The Dancer and the Diplomat.
BIOGRAPHY
Three years full of surreal adventures, successfully at a frenetic rhythm in Los Angeles, California
Chapter 1. My dramatic and emotional farewell at Madrid airport.
Make the decision to accept my brother's Christmas gift through a note that said; worth a trip to Los Angeles. Think about it! It took me a year, but I managed to escape from a very toxic relationship of 10 years and free my family from the torture they were going through.
Aeropuerto de Barajas, Septiembre del 2001, 6 am.
For me airports were my second home, I had a very intense life of tours, performances and dance courses around the world. So, I was not afraid to cross the pond one more time, but I was hurt and afraid to start a completely new life leaving everything behind.
It was when you could travel with three suitcases of 36kg each, a trolley and a handbag, water, food and everything that could fit without limits in your trunk above your seat. I also check in my trunk of rehearsal clothes and my makeup bag.
Family members could also accompany you to the security checkpoint . And of course this time all accompanied me .
My mother with her eyes filled with tears of love and with her words that I will never forget of encouragement and strength and without losing for a single moment her trust in her daughter's born fighter, who at that time was a woman in pain, with desire to change my life, still sad and vulnerable. She hugged me for 5 minutes giving me all its powers while I cried like a little girl for the last time until I saw the Virgin of the Helpless who hung around my neck while saying; Caress her whenever you need her and she will help you so my moon made me smile.
My father waited as always next to us, serious, wise, elegant, my Paul Newman. But this time it was different, he took out a $ 100 bill from his wallet and gave it to me and told me; First show yourself who you are and what you are capable of in a country like the USA and then the rest will come alone.
My older brother, the culprit of my trip to LA told me; Learn English well and for that do not get together with Spaniards, recycle yourself, which is the only thing you need, eat the world as you have been doing since you were 15 years old and convert 100 $ into 100,000 $.
My little brother hugged me crying because he was the one who had been closest to me in the last hard years saying; You have not hurried to return, hold the pull as you know and I will wait for you as always , full of success and adventures to tell . And with his conqueror smile he reminded me to buy his new balance.
Mean while Gleasie, the slightly older Nani from Philippines that I grew up with, my confidant, hairdresser, seamstress, sorceress, cook and secretary, gave me a chic bag with my hand-embroidered initials that she sewed herself to put into my Mega bag with all the Saints and virgins that my aunts gave me and that for them all are miraculous. Gleasie called my aunts with my huge mobile who were anxiously waiting for a minute of silence to pray our Father and a Hail Mary for me with more hope than ever and that worked.
And to finish the sanctuary, the triptych of the 11th century of the Virgin of Perpetual Help from my grandmother Doña Carmen who always traveled with me and presided over my dressing rooms.
As I could not miss, my poodles Lola and Chungy also came to say goodbye.They were in my arms the whole time and it hurt my soul to leave them exactly like the rest of the family.
That day the duty free was cloudy, unlike other times when I bought everything, that's when I came across reality and I said to myself; Esther, take it easy because you only have $ 100 and a one-way ticket.
As always wait until the last to enter and hopefully take three vacant seats and sleep the 12-hour flight.
With my huge glasses and my cap, I camouflaged myself on the plane.
I went to introduce myself to the hostesses who would end up being my admires and who would provide me with food and drink galore.
Luckily I was able to rest with my blankets, pillows, eye mask, earplugs ... because the queue at immigration lasted an interminable hour and a half where everyone was smoking and I was thinking; Will they let me in with so many suitcases? My God , maybe they see the huge trunk and think that I come to perform without permission, without credit cards and not even a bank account. I definitely will not say that I am a dancer or artist, or a teacher, I will say that I come on vacation.
Luckily, they didn't require a return ticket before. When I showed the police the paper with the address of where I would stay and that I had not cared or needed until that moment and I read the Hollywood Hills, a chill went through my body and I had the feeling of the American dream had just begun.
The police officer woke me up with a take off your glasses and cap and look at the camera! Can you imagine the face in the photo? Right there I realized that I wasn’t wearing any makeup and that Alex, my American brother , was coming to pick me up. 1.90 tall, dark hair , green eyes, full lips, model and actor and always in love with me.
DON'T MISS CHAPTER 2
What awaited Me upon arrival at the Mansion
Unleash Your Inner Flamenca is dedicated to all the women of the world and it does not mean that you have to be flamenco or dedicate yourself to the world of dance. It is an expression, it is a way of facing the setbacks that life gives us and because flamenco has that attitude of: Here I am!
Unleashing my inner Flamenca has helped me in many very extreme situations in my life and, not only technically speaking as a flamenco professional, but in those times that I didn't have to be dancing, or teaching, or competing, or performing on stage. I’m talking about everyday life.
That is why you too can bring out your inner Flamenca.
A flamenca woman is confident, a flamenca woman is sure of herself, has gravitas, has bearing, has wisdom and knows how to be in command.
In other words, unleash your inner Flamenca and join me in this adventure in which we are going to have a great time! We know how it starts and we don't know how it ends, but it is sure to be one of the most unforgettable experiences of your life.
”
I didn't need to be famous to sleep in Hemingway's Presidential suite at the Gritti Palace in Venice for all my birthdays.
Have a Bellini while I wait for the gondola that will take me to the private Film Festival party on the yacht of my colleague, who was a Versace collaborator, or dine on the famous terrace of the Hotel Danieli.
It is also true that if I had slept with all my stalkers, I would now be more famous than Sara Baras. BUT! no matter how much I took a shower, the smell of vomit would not go away from my body and the phrase of: “how did I get it” would be the soundtrack of my life, which would turn my insides with each applause.
Nor did I need to be famous to have a bodyguard escort me to the door of the plane, in the direction of the American Embassy in Beirut or go in a Limousine and drink the best champagne.
“Todo lo he conseguido con pasión, seguridad en mi misma , esfuerzo y dedicación”.
”
Proving first to myself and then to the whole world that I don't need to sell myself to a man to succeed in my career. And that I bring out the inner Flamenca every time they cross my path.
Do not allow any man to command you or demand what you have to do.
Lucha por lo que quieras, viste como quieras, maquíllate como quieras , estudia lo que quieras y júntate con quien quieras.
The first time a man lays his hand on you, it will be his fault, but the second time it will be your fault for putting up with the first time.
And if you feel trapped and you are afraid to stand up to your reality, look for a way as if it were the last day of your life to give a signal at the pharmacy, at the market, to a neighbor you come across, to anyone who can hear this number: 016! and it will be the first step to your salvation, to your new life, surely filled with all the good things you long for and where no one will let you back down. You will immediately be protected by the society that will protect and help you without conditions. And I, Esther Ponce, am already thinking of you.
UNLEASH YOUR INNER FLAMENCA #SACALAFLAMENCA
”
A I’m going to tell you how I brought out the flamenco that I have in extreme situations and that I hope and serve to help some woman to do the same as me.
For now I'm only going to use nicknames.
“If I had slept with all my stalkers, I would now be more famous than Sara Baras. "
”
With my testimony and my own experience, living in different countries of the world and interacting with all kinds of social classes, race, culture and religion, I want to turn around the drama that women experience in the world.
Ayudarlas a salir de ese callejón oscuro, animarlas y convencerlas de que nunca tiren la toalla , de que existe un mundo maravilloso esperándoles para sacar lo mejor de ellas. Su fuerza, su belleza interior y sus ganas de salir adelante. Que no dejen de luchar por los derechos de la mujer y la igualdad de género. Que griten a los cuatro vientos y que no se callen nunca, que sonrían y que se llenen de paz con la belleza que nos brinda Lanzarote y su naturaleza.
That they are not alone... that they unleash their inner flamenca A strong and self-confident woman, the director of their own life. That she clings to the ground with temperance and ready to scratch at any moment if necessary and fight life with the best smile...
”
I have experiences and anecdotes to tell all women; the neighborhood ones, the rich ones , the conflictive ones, the addicted ones, etc. And always with my motto that to run away from any situation, the best thing is to practice athletics! … My uncle used to called me Dance Athlete, he said; As long as you have strong legs and a strong heart, you can fly! .
Esther Ponce's experimental Flamenco is ready for the Valencian Director of Tourism to meet
It is very gratifying to have an idea like the experimental Flamenco in Valencia, carry it out and have managed to attract more than 20 foreign clients to Valencia in a short time and without marketing, who have passed through the Flamenco Art Center, and who have not only They learned a lot if not they have returned to their country with a better concept of Valencia.
His experience and approach to flamenco led by Esther Ponce will make you return without hesitation to the city of Turia.
Esther Ponce not only surrounds them with her passion and charisma from the first moment, her professionalism and a very long journey through different countries of the world where she has lived for long periods, she makes them fall in love.
You just have to read the dedications of all the foreigners who write in their precious notebook created for them and that are already adding more and more.
«They also buy semi-professional shoes and a skirt to study with me.» That’s already the best! –
~ Esther Ponce
The foreigner is used to teaching flamenco very quickly and without discipline, anything goes, any shoe, any skirt, hanging out even parodying and even ridiculing flamenco.
«Being a polyglot, doors just open up to me» –
~ Esther Ponce
Definitely the Experimental Flamenco of Esther Ponce has an Angel!
From England, without a doubt the most special Experimental Flamenco we have had at the Flamenco Art Center in these two and a half years.
The Esther Ponce Stylized Flamenco Art Center has been open for two and a half years. El Ángel Every August 28, for Esther’s birthday, a new foreign student gives her a gift and the flamenco toast intensifies.
«The students do not want to miss the opportunity to study with me. When they start to study my technique they are hooked at the first second. Those who play sports and take care of themselves immediately identify with my stretching and feel safer for the rest of the class and those who don’t appreciate it and will surely start practicing it and taking care of themselves forever »
~ Esther Ponce
This year Esther thought that her Angel would be very busy due to the current pandemic situation and also that it would be a coincidence that another year happened.
But to Esther’s surprise it was like that and without doubt the most special flamenco toast for England.
«Discipline is my hallmark and not even the Covid has stopped us» «I have never doubted it and I will only teach classes with a mask»
~ Esther Ponce
After the experience of teaching classes with a mask? A private flamenco class for two hours without stopping, does Esther remember that when she and the student went out into the street they breathed for two seconds as if there were no tomorrow?According to Esther’s recent experience, with the mask you cannot see the total expression of the student, but the eyes also speak and flamenco is also expressed with the body.
With all the safety measures, the student disinfected her shoes, put hydroalcoholic gel on her hands, a temperature control was performed with a non-contact forehead thermometer and the student did not remove her mask during the two hours, only in the changing room that she only used to drink water.