is certainly not the easiest dance form to learn. And I didn't go to dance classes when I was young. I wish I had found flamenco in my 20s or 30s, not my 50s! 

Any form of dancing is great for exercise, co-ordination, memory, balance, timing, confidence, and personal growth being put out of your comfort zone when we perform on stage. And it is fun!

Do you dance? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. Never think you are too old to start. My dance teacher also teaches an adult ballet class.  If this old bird, me, can learn, so can you!

 Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Our World Tuesday

Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

April Randoms

Hi everyone, it has been a few weeks since I last posted and it seems like life has been speeding up for me during April, and doesn't look like slowing down over the next three or four weeks. There has been beautiful sunny days but with a slight chill in the early morning and late afternoon air as Autumn comes on us in the south west of Western Australia. Perfect for getting out and about.

Before the busyness descended on us we went camping and bush walking for a couple of days at Potter's Gorge at Wellington Dam near Collie. It is a WA Department of Parks and Wildlife campsite. So peaceful, especially if you go early in the week (not school holidays or public holidays). Autumn and spring are the best time for bush walking. More about Potter's Gorge in a future post.

A couple of weekends ago visited my sister and her family in the wheatbelt, where they have started seeding their grain crops.

 And visited the resting places of my mother and father, and a quiet country church

On our last night we enjoyed the yabbie catch fresh from their farm dam.

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon the first weekend in April we enjoyed the Ferguson Valley Music Trail presented by Philharmonic South West. We watched their performance at Green Door Winery along with lunch and wine tasting. Nicole and Susie from Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company joined in their piece Boccherini's Fandanco for Guitar, Strings and Castanets. 
A perfect way to spend a sunny autumn afternoon.

Over the last month or so I've been experimenting with eco-dyeing with Australian eucalypt leaves inspired by my friend Jane Flower from Folios and Fibre. I am starting to get some good results. So exciting when you unwrap the bundle after a couple of weeks "curing" and see this!  I'm sure there will be more of this as time goes by.  These are printed on silk scarves.

Six things you should know about eucalypts

 We also were invited out to a friend's vineyard in the Ferguson Valley to pick olives last weekend. This is a first for us. So now the long processing begins. Wish us luck! Does anyone have a good recipe with the "preserving" after the salt and water process?

 In between all this I am reading Stories from a Suburban Road by T.A.G. Hungerford. Stories from his childhood in the 1920s-1930s in semi-rural South Perth. I am really enjoying the read, as my parents lived in South Perth for about 40 years and it certainly wasn't semi-rural with bush, gravel roads, and cows and horses in suburban blocks!

 He mentions buying vegetables from the Chinese Gardens and here is a pic I found on the net at Picture South Perth collection

 That is Perth city you can see dimly in the background on the other side of the Swan River.












Especially I am grateful for precious time spent this Easter weekend with family, and the welcoming of my sister's first grand-daughter. After three sons and three grandsons for her and two sons and two grandsons for me, it's a girl! 
 

How is your April shaping up? Perhaps you'd like to tell us about it in your comments. 
I hope those of you who celebrate have had a very happy Easter. And for all I wish for peace in the world. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
 

Mosaic Monday  
Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 
The Lovin' Life Team over at Lifestyle Fifty
The Weekly Postcard 

Sol-y-Sombra and Flamenco at the Multi-Culutral Festival Bunbury

This last weekend in Western Australia we have had a Labour Day long weekend - 28 February to 2 March.

One of the events over the weekend where I live was the Multi-Cultural Festival held on Saturday evening. This is a family based free event showcasing cultural dances from around the world representing the fabulous mix of cultures who live in our region. There was also a fusion of wonderful international tastes sold at the various food stalls around the event.

I am involved with the Sol-y-Sombra Spanish Dance Company and School of Dance. This year they danced the "Fire Dance" at the festival.  Below is my favourite image from the night. This is our teacher Nicole. Don't you just love the swirl of those "fire" shawls?

Please click on "read more" to keep reading and seeing more!

Weekends of art and dance

I have had two lovely weekends of art and dance and another one on the way next weekend.

A couple of weekends ago I was involved with Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company & School of Dance (of who I am a member) when they performed flamenco dancing and held portrait poses for a life drawing afternoon at Jacksons Drawing Supplies in Busselton on Sunday as part of the Margaret River Regional Open Studios arts program. 
We were made very welcome - it was a wonderful event - and everyone, dancers, artists and photographers thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.
Many of the artists took photos during the performance so they can draw or paint pictures later.

I am updating Sol-y-Sombra's facebook page, so I took lots of photos, and then joined in for the last two dances.  Here is their Facebook link if you would like to take a look - Sol-y-Sombra on Facebook

This is our beautiful principal dancer and teacher Nicole performing an amazing dance with castanets.  

  To keep reading and see more pics, please click on "read more" .....

Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company

Last year I  started Spanish Flamenco dance lessons at the Sol y Sombra Spanish Company & School of Dance - a group of dancers with ages ranging from early 30s to 70 who love to dance. On Saturday night, along with other cultural groups, we performed at the free family concert at the Bunbury Multicultural Festival (Western Australia). The Multicultural group is a wonderful supporter for people of other nationalities coming to live and work in our city and the night is a fabulous evening of entertainment which showcases the diverse multi-cultural environment in which we live.  I love hearing the music and seeing the dances of other nationalities.

I danced in one of the three dances that Sol y Sombra performed. It was my first full scale public performance. Flamenco is certainly not easy to learn and I sincerely thank the ladies and gent at Sol y Sombra for their amazing support to me as a newbie dancer. Sol y Sombra put on a fantastic  performance of three different types of Flamenco styles which were well received by the crowd.                               'Fantastico'

When I was a child I wished I could go to ballet and tap classes like my friend Anna. And now many years later I am going to dance classes. Sometimes it takes a while to get the things you wish for.
Here we are at dance class in the dance room at the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery - 

Below are two mosaics of images from rehearsal last week when we were practising on the stage where we performed - that is my teacher Nicole in the second set of images. And yes Pete does dress up for the performance. The red lace skirts and gold collars are stunning. 

All these images were taken with manual settings on my camera - another new skill I have just started to learn!

Below is an image from Saturday night. When my teacher saw the pic on Facebook she asked me how I managed to get a camera on stage. LOL. This pic was taken during the first dance which I wasn't a part of - the Overture from Carmen - very dramatic. I was sitting on stage as one of the "cafe" people stage props. Tricky to get a snap when you are trying to not be noticed doing so!

And a quote from Ruth Tearle - 

"Harmony is about being with people who play your kind of tune".

Have you taking up a new skill this past year? Do you like to dance? 
Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this little look into dance practise. I look forward to hearing from you.

I am linking up to Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday and Travel Photo Thursday - please click on the links to see the wonderful work of other contributors

Have a wonderful week. 

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Spanish dancing
 A weekend of lunch, gardens, music and dance

Summer December flowers, Western Australia

It is December, and summer is here, although with last week's torrential rain and thunderstorms it didn't feel like it. This pic I took through the windscreen of the car parked at the beach - a fence, grassy sand-dune, ocean and sky! I rather liked the pattern on the window.

But it is summer, so I share with you some summer colour from around my garden -

and some native flowers that I have growing in my garden - the reds, greens and yellows have a Christmassy feel

and our summer crops - the last lemons are clinging to the tree, the grapes are starting to fill out, the tomatoes are ripening, and the apricots whilst still green are starting to colour and will be ready to pick for Christmas - then it will be time again to preserve some and make apricot jam. Have you tried fresh apricot slices in a tossed summer salad - delicious!

Lavender is my favourite garden flower. I have photographed it many many times.
One of my lavender bushes is covered in flowers. The bees are loving it. 
I was standing in the kitchen late one afternoon a week or so ago, looking out the window while I was cooking dinner, and when I saw this magic light, I turned off the stove, and ran outside to photograph it.  Natural late afternoon light, back lit from setting sun.

This is the moon flower - the flowers only flower for one night, so you need to be looking out for when it is going to open. Beautiful isn't it? I lit the flower with a torch to capture this image.

Epiphyllum Oxypetalum or Dutchman’s-Pipe Cactus, is a large floral variety of cactus native from Mexico to Brazil.

  This past year I have been learning Flamenco Spanish dancing at the Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company in Bunbury. We have classes once a week in the dance room at the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery. Flamenco is not easy to learn, and I practise a lot! It certainly keeps the mind and body active learning the intricate steps and patterns, hearing the music, and coordinating hands, arms and feet and trying to remember to smile! On Saturday evening we held a performance at the Red Mill Store in Bunbury for family and friends. It was my first performance - nerve racking.

It was a wonderful evening. I especially thank Nicole and the wonderful dancers at Sol y Sombra for their support, encouragement and friendship. And hugs also to my fellow beginner dancer Emila - we made it and we did ok! I am looking forward to when classes start again next year already!

No - none of these ladies in the pic below is me! I took this image from the side lines. Next time I will have to organise a spot for me to take pics during the dances I am not in.! (smile.....)
sometimes a dancer....always a photographer.....!...

To learn more about Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company please click on the link here - Sol-y-Sombra-Spanish-Dance-Company-School-of-Dance

Now that the dance performance is over, I now need to start doing my Christmas cooking!

Have a wonderful week. How are your Christmas preparations going? Have you learnt a new skill this past year?

I am linking up to Mosaic Monday at the Little Red House. Please click on the link to see the work of Mary and other wonderful contributors - Mosaic Monday

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December Summer Colour
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Spanish Flamenco dancing