Flamenco For Foreigners

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to a flamenco class yesterday (Friday). Before we went to the dance school where we would be taking the course, I was sorta nervous because I was not sure what to expect and I was worried that I would not be good at it or something. Then I thought what a silly thing it was to be scared/nervous about. I realized that it was definitely not worth worrying too much about. If I did something wrong, I would do what I always do and just roll with it, not letting it affect me.

The class turned out to be lots of fun!! It was tough to keep up with all of it, but it was a great way to spend my afternoon, and I got a little bit of a culture lesson too! Even though flamenco and sevillanos (two of the dances that we learned) are more typical of the south, I get the feeling that it is something that every Spaniard has a minimum amount of knowledge of the dances. After leaving the class, I thought that this might be something that I want to continue in my life, which would mean not coming back to the States. So sorry, y'all, I think I have found my calling here in Spain, so I am not going to come back this summer or maybe even the rest of ever! (Totally just kidding, just so we are clear.) In all seriousness, it was a load of fun, it was definitely a workout, and it (or some dancing exercise class thing) is something I would be very much interested in continuing later in my life.

The teacher taught us in steps how to do these dances. First, we worked on and got down the feet and then later we added the hand movements. I had the foot movements down and I knew the hand movements, but once they were put together into one dance, it became incredibly tough. It reminded me and many of the other students there of trying to pat your head and rub your belly (or vice-versa). You can do one, you can do the other, but both of them together takes a lot of practice.

Despite my lack of skills in flamenco dancing, I managed to glean something about the flamenco dancing that I was not really able to understand from watching it or hearing about it in Sevilla. It is an incredibly sassy dance! I think this is why I like it so much!! I know that earlier when I posted about flamenco, I said that it was an incredibly passionate dance, and it is definitely this as well, but after dancing it myself the other day, I realized that it was also very sassy. Pony-tail flips, teasing people with your skirt, backin' up da bootay, the hand movements, it all combines into one incredibly awesome, sensual, sassy dance. I also realized that, as I mentioned in my previous post, that it does indeed take a lot of time and practice to get it down just right. It takes a lot of concentration and dedication. We only had an hour and we learned only the most rudimentary of movements, but it was enough for me for a couple of months at least.

When I return to the States, I would really like to learn how to either play the flamenco guitar, how to clap to flamenco (which is more difficult than it sounds), or just keep practicing my dance skills. I will probably be doing this while I cook some Spanish foods that I learn how to make. So if I ever say I was cooking something, just imagine me in the kitchen dancing some flamenco and replicating the dishes that Rufi teaches me how to make.