The Sevillanas Dance

The sevillana is a set of four separate dances that form the core of a folk dance in Spain usually performed at ferias or market festivals, wedding ceremonies, and other Spanish social events. As a type of Spanish dance, it made to the dictionary of the Spanish language in 1884 after a long period of non-recognition by the Royal Spanish Academy. It first emerged as a separate and distinct form in the latter part of 18^th century and as a variant of seguidillas, a form of Spanish song. In the 19^th century, it became part of Escuela Bolera, an approach to the formal study of various regional Spanish dances, and of the repertoire for flamenco, another dance style in Spain.

Sevillana is the only dance in Spain that is learned by non-dancers but is now performed as a partner dance at the annual Feria de Abril in Seville, in flamenco and other dance concerts or in tablaos or venues for flamenco shows, and dance competitions in Spain and other parts of the world. It has become so popular especially among couples of all ages, that each town in Andalusia also holds weeklong ferias similar to Seville. The feria week provides a man and his girl friend to court each other with the man asking her to dance the sevillana with him.

The four sets of the dance cover the primera, segunda, tercera and cuarta levels, each of which consists of three verses or coplas. The first copla uses the paso de sevillana, which is a basic step, followed by the second and third coplas which start with a connecting step of one pasada and another of paso de sevillana, and then by verse step. A sevillana dancer knows that the coplas have individual steps that incorporate certain moves in a flamenco dance and the mainstream form like ballet. The dance style can be evident in a couple dancing face-to-face to sevillana music in a three-fourths beat. This music that accompanies the dancers is simple unlike the song accompanying the dance which has various lyrics and themes. Originally the song described the town folk’s daily life but also conveyed criticisms and humorous tales and anecdotes. Through the centuries, song themes were developed about love, religion, festivals and even Biblical stories to go with the dance.

Learning how to dance the Sevillanas is not as hard as some people may think. All they have to do is memorize certain dance steps which are performed three times per movement and repeated five times in succession. The steps also alternate between the start on the left and right feet for five 6-beat music bars. Each of the two succeeding steps has the dancer stepping to the left, tapping her right toe at the back of her left foot and the left toe to face the right foot. You can also memorize dance steps by practicing the dance to a melody of your choice, or watching someone else do the dancing. You can simplify your dance practice by getting the order of the movements and the dance rhythm. Better still record the steps which you can memorize easily. Remember that when you start learning Sevillanas, you also start learning flamenco because a certain level is easier to reach it and it provides many possible occasions for its training and practice. 

El Bulli—Food, Health and Art

El Bulli is a three-star restaurant near Roses town in Catalonia, some two hours northeast of Barcelona in Spain. The star classification is bestowed by Michelin Stars Awards owned by French-based tire manufacturer Michelin which gives the award to restaurants for cooking excellence. Before its closure on July 30, 2011 but with a proposed reopening in 2014, El Bulli was described as the world’s most imaginative generator of skillfully prepared food or haute cuisine, and judged by the Restaurant Magazine as number one of its list of the world’s top 50 best restaurants for five times up to 2009.

Early years. The location of El Bulli, which is atop a hill overlooking Catalonia’s Costa Brava was chosen by Dr. Hans Schilling, a German, who was the owner of that piece of land. The name El Bulli came from the Schillings’ French bulldogs. Several years after its opening in 1964, the restaurant had its first Michelin star while it was managed by French chef Jean-Louis Neichel. In 1984, Chef Ferran Adria, who now runs the facility, became part of it and was assigned in full charge of its kitchen in 1987. In 1990 and 1997, El Bulli achieved its second and third star, respectively from Michelin. Since its opening, it has become as a holy Mecca or sought-after food center for food lovers of Spain and other parts of the world. In 2008, some of its recipes were incorporated in the book A Day at El Bulli, and these were (a) Melon with ham, (b) Pine nut marshmallows, (c) Steamed brioche or enriched bread with rose-scented mozzarella, (d) Rock mussels with seaweed and fresh herbs, and (e) Passion fruit trees.

Foods at El Bulli: The restaurant has developed what is known as molecular gastronomy consisting of foods that surprise and attract many of its guests. These are part of a 35-course taster’s menu that provides customers with a great and wondrous experience of tastes and textures. Some of these recipes are (a) Hot gin frizz, (b) Piña colada, (c) Cloud of carrot with tangerine or concentrate of orange-colored citrus fruits, (d) Round mango with caramelized ravioli, (e) Apple caviar, (f) Rabbit with hot apply jelly, (g) Sardines with fish roe or internal egg mass of the fish, (h) Hot and cold trout roe tempura, (i) Frozen polenta or ground cornmeal, (j) Oysters with smoked Iberian pancetta or bacon, (k) Spherical egg with white asparagus and truffle or mushroom, (l) Clam meringue or topping of beaten white egg, (m) Clam ceviche or raw seafood, and (n) Golden egg with steamed shrimps and tea.

Health and art: Good foods at El Bulli are healthy because they significantly involve good ingredients that are best when they are available in season, or when these ingredients are treated in simpler ways. They are good when they lead customers to satiety and pleasure and for health benefits, or when they promote a good state of nourishment through innovation and creativity in kitchen science. Already, the restaurant’s cooking is an avant-garde art because of its most exciting and innovative methods that come up with foods going beyond tasting good, and that make cuisine as an art, and vice-versa. 

The Benefits of Traveling

When you travel, you may be going from one place to another, like your home place to another country, by road, air or the sea. Your reasons for traveling may be recreation, vacationing or tourism and in some cases, business, religious pilgrimage, and migration to other place where a new life can be started. Some people are motivated to travel for relaxation, pleasure, exploration, and discovery or for knowing other cultures in the world. There are other reasons why people travel locally, in the regional or national level, or internationally but they narrow down to the benefits that traveling can provide. One such benefit is relaxation that extends to the traveler the chance to enjoy a stress-free time for himself away from the day-to-day activities at home. It also provides great opportunities for adventure and fun, and discovery of many things about the people in other places.

Many other benefits can be derived from traveling, and these include health and emotional benefits. Among the health benefits are (a) Opportunity to relax and reduce stress, (b) Avoidance of monotony to gain energy and make change to prevent leaving your body and mind inactive from daily routine, (c) A chance for the outdoors to breathe fresh air and have good exposure to sunlight, (d) Engaging in additional activities like doing some sports and walking exercises in the place of destination, (e) Enjoyment of different types of healthy foods and gastronomic delicacies which may not be otherwise available at home, (f) A good break to deal better with current work or family problems, (g) A chance to meet and socialize with some people in another country, which is a good form of therapy, (h) Creation of a memorable experience visiting a chosen destination , (i) Opportunity to reconnect with a loved one, especially a lifetime partner, with quality time away from everyday activities, and (j) Opportunity to make culinary exploits while avoiding fast food.

For emotional benefits, traveling reduces stress by getting away from physical problems at home, as the traveler is helped with leaning and understanding the other cultures of the world and the way they view life. It also makes happy memories to strengthen relationships with family and friends. It gives you a sense of fuller life and self-fulfillment by getting to the place you have dreamed to see. It gives you time to appreciate and admire real beauty like the best-known painting of Mona Lisa by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, or the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, and some wonders of the world. Most importantly, your own appreciation of home is increased and your perspective about home life is refreshed.

Travel experts advise that if you want to make use of the benefits that traveling provides you should plan it well, including a research of hotels or hostels, and the must-see sites in your planned destination. When you are already there, be aware of your surroundings and avoid being a victim of a crime. You also should make some room for new and impulsive decisions but avoid known tourist traps like places that are otherwise hyped as best tourist areas but which offer less cultural value. Since traveling is luxury, always keep an open mind about it and feel that you have bettered yourself and made the most of it as you prepare to leave for home.

Ultrasonic Peeling

Ultrasonic is a term that describes sound waves or frequencies that are beyond hearing by the human ear. When used to describe a process in the treatment of the skin, as in ultrasonic peeling, it refers to a non-invasive and safe technique in modern apparatus-based cosmetology that is designed to cleanse and rejuvenate the skin with the help of ultrasonic vibrations. As a skin peeling process, ultrasonic peeling uses a device or hand piece with ultrasound waves that make about 27,000 vibrations per second to help in the treatment of a variety of skin problems, especially on the face.

Ultrasonic peeling works with a device or hand piece with rapid vibrations that push skin impurities and dislodge dead skin cells to the surface. The vibrating device then cleanses and exfoliates the outer layer of the skin and destroys skin bacteria in the process. To help with absorption of skin care formulations that may be used into the skin, vibrations are set to specific frequency level to reduce the per-second vibrations of the digital-controlled hand piece. The beneficial effects of the process include (a) Removal of sebum or fatty lubricants and other skin contaminants, (b) Deep moisturizing effects, (c) Skin oxygenation, (d) Destruction of bacteria and microorganisms that cause acne, (e) Cleansing and sterilization of the skin, (f) Removal or reduction of inflammation, and (g) Solution to such problems as acne, increased fatty or sebaceous excretions, and dull complexion. As a specific facial treatment, it eradicates dead skin cells for a healthier skin complexion, and does away with oil, dirt and debris from small skin cavities of the skin and helps produce collage and elastin to remove wrinkles and fine lines.

The treatment for ultrasonic peeling undergoes three phases, which are the peeling, infusion and micro-current phases. With the peeling phase, the outer layer of the skin or the epidermis is cleansed by applying a hydration product and water. The infusion stage follows to help antioxidant products or medication penetrate deep into the skin to provide deep healing benefits. The phase of micro-current therapy restores the skin to normal condition with the use of a mild electrical current in a technique that brings back the normal electrical charge of the skin cells. These stages are within the ultrasonic hydration goal of the therapy for both internal and external hydration. Internal hydration has something to do with blood circulation while external hydration depends on the skin’s ability to retain water in it. Another goal of ultrasonic peeling is iontophoresis, which is a direct electrical current-based procedure that sends charged ions or electrically charged atoms to the blood circulation system through the skin.

Skin care specialists have advised that ultrasonic peeling is not suitable for persons with certain conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, acute skin disease or dermatosis, pregnancy, and those undergoing rehabilitation. Neither are certain skin care products suitable for treatment especially if they contain stimulation ingredients such as alcohol, fruit acids, vitamin acids and other acid products. You should find only the right skin care products that are suitable for ultrasonic peeling procedures.

Fraxel Laser

Fraxel laser is a laser technology and non-surgical technique that can help reverse the known effects of aging. This is a non-invasive therapy which is customized to the needs and concerns of every patient to make the skin look younger through rejuvenation. As a revolutionary treatment, it addresses many other skin problems aside from age spots, like fine lines and wrinkles.

How is this done? The therapy works under the surface of the skin to deal with some of its imperfections. It stimulates the natural connective tissues or collagen of the skin. What is good about this technique, however, is that it targets only the problem areas so that the results are focused on the same areas. Using the latest skin care technique, Fraxel reaches deep into the second layer of the skin called dermis to bring the skin’s restorative efficiency. It takes out the old damaged skin from under its outermost layer which is the epidermis. Controlling skin damage even in small areas allows for little healing time but highly affective skin renewal. After the treatment, you may not see immediate results as your epidermis remains unchanged except for your deeper layer that is expected to begin healing itself. In a few weeks after treatment, a discomfort like that of a sunburn or tanning of your skin may appear but become part of old skin cells which will be shed off eventually to lead the skin to repair itself and develop new collage. Post-treatment patients are allowed to go back to their daily activities but advised to keep their skin always moisturized and out of excessive exposure to the sun.

Patients can avail of at least three types or levels of treatment for Fraxel laser. These are the Fraxel Refine, Fraxel Restore, and Fraxel Repair. The first level is a less invasive laser therapy that concentrates on treating skin discolorations and certain marks such as pigmented areas or fine lines in the eye area, without affecting the untreated areas. The Fraxel Restore treats areas of the skin in the same manner as the laser Refine but is meant to treat the face, neck, hands and chest of the patient for acne scars and other types of scar. As the latest in Fraxel laser technology, Fraxel Repair can get deep into the skin’s second layer or dermis for the treatment of such conditions as pigmentation, deep skin wrinkles, and irregular skin marks.

As with many other therapies, Fraxel laser may have certain complications like bruising and swelling that can last a few days, but these can be remedied by herbal creams prescribed by a licensed cosmetic surgeon. Sunburn may also appear, followed by skin peeling and flaking, which is common after the therapy, but these can be dealt with by moisturizers with sunscreen applied for a number of days after the treatment. The most common side effects such as swelling and skin redness subside in about two days in the same way as minor itching, dry skin or the appearance of a bronze skin disappear. Afterwards, by looking at the mirror, you may yet rediscover a healthy skin of youth in you, with your skin texture and appearance having dramatically improved. You may also find that they—fine lines and wrinkles and acne scars and unwanted age spots—are now a thing of the past.