About Sanae Kitada

My Philosophy of flamenco

I hold our performance every other year, because it will be too hard for me and pupils if I hold it more often. The lessons are not only for stages but also for each progress. I don’t want to be pushed for time to choreograph for performance. I do want pupils to dance for themselves, so I’ve been adhered to this interval. It is not so easy for women who lived in Tokyo come from provinces to take lessons in dancing. I know the fact because I myself was a typical woman come to Tokyo from the local area. In addition, it must be the burden for them to pay much money for costumes and everything for performance every year. There are so many pupils in my classes who live in Tokyo supporting themselves.

Confront with your own impossibility

I might be strict with my pupils. There is no friendly mood in my lessons. Concentration is our motto in the classes. I don’t like the seniority system, so I prefer the system that pupils who had worked hard can step up earlier than others.
The flamenco lessons are confrontation with ourselves. Everyone has to face with her real figure. It is not so pleasant for us to accept our awkward unskilled dance, but it is usual for everyone that cannot dance skillfully at the beginning. I advise to enjoy the gap between their ideal and their real. The lessons are the way to make impossible to possible. In flamenco, the rhythm is so complex and there are so many regulations. It is usual for the beginners to devoted themselves to soak up everything, so it is sometimes difficult for them to enjoy the lessons.

If you deceive yourself, as if you can dance fairly well, it is inevitable that you will shed the tears of regret in future. So please endure the hardness of the lessons. I always recommend the beginners to take a technical lesson because it gives them certain foundation of dance.

Please throw away your pride, and never be embarrassed to fail. You can try everything in the lesson. If you cannot dance well in the studio, how can you do better on any stages? Every pupil manages to get expenses for the lessons from her salary(not so much), so I do my best as a good teacher to come through her expectations. Dance is the lifelong joy and learning, I believe.

Enjoy the tune, enjoy the rhythm

Most wonderful pleasure of flamenco is how enjoy in just one beat. You can play in any way you like by your foot. Of course, it is important to train the upper half of body to dance elegantly. But I really love the dances which use long complex steps(escobilla), so sharp and rhythmic. I’d like to tell my pupils the joy of using their feet to knock an exciting rhythm on the floor.

It’s my great pleasure to try some new difficult steps in the studio. I think that is the most exciting joy of rhythm. It may owe that I’ve been given so much influence from my first Spanish teacher, Manolete. Another great teacher is Manuel Betanzos. I’ve been so charmed by his wonderful steps, sharpness of the body, and beautiful movements of arms. You know, he is the most favorite flamenco dancer for me now.

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