Flamenco guitarist booked in Suffolk.

I am very happy to accept bookings in Suffolk to play flamenco guitar.
Sometimes clients hire me as a soloist and other times they prefer a show with a flamenco dancer.
If you are considering booking a flamenco guitarist in Suffolk, I do hope this post gives an idea of my playing.

Video of Flamenco Guitar and Castanets

In the video above I am accompanied by three castanet players.
The piece is called Guajira and is of South American origin.
It is a delightful celebratory piece and I am very fortunate to work with these wonderful castanet players.
Not all of my pieces are like this.
But I hope that this video helps to give a first impression of one of the flamenco styles I offer.

You can see various examples of my playing as a soloist or with castanets and dance at my videos page.

Additionally, you can hear several of my pieces in the sound clips.

Flamenco Guitarist Suffolk Wedding

I have just played flamenco guitar for a wedding in Suffolk.
The atmosphere was so happy and inspiring for me that I want to write a little about it.
I noticed that there were wedding guests from many different countries: France, Spain, Italy, Britain and others.

Very early a Spanish lady who is a professional flamenco dance teacher from Madrid approached me.
Without too many words very soon she danced some steps of the flamenco style called Alegrías.
Then Fandangos and Bulerías. All this on the inspiration of the moment.

About an hour later I was playing a more gentle flowing style and two people improvised a few steps like a waltz.
Throughout, I did notice some people stop to watch and listen to my playing.
Maybe they are guitarists or maybe they just appreciate music.

The thing is that when I see people enjoying my flamenco guitar playing, I feel inspired and I think I play better and take the risk to improvise more. Consequently, I feel very happy to play for people.

A word about the venue. It was at Butley Priory, close to Woodbridge, A12 a little past Ipswich.
Actually, I have played there before, see the private party below. It is an atmospheric venue with beautiful grounds.
The team are really organised and had absolutely everything place.
This makes things go very smoothly which again helps my performance.

October was beginning to lead into Autumn but it was a lovely sunny day.

Spanish Birthday Party, Suffolk

This engagement was for a Spanish lady who wanted to celebrate her birthday in a very Spanish style.
She was familiar with the flamenco repertoire and could dance a little flamenco.

Because of this, I immediately understood that my flamenco dancer should be the star of the show.
On that occasion I was very fortunate to engage the services of Rocio, a superb flamenco dancer from Almería, Andalusia.
Rocio is creative and fresh in her dancing style.
Yet at the same time she communicates a very authentic flamenco passion.
For her first dance she started without guitar.
She used a combination of finger clicking and precise footwork to build an intriguing percussive rhythm.
Rocio had captured the audience’s attention.
From there she performed a wide and varied selection of flamenco dances.
Some of the dance choreography was very impressive but other dances were fun or even filled with suspense.
Of course, I did play a few flamenco guitar solos and some duets with castanets.

This was a magical event.

The location was a very atmospheric big house called Butley Priory.
There was a fantastic open fire creating warmth and atmosphere.
The wooden floor was ideal for flamenco footwork.
It helped to give a good powerful dry sound with just a little natural reverb.

Solo Flamenco Guitarist Bury St Edmunds

This event was completely different to the flamenco dance above but equally wonderful.

A British couple had lived and worked in Spain in their youth.
They returned to Britain to have a family.
Now that their children had grown and left to make their own lives the couple were going to retire to Spain.
Hence the event was their goodbye party to all their friends in Britain.
During their working years in Spain, they had developed a keen interest in flamenco.
As such, they felt that solo flamenco guitar would complement their event perfectly.
Needless to say I was very pleased to play for them and their guests.
Often I have to be careful to make sure that the natural powerful projection of my flamenco guitar does not overshadow the event.
But on this occasion they really wanted to hear very real flamenco.
I did not have to tone it down and could fully express the true nature of each piece.