FLAMENCO

Off the busy streets of Madrid is a tiny underground venue for flamenco shows. We walked through the doorway, and our eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room that had beautiful tiles lining its walls. We immediately noticed the small stage in the middle of the room. On the stage was a small flower arbor, with twinkly lights mixed in with the dried roses. The usher showed us to our table, right at the foot of that stage, where our eyes would be at the level of the dancers’ feet. We are ready to flamenco! 💃🏽

Flamenco is the national dance of Spain, and has recently been named one of the “World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity'' award by UNESCO themselves. This dance is simply remarkable. I was already in awe of the dancers just as they stepped on to the stage. 

The performers consisted of one guitarist, one singer and three dancers, two women and one man. The dancers did one performance together, but after that, they all danced a solo performance.

The first solo was a woman wearing an ankle length black dress that was skin tight on top, and flowy on the bottom. While she was dancing she looked like she was very passionate about something, or even mad. 

The second solo dance was performed by a man who wore a red and black polka dot shirt with poofy sleeves. He looked at a ladybug. When he was dancing — spinning especially — his sweat sprayed everywhere.

The last solo performance was the grand finale, and it was very elegant. The dancer wore a white dress and moved slower than the others. It felt like she had a special connection with the guitarist. 

I really liked this cultural experience. It is similar to tango in a way, but in my opinion, tango tells a story. You NEED to see flamenco, even if it is just a YouTube video. 

EL FIN!