Nobue Kurosu: Second Prize at Japan’s 2024 Flamenco Contest
Nobue Kurosu won second prize at Japan’s fifth National Flamenco Competition in 2024.
A week had passed since the Tokyo preliminary round on Sunday, April 7. First prize, second prize and a special prize were chosen from the fifteen dancers who qualified in Osaka and Tokyo—and I received second prize!
I went up onstage to receive the award without quite understanding whether it was really happening. It felt like being in a dream.
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Preparing for the preliminary round
About two months had passed since I decided to enter the competition after my January solo recital at Alhambra. For the preliminary round, I chose to dance alegrías in under five minutes.
With plenty of advice from my teacher Beni, I began shaping my own alegrías. His guidance went beyond technique: what could I show of myself, why was I making a particular movement, where was I dancing, and where did I want to direct the audience’s attention? I kept the choreography simple and made those questions the focus of my practice.
For the alegrías I danced in Tokyo on April 7, the singing and guitar were provided by artists invited by the organisers; I asked Yusuke Saegusa to provide palmas. The singer was Natalia Marín, who had also sung at BG Academy’s student performance. After two rehearsals during the preceding week, the preliminary round arrived. That day I heard I had qualified, but there was barely time to celebrate before preparing for the final.
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One week until the final
There was one week until the final. I asked Natalia and Yusuke to return on vocals and palmas, and Go Henmi to play guitar.
The day after the preliminary round, I rehearsed with Yusuke and Go. I chose soleá por bulerías and explained the structure and what I wanted to do.
The final required a dance of under seven minutes. We rehearsed with Natalia too, three days beforehand, and Sunday, April 14 arrived in no time.
Throughout that week, Beni gave me plenty of advice about what I could do, my strengths, the feelings I wanted to express and even looking after my state of mind before performing.
The final took place at Za-Koenji 2.
I was fourth in the running order. After rehearsal, I tried to ease my nerves by taking a walk nearby and listening to music and watching videos I like in the dressing room.
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The performance and the award
Then it was time to perform. With Natalia’s wonderful singing, Go’s guitar and Yusuke’s palmas and jaleo, I felt I was able to dance a soleá por bulerías that was truly my own.
That alone had already satisfied me, but when my name was called for second prize, I instinctively hugged Natalia, who was sitting behind me. It really felt like a dream!
Beni was invited to judge both the preliminary round and the final. However, he was not allowed to judge me, his student.
Afterwards, I spoke to Beni on the phone. I was deeply moved by how genuinely happy he was for me.
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Looking ahead in flamenco
Entering the competition gave me much more than an award: it was an enormously positive experience for my future in flamenco. Thank you to Beni, the students, my friends and my family for supporting this challenge.
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