"Even though I'm not usually the kind of person who likes to dance..."
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"It was very, very hard but it was very interesting. I honestly had a lot of fun even though I'm not usually the kind of person who likes to dance." - Josie
Flamenco dance presents us with an aesthetic interpretation of the fusion of culture and history here in Sevilla. Based on the folkloric traditions of the communities of southern Spain, this powerful dance represents the emotional tensions between love and pain, joy and despair. And so into this profound world we strolled today!
This morning, each group of students visited a different flamenco dance studio to start to learn los pasos (the steps) and el ritmo (the rhythm) of the dance. Technical in its movements, the learning curve is steep, but our intrepid group wasted no time in following the lead of our instructor, Belen. Punctuated by audacious stomps on the wooden floor, the group stirred around with arms over head.
"It was very interesting and the instructor's directions reminded me of when we saw a mini flamenco show in Plaza Espana. Everyone seemed to have a good time." - Sarah
We especially enjoyed the company of our new Spanish friends: local teenagers who volunteer to join us during our cultural excursions. Over the last few days, our group has morphed to include them and their diverse viewpoints about music, food, and life as a kid here in Spain. As it turned out, to our amusement, most of them didn't find flamenco much easier to learn than we did. Giggles were abundant as we attempted to follow the teacher's dance movements; mostly one step behind her but in step with each other.
"It was just really, really fun. I just love it. It's a leading with a back foot dance. I usually do front foot leading dances, like swing, and flamenco was whack, but so fun." - George
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