Flamenco Show
IES organized a group excursion to see a flamenco show one night at the Palacio del Flamenco. I had never seen a flamenco show, but I had learned about the dance and its origins in my Spanish classes. The origin of flamenco is from the gypsies of southern Spain in Andalusia. Flamenco is not just a dance as is characterized by singing, guitar playing, rhythm drums, clapping, snapping, and castanets. The dance that accompanies the music is passionate and powerful. It takes many years of practice to become a decent dancer, as my àvia told me. When she returned to Barcelona a few years after the Spanish Civil War, she wanted to learn flamenco and she took lessons at a dance school. At the end of the year the school put on a show and everyone was given parts in the flamenco routine except for her. She was given a traditional fan dance because the teacher did not think she was good enough to dance flamenco in the show. She told me how this had embarrassed her and she decided to quit learning flamenco.
The flamenco show at the Palacio was a bit more theatrical than what I was expecting. There were three female dancers and three male dancers accompanied by a band of two singers and three musicians. The first dance was two women and a man. When the man began to dance he flipped his hair and I could see water droplets fly off. At first I thought it was sweat but I thought it was impossible for him to be that sweaty already. Although parts of the show were a bit over the top, the dancers were impressive and performed well.
The flamenco show we saw was accompanied by a dinner of chicken paella, salad, and ice cream inside a pastry. The food was decent, however it was not the best paella I have ever had. The meal attributed to the atmosphere of a traditional Spain although it mixed many of the stereotypes of Spain. Paella originated in Valencia while flamenco is from the south. At times these types of shows are presented in a way that fulfills the outside world's perception of Spain that tends to be inaccurate and over arching.
