The "Flamenco Experience"

Ok, and now the "Flamenco Experience". Its really curious to see the interest this dance provoke specially to the non spanish people... Is because of the typical spanish topic, or is it because of a secret human force? I leave you to decide the answer and while thinking of it you can watch the two videos at the end of the post, that are based on the flamenco and sign language day of the ATHENS Workshop Working WIth Hands.

In the first one we practice the basic hand´s movements on flamenco like wrist rotations, extension, flexion and movement of the five fingers... we also moved the shoulders and it was really funny....

The second one is an improvisation participants made just taking their previous sign language conversation and repeat it adding the flamenco movements they just learned...  

It’s interesting to observe that participants’ body attitude turned out to be more relaxed, open and spontaneous than it was before. Their facial expression showed what was also confirmed verbally; they were confident and satisfied...

Special thanks to Tania for offering us this special session of flamenco dance!

 

Poker´s Body Language

First we´ll try to make an introduction on poker´s vocabulary.

Hand: One round of play or the player's cards

Tell: A conscious or unconscious signal, for instance, a gesture or the way someone looks, that reveals some information about the opponent's hand.

The uncounscious tells: An unconscious tell is the one that somebody makes when he feels unobserved, or does not know he is doing it. An example is covering the mouth with his hand, particularly if done frequently. This can be an indication that he does not have a strong hand.

The  deliberate tell: Is where somebody intentionally tries to convey something. He may tell you a story, so to speak, and you must figure out whether what he is saying is true or not.

In this blog we are interesting on hands(literary) so, what does a hand in front of the mouth means?

The experts say:  If someone has concealed his mouth with his hand, he often holds a weak hand - he wants to hide his emotions. In a sense, he does not want his expression to betray his hand.

Ok, now you can watch the video, and if you want to know more about Poker´s body language this is our source. 

 

Without View

Without view, just leaving our hands to look out for the clues, in the very beginning of the course, we lost the sense of sight to approximate each other only by touch, pressure, caress, handle, palpate. Touch produces different sensory information to that provided by the eye... it’s not just reactive but also active (Sherrington, C. 1906 The Integrative Action of the Nervous System, en Sennet, R. 2099. El Artesano, Barcelona: Anagrama; 189). By disabling the sense of sight we took under concern other facts of recognition such as weight, softness, warmth and movement that usually are not relevant at a first contact, and we considered hands as the basic instrument for exploring the unknown. 

 

Re-re-repeat...

"Repeat again and again an action is stimulating when it is organized looking ahead. The substantial thing of the routine can change, metamorphose, improve, but the emotional compensation lies in the personal experience to repeat. This experience is nothing strange, we all know it: is rhythm. Already present in the human heart contractions, the artisan has extended it in his hand and eye."

Richard Sennet  "The Craftsman"

Knitting...

"According to a commonly used measure, to produce a master carpenter or a musician it takes 10,000 hours of experience. Several studies show that,as the craftsman progresses, his ability improves

Let's Sign and Flamenco Day

“The study of deaf shows us that much of what is distinctively human in us - our capacities for language, for thought, for communication and culture - do not develop automatically in us, are not just biological actions, but are, equally, social and historical in origin; that are a gift - the most wonderful of gifts - from one generation to another. We see that Culture is as crucial as Nature.” (Oliver Sacks, Seeing Voices)

Sound Hands

Learning About Poker´s Body Language

hold me to hold you

Well all you have to do, is try and please me That’s all I want from you, come on and squeeze me I need you bad, it makes you glad So give me your hand, I’ll hold it tight / Rolling Stones-Give me your hand (and I’ll hold it tight) Lyrics

APPROACHING LAYERS THROUGH HANDS

First Experience: Hands Without Seeing

Second Experience: Hands Without Hearing

Third Experience : Atlas