Friday 10 February 2012

Flamenco Dancing is to a Man's Buns as Water is to a Cup of Tea – HOT*


So as part of my birthday present, my mother took me to the theatre. I hadn’t been in ages so naturally, I was excited. We saw a rendition of Carmen, preformed by a Flamenco dance company. It was amazing! The spirit of flamenco dancing was a perfect mold to Carmen’s fiery and sensual personality. The women dancers were insanely talented and beautiful with their hair pulled back, and their long flowing skirts, and wraparound shawls. Their movements were crisp and intricate combined with lightning fast percussive footwork.  And then there were the male dancers with their tight, tight outfits and superior glutei maximi. *stops to fan self*

Ok, so there was a point I wanted to touch make here… yes, so what I found interesting was that while I was drooling observing the dancers, I noticed each had a distinct persona and I had a lot of fun naming them. For instance, there was The Rooster. You know the one I’m talking about, the short dancer with the hooked nose that compensates by sticking his chest out further then the others. He was by far the best at the flamenco strut.  Then there was Tarzan (my favorite). He traded his vine swinging moves for some flamenco feet stomping. He was the tall guy with the broad upper body, shoulder length dark hair and angular jaw line. He also had deep V shaped eyebrows that gave him that savage look… There was also The Gentlemen with the walking cane. He was simply bad ass. Every time he preformed, he did so with the cane, pounding it on the floor to rapid beats and wielding it through the air like a deadly weapon. During the zombie apocalypse, I want this guy on my side.  And then of course, there was the dancer with The Hair. He portrayed Don José, the guy who kills Carmen at the end. He was your typical male lead, good looking guy with the great hair. I’d add that he had great buns but frankly, they all did. Anyway, I’m not going to name them all, but you get the idea. What was unfortunate however, was the lack of personalities in the women dancers. They were all beautiful, sensual but all cast in the same dye. All except for fiery red Carmen.  I guess that can be attributed to the story of Carmen itself, but still, it would have been fun to see the men pair up with their matching counterparts. When I write, (holy transition Batman, give me a break it’s 1:30 am) I want to be able to create characters like these flamenco dancers. I want characters who step out onto the page with crisp, distinct personalities. How do I do that? With great buns dialogue, but also through the use of physical tags and attributes that  set them apart from the rest. But there's a whole lot more you can do to create great characters. 

So how about you? How do you all make your characters unique?

9 comments:

  1. Layers. Lots and lots of layers. Strengths and flaws. Lots of dimension.

    Great post! And Happy Birthday!

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  2. This was a fun post. :) I like how you find your inspiration!

    I have to agree with Alison: Layers, strengths and flaws...You have to make your characters REAL.

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  3. Hi Alison and Vicki, thanks for your input and I agree. Strengths and flaws make a character real and distinct. I think I'm ok giving my characters flaws but I have a harder time bringing out their strengths.....you've given me much to think about here ladies! (:

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  4. Tut tut... you women! Give a guy long hair, good looks, tight buns and you go all to pieces! So weak... pfft. ;)

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  5. at least ONE must be funnier'n hell :P

    w/o levity, wot's there left... to life? ;) lol

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  6. Maybe it could help to visualize a character completely by drawing them on paper. I know you're an artist so you can do it! Sometimes it helps me to just get it all out there on a canvas and make them real so maybe this strategy will work for you. Then the words may flow a little easier because you'll be inspired.

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  7. You know Elise, I don't know. You have read some of my stuff and I know that you have liked it, but do you find the characters unique? I can see them all in my minds eye. Every detail and flaw, but whether I have got that down on the page, I couldn't tell you. Tell you what, when I win the Booker Prize for Ficton, maybe I'll be all worldly wise and have an answer!

    Really enjoyed the post about you ogling dancers bums too. ;)

    Cheers lovely,

    W.

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  8. You had me at "Men's Buns," Elise. Also; what does it say about me that the very idea of Mr. Gentleman-Cane-Dude gets me weak in the...knees? Never mind; I don't want to know. ;-)

    Thanks for participating in my blogfest!
    Some Dark Romantic

    ReplyDelete

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