Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Theatre Flamenco, San Francisco

HISTORY

 

 

THEATRE FLAMENCO of San Francisco is the second oldest dance company in the Bay Area (after the SF Ballet). 

 

Founded in 1966 by Adela Clara, Theatre Flamenco was conceived during a flowering of cultural pride in the 60’s that led to the revival of Latino arts; the Company’s purpose was to fill what was then a dearth of Spanish dances in the Bay Area. 

 

Theatre Flamenco was the first American dance company to stage full productions of Spanish dance in the U.S., and is one of the oldest dance companies in California. Every year since its inception Theatre Flamenco has presented a home season of performances in San Francisco. 

 

Over the years, Theatre Flamenco has served as a beacon of cultural pride, a reservoir for the diverse traditions of Spanish culture, and a vital source for artistic collaboration. The Company is dedicated to the research, presentation and education of a full range of Spanish dance including classical, neo-classical, regional, folk and escuela bolera. 

 

In 2008, Theatre Flamenco’s long-time artistic director, Miguel Santos was recognized for his substantial contributions to the Bay Area and to the art of flamenco by the Isadora Duncan Dance Award (IZZIE) whereupon he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award, an award for re-staging MISA FLAMENCO and a Lifetime Achievement Award from World Arts West Ethnic Dace Festival. Mr. Santos continues to work with Theatre Flamenco as a Board Member. 

 

Artistic director Carola Zertuche’s vision for Theatre Flamenco is that of a highly professional company that, in addition to the annual home season, has an annual touring schedule and presents a quarterly community outreach series. Renee Renouf observed in Ballet.co.uk (November 2008): “This is my first Theatre Flamenco season seen since Carola Zertuche assumed artistic direction; the ensemble has shifted from essentially a community-oriented emphasis to one leaning heavily on professional aspirations, limited to five dancers, and doing well by the change…If the changes progress in this spirit, the Bay Area might add a highly polished flamenco ensemble as well as Theatre Flamenco’s longevity to its roster of dance jewels.” 

 

In 2009, Theatre Flamenco’s Juan Siddi and Carola Zertuche have the honor of being nominated for the Isadora Duncan Dance Award (IZZIE’s) Outstanding Achievement in Ensemble Performance for ENCUENTRO Theatre Flamenco 2009 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival weekend 1. The IZZIE award celebrates the richness, diversity, and excellence of the Bay Area dance the video above with Carola Zertuche & Juan Siddi. This dance was a 2009 Nominee for Most Memorable Dance from the Isadora Duncan Dance Committee.

 

 

Carola Zertuche - Artistic Director

 

Carola Zertuche entered her dance career in Mexico City’s Tablao Meson de Triana. Her studies have led her to such renowned teachers as Manolo Vargas; Ciro; Belen Maya; Andrés Marin; Israel Galván; and Jota Master, Pedro Azorín. She has been featured as a soloist in Pilar Rioja’s company “Reflejo Español” and danced with the Maria Elena Anaya Company under the artistic direction of Manolo Vargas. In addition, she has performed with many different companies such as “Los Tarantos “, La Tania’s Teatro Flamenco and Maria Benitez’ Company. Her dance has been showcased in such festivals as the Ethnic Dance Festival in San Francisco; the Santa Barbara Flamenco Festival and the Monterrey Mexico Flamenco Festival. The year 2002 found Carola touring Mexico and the U.S. with the “Sentido Flamenco” Show starring Alegría Suarez, Cano, Mercedes Amaya and Santiago Aguilar; in the same year Carola was nominated for the Isadora Duncan Award in the soloist category. In 2003 she toured with the Maria Benitez Company and presented her first full show of flamenco “El Color del Flamenco”. 

 

Most recently, 2005 witnessed her presentation of “Verde” with the participation of Pastora Galván and Jose Anillo. In October 2005 She danced as a guest Artist with Domingo Ortega Flamenco Company in Los Angeles and Andres Marin Company in the First Flamenco Festival in San Francisco. And in 2007 Carola she become Artistic director of Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco. In 2007and 2008 she was awarded Best Flamenco Classic in San Francisco Magazine and Best flamenco show in SF Weekley. In Spring 2008, she toured the Middle East with the Juan Siddi Flamenco Theater Company and Performed at the Summer Season in Santa Fe.

 

Miguel Santos - Company Manager

Miguel Santos has been with Theatre Flamenco since its inception, serving as principal dancer, choreographer, and since 1987, artistic director. He began his studies in classical ballet with Carmelita Maracci. His Spanish dance training began in Los Angeles in 1954, and soon thereafter he traveled to Spain where he studied with all the major flamenco teachers. Mr. Santos has performed with Teatro la Zarzuela of Madrid and both José Greco’s and Lola Montes’ companies.

While Mr. Santos was performing with the José Greco company, he appeared in the film Around the World in 80 Days. He has performed in La Traviata for the San Francisco Opera and for the Seattle Opera with Beverly Sills. 

Mr. Santos continues to refine his flamenco skills by taking master classes with José Galván, La Quica, Javier La Torre, El Guito, Merche Esmeralda, and José Antonio. A three-time NEA Choreography Fellowship recipient, Mr. Santos’ major works include Misa Flamenco, Concerto No. 2, and Regionalismos, among many others. Mr. Santos has served as a panelist for the California Arts Council. Miguel Santos was also recognized for his substantial contributions to the Bay Area and to the art of flamenco by the Isadora Duncan Dance Award (IZZIE) and was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival for 2008. He currently teaches flamenco at the San Francisco Dance Center and is artist-in-residence at Fair Oaks Elementary School in Redwood City, California.

 

45 Years of Flamenco

 

In November 2012 Theatre Flamenco celebrated four decades of artistic evolution and perseverance with the world premiere performance event “45 Años de Arte Flamenco” (45 Years of Flamenco), a tribute performance that reflects Theatre Flamenco’s creative progression and the evolutionary art of flamenco dance.  The transition in styles – whether it is music, dance, costume and instruments – represent the growth and maturity of the society that connects with this art.

 

Carola Zertuche, Theatre Flamenco’s Artistic Director, confronts the traditional anniversary retrospective from a wide angle. “45 Años de Arte Flamenco” (45 Years of Flamenco) is rooted in the soul of flamenco with an eye on the past, present and most importantly, future. Rather than present highlights from the company’s extensive repertoire, Zertuche featured her world premiere productions, and pay tribute to the traditional dance performance of the founders through a series of original works inspired by Theatre Flamenco’s legacy.

 

Four dancers – Carola Zertuche (Artistic Director), Manuel Gutierrez, Juan Siddi, and Cristina Hall- joined by five musicians and two singers in a remarkable event that looks back at the roots of flamenco to the modern style we enjoy today.  Gypsy singers José Cortes and Kina Mendez was accompanied by percussionist Sudhi Rajagopal, pianist Alex Conde; violinist Treggar Otton; cellist Jesse Wolff.


 

 

To get updates of Theare Flamenco schedules of show visit http://www.theatreflamenco.org or call 415-826-2477

 

Friday, January 13, 2012

Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy for professional adults, educators, medical professionals by Achievement Solutions Hypnotherapy

Do you have bad habits that leave you feeling trapped?

Do you want to be a non smoker?

Do you feel stressed to the max?

Do you want to gain more confidence?

 

Hypnotherapy can help if you have answered “yes” to any of these questions. As an extremely effective solution for numerous issues, Hypnotherapy is proved to be a useful tool to stop smoking, achieve your ideal weight, or overcoming phobias, addictions, low self-esteem, insomnia and many other problems. Imagine the sense of pride and satisfaction you would feel as you accomplish your goals and feel in control of your own destiny!

 

About

 

Achievement Solutions Hypnotherapy has one mission:  to partner with you in order to provide you with self-empowerment tools to help you achieve your goals and have more control over your physical, emotional and spirtual health. As a result YOU help create lasting positive change so you can have the life you dream of.

 

Dori Strait, Ed.S., School Psychologist, Certified Hypnotherapist, is  highly trained in psychology, counseling, and hypnotherapy.  She brings more than 13 years of successful experience as a school psychologist in public school systems in Georgia and Tennessee, where she has helped numerous parents, educators and children overcome obstacles to success.  She will work with you to help you achieve your dreams to stop smoking, achieve your ideal weight, increase self-confidence, eliminate phobias and unnecessary fears, and change bad habits. Ms. Strait stands behind her work and in her ability to empower people to change their lives for the better. She is certified hypnotherapist who is credentialed by the National Guild of Hypnotists.

 

Quit Smoking

Sound Familiar?

I can quit any time, but I don’t want to.

I know I should quit smoking, but I enjoy it

My friends all smoke; it’s unfair that I have to quit

It’s my right to smoke.

If I quit smoking, I know I’ll gain weight.

I want to quit, but don’t have the will power.

 

Have you said any of these things?  How often have you tried to quit smoking?  Are you frustrated because you cannot stop the cravings and become a nonsmoker?  Smoking is one of the toughest addictions to overcome, as tobacco is one of the most addictive substances known to man.  The American Council on Science and Health reports that smoking has become the leader in preventable deaths in the United States.

 

Hypnosis is an effective, safe way to stop smoking.  Hypnosis works through suggestion to your subconscious mind, where habits, both good and bad are housed.  Through hypnosis the desire to smoke is replaced by healthy alternative behaviors.

 

Weight Loss

 

DIETS DON’T WORK                                           

 

Tired of dieting? We all know that diets don’t work long term.   At Achievement Solutions Hypnotherapy, we begin by changing your behavior

 

The second step is to resolve and reprogram the underlying causes of current eating habits and then reinforce and add new empowering thoughts and behaviors to permanently change the way you eat. Using hypnotherapy we remove the emotional reasons for eating and reinforce new behaviors.

 

Weight loss sessions are customized to the individual.  The diet plan we provide is not just another diet.  It is a way to permanently change your habitual ways of interacting with food.

 

Phobias

 

DO YOU FEAR SNAKES, SPIDERS, HEIGHTS, OPEN SPACES?

 

Phobias are very common.  One in nine persons have some type of phobia—more than eleven percent of the population.  One in twenty has panic attacks at some time in their life, often triggered by a phobia.  There is little that conventional medical science can to for phobias, other than prescribing medication.

 

Hypnosis can in many cases alleviate or eliminate the phobia. I have known clients who have had a fear of flying.  In the past they have either avoided flying or gone through agony and a great deal of mental pain when they boarded an aircraft to go on vacation.  A number of these persons spent their vacation time in fear of the return trip.

 

Hypnosis can reverse the fear that caused the phobia through regression therapy to the original event. We use desensitization techniques to dissociate clients from the original trauma.

 

OTHER PROGRAMS

 

Addiction :

 

Millions of people turn to addictions for temporary relief. Are you one? An addiction is a behavior that you consistently give in to, which can bring you more problems than benefits. What is important to understand about addiction is that it is an attempt to fill some sort of emotional need, to fill a void in your life.

 

Some of the most common addictions today include gambling, exercise, work, extreme sports, computer gaming, and shopping. Although most of these are natural and can be a normal part of your daily life, in excess they can cause you real problems.

 

To permanently treat addictions, it is very important to first understand the nature of the emotional void you are trying to fill through your addiction. It must be explore and understood, so you can comprehend the root of your addiction.  Through hypnotherapy you can establish a firm foundation where recovery begins.

 

Pain

 

Do you want to control the pain instead of the pain controlling you?

 

Hypnosis is extremely effective in alleviating pain and has proven to be possibly the best method for managing acute and chronic pain, without the use of drugs.  For example, studies have shown hypnosis to be effective for the relief of pain in pre and post-surgical operations, dental procedures, and in childbirth.

 

With hypnosis we can communicate with the brain to change the message loops by communicating messages of healing to replace old pain signals.

 

Proof Hypnosis Affects the Brain

 

According to Science Daily (April, 2005), brain imaging studies allow a greater understanding of what is happening in the brain when one experiences hypnosis. Sebastian Schulz-Stubner, M.D.,  author of the study, reported, “…it helps to dispel prejudice about hypnosis as a technique to manage pain because we can show an objective, measurable change in brain activity linked to a reduced perception of pain.” For more information, go to healthcare.com or sciencedaily.com, release date: April 8, 2005.

 

Stress 

 

FEELING OVERWHELMED?

 

Are you stressed or anxious most of the time?  If you are, this is an unhealthy state which could lead to many other problems and challenges.  When you experience excessive anxiety and stress, your health, stamina, and ability to sleep could all be affected.  It may feel as if you are just barely getting by in life.

 

Stress also affects your ability to concentrate and to focus.  In relationships, too much stress can negatively affect your personal relationships and your level of joy.  You may have read that scientific research has confirmed the crucial role stress plays in contributing to such disorders as hypertension, stroke, heart attack, ulcers, pain, and cancer, to name a few.

 

To learn more about hypnotherapy visit, http://www.ashypnotherapy.com/ or speak directly to Dori (404) 421-9809.

 

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

English Country Pine & Design provides custom kitchen cabinets, tables & chairs, Traditional & Country Design Furniture, Remodeling and Woodworking in Marin County.

English Country Design was established in 1986 by John Varney, an English Craftsman and Designer with patience and an eye for detail.


In the well-equipped workshop everything from a coffee table to a large kitchen job flows with ease and confidence. A separate building for finishing offers a dust free environment for a variety of eco-friendly finishes.


The showroom is a perfect designing space loaded with samples of wood, hardware, moulding, colors, etc. and lots of pictures to aid in the designing process.


In the showroom you can also purchase:


• Fiddles furniture wax

• Rocky Mountain Hardware

• Sun Mountain Doors

• Michigan Maple Butcher Block tops

• Spekva Scandinavian countertops

• Raymond Enkeboll carvings

• Shaw farm house sinks

• Rohl taps and faucets


Wood Choices


Pine, cherry, oak, maple, alder, teak, mahogany... Don’t be overwhelmed. As you see what you don’t care for, it becomes clearer what you do like. You seek can advise on the pros and cons of different wood species and show you an array of color samples. The showroom is a wonderful and vital aid in assisting with the design process and our multitude of samples are available to be taken home so you can be sure of your selection.


Designing


Designing is John’s strong point. With over 25 years of experience, a trained eye, and a good ear, John first listens to your needs then puts pen to paper and starts to sketch for you. Combining this art with examples in the showroom and a myriad of wonderful photographs your idea becomes a reality. John has lectured for the A.S.I.D. on furniture design addressing how to incorporate modern technologies into a traditional design. He’s also a problem solver for those awkward spaces and can always find the perfect balance between function and aesthetic.


Reclaimed Lumber


Typically, reclaimed timber is obtained from the roof joist or flooring of old buildings which are scheduled to be torn down. Although reclaimed timber is usually more expensive than new wood, its rich character and proven quality make it an attractive choice for the discerning furniture buyer.


By the time it reaches your home, reclaimed timber will have endured decades, if not centuries, of seasoning. Its low moisture content and tight grain make reclaimed timber much more resistant to cupping, cracking, curling, splitting, or twisting than new wood.


Reclaimed timber is available in a wide variety of colors and grain patterns. Every piece is unique in its character, often bearing subtle signs of previous use, and can add instant atmosphere to any room in your home or office. At English Country Design, you can personally select the degree of distressing to best suit your taste.


Lastly, by choosing to have your furniture built with reclaimed timber, you will contribute to saving our old growth forests.


Pine Furniture


Antique pine furniture, as we know it today started in popularity in the late 1960's. Young homemakers not wanting the mass produced melamine cheap furniture turned to the auction rooms and secondhand furniture stores for the old pine furniture that had survived from the previous century. Often covered in many coats of paint, a chest of drawers was a bargain at $10.


First they would strip their newly acquired antique down to bare wood, then polish with Briwax, an inexpensive wax polish with a light brown color and this was the birth of STRIPPED PINE FURNITURE, later to be labeled country pine furniture. The antique trade at the time disowned it, considering it junk furniture and not a fine hardwood antique.


Little did they know because over the following 30 years it grew in popularity and prices rose dramatically and a new cottage industry was born. That $10 chest of drawers would sell for $500 in the 90's.


In England a dresser (or hutch as it's called in America) will differ in style depending on the region of its construction, and named after that region i.e. Cornish dresser, Irish dresser, Welsh dresser, Lincolnshire dresser, Scottish dresser.


Differences may at first appear subtle but once one knows what to look for it becomes obvious, much like seeing a Mercedes, BMW, or Jaguar without the emblem, one would still be able to identify it.


Throughout Britain people were stripping their interior room doors and adding a wax finish as most houses have interior wood work of pine. Still to this day watch and English movie and note the pine doors and pine kitchen furniture.



Visit http://www.englishcountrypine.com/ to see our sample designs. Hours is by appointment only please call first (415) 382 1952 to book for appointment.

Monday, January 2, 2012

SonoMarin HypnoBabies offers Hypnosis for Childbirth, Education and Doula Services in Sonoma and Marin Counties

HypnoBabies is a complete 6 week, child birth education class appropriate for moms birthing in a hospital, birth center or home environment. HypnoBabies Childbirth Hypnosis teaches hypnotic anesthesia techniques used by people who undergo surgery with hypnosis as their only anesthetic. Both of these elements have been carefully designed to work together and the results are truly amazing.


HypnoBabies provides excellent and Complete Childbirth Education. Providing this *Complete Childbirth Education* ensures that my students will not have to take other childbirth preperation classes whose philosophy is so different that it negates what they have learned in our birth hypnosis class. “Pain management and coping skills” are actually opposite of what is learned in HypnoBabies; we teach Pain Elimination by using real hypno-anesthesia.


HypnoBabies also has “Eyes Open Childbirth Hypnosis”, which allows each Hypno-mom to walk and talk and move around freely yet remain very relaxed, fully present, aware and in touch with her body and baby and *completely comfortable while doing so*. Other programs rely on complete immobility for focus and concentration, which can severely impede the progress of labor and the descent and positioning of the baby. An upright, “Eyes Open Childbirth Hypnosis mommy means a faster and easier birthing!


Owner Hattie Engel talks about herself:


“I have been an Occupational Therapist, since 2003, and have worked in many different health care settings. I have two amazing boys who were born in 2008 and 2010, both at Kaiser Santa Rosa. If there is a third child in the future I plan on having a home birth.


What a great experience I had each time I gave birth with the support of an amazing doula that I became a doula to support other women who were birthing. However no matter how magical and peaceful the births I supported were, there was always a lot of pain. I knew that there was a better way. I also knew that the parents who spent a lot of time preparing for childbirth, had more satisfying empowered birth experiences.


What I wanted was a class that not only encouraged the partner to be involved, but that would help couples to grow into their new roles as parents together. So I went in search of different child birth education methods, and while there were many out there, only HypnoBabies offered a complete child birth education prep class with hypno-anesthesia. It was so clear that this class had all the elements that really could help make birthing joyful, calm, and comfortable.”


HypnoBabies Classes


Group classes are limited to five couples to ensure personal attention. Classes meet for six weeks, 3 hours each, for a total of 18 hours (40% more time than other childbirth hypnois methods). Group classes are priced at $400 per couple, which includes18 hours of classroom time, and the HypnoBabies course materials


HypnoDoula Services


Traditional doula training provides the birthing woman with much more physical activity to stay comfortable, while using hypnosis entails much more “going inside” and specific cues that have been programmed subconsciously.


HypnoBabies moms can indeed use upright positions, birth balls and walk if they want to, but this will be for progress if needed or descent and positioning of your baby, and not to maintain comfort. Unless a doula is familiar with all of this, she may not help the woman in the ways she truly needs to give birth using hypnosis.


HypnoBabies Benefits


HypnoBabies’ Complete Childbirth Education includes the following:

  • Staying healthy and low risk
  • Comfort in Pregnancy
  • Detailed Birthing Choices
  • Creating Informed Consent
  • An in-depth Nutrition and Exercise program
  • Avoidance of Toxic Substances
  • Optimum Fetal Positioning
  • Turning a Posterior Baby
  • Stages of Labor
  • Anatomy and Physiology of Birth
  • Prenatal Parenting
  • Avoiding Back Labor with the Abdominal Lift and Tuck
  • Baby Kick Counting
  • Belly Mapping
  • The Risks, Benefits and Alternatives to Common Labor Interventions
  • Birth Empowerment Skills
  • Birth Plans & Baby Plans
  • Touring the Birth Facility
  • Doula and Midwifery information
  • Avoiding Induction and Cesarean Section
  • Delayed Cord Clamping and other Baby Kindness information
  • Using hypnosis for 3rd stage
  • Comprehensive and detailed birth preparation and labor support training for Birth Partners
  • A 28 page Quick Reference booklet for labor
  • Birthing Rehearsals using HypnoBabies techniques in class.
  • Information on New Baby Care, Breastfeeding and Postpartum care for our moms.

To learn more about Doula services from SonoMarin Hypnobabies and Hattie Engel visit http://www.sonomarinhypnobabies.com/ or call 415-203-1867.