Benito García on NHK: Spanish for Travel and Flamenco | 2023
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Beni on NHK Eテレ
On Thursday, January 26, 2023, from 11:30 to 11:50 p.m. Japan time (Asia/Tokyo), teacher Benito García appeared on NHK Eテレ’s “旅するためのスペイン語,” a program about learning Spanish for travel.
That season of “旅するためのスペイン語” was set in Andalusia. January focused on Granada: the first week featured the Alhambra; the second, Alfacar, a village known for its bread; and the third, the guitar workshop of master craftsman Francisco Manuel Díaz.
The fourth week reviewed the month’s lessons and included a segment interviewing people from Andalusia. January’s guest was Benito García, a flamenco dancer from Córdoba, Andalusia, who works in Japan.
Although the interview lasted only about five minutes, the article describes it as a detailed account of what led Benito García to begin flamenco at seven, make his professional debut at fourteen, perform with one of Japan’s leading flamenco dance companies at sixteen, and eventually make Japan his base.
Benito speaks Japanese fluently, but because this was a Spanish-learning program, he spoke in Spanish that day, with Japanese subtitles. The interview was rich in memorable reflections. The article summarizes three of them below.
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Reflections on Performance and Teaching
First, a reflection on being an artist, summarized in the article as follows: “When I dance on stage, I can move everything. I can move the audience’s hearts completely.”
As a flamenco teacher, the article summarizes these two reflections: “Japanese people seek perfection too much when learning something. There is no perfection in flamenco.” “Unless you express what you feel in your heart at that moment, all that remains is technique.”
The interview took place the day before the performance “Soul-Stirring Flamenco, the Fragrance of Spain,” held at Hokutopia on Sunday, November 27, 2022. The broadcast therefore also showed the company’s passionate rehearsals. The article presents Benito’s closing words as follows:
“My dream is to create a flamenco dance company in Japan and feel proud as I watch people in Japan express themselves.”
Writing at the time, the article observed that Japanese people had become much more forthcoming, while suggesting that they might still seem reserved from a Spanish person’s perspective. It wondered whether true cultural exchange might mean Japanese people learning to express themselves confidently, as Spaniards do, without having to imitate them. ¡Hasta la próxima! Until next time!
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