baile
“More important than how to dance is to know why you dance.”
Flamenco takes its roots and evolved throughout the long journey of hardship that the gypsies had endured during their migration from Rajasthan India to Southern Spain, passing through countries like Egypt and Turkey along the way.
Flamenco is a term now used to describe various art forms associated with the Andalusians gypsies of Southern Spain. Elements taken from different cultures contributed in making flamenco what it is today.
Among the different art forms within flamenco, you can find cante (singing), palmas (clapping), toque (guitar) and baile (dancing). All of these can be expressed in different styles known as palos and each palo (style) is characterized by a specific rhythmical structure known as compas.
There are many aspects in flamenco dancing that make it unique and unlike any other dance form. First of all it is mostly danced solo accompanied by musicians or sometimes with just palmas (handclapping), with a few rare exceptions of some specific flamenco styles danced in group.
Then there are the intricate and sometimes extreme footwork, the graceful arms and hands which all have to be done while respecting the rhythmical structure of the palo (flamenco style) you are dancing on.
There is also this paradox in flamenco where while it is mostly improvised, there are some predefined set of rules that must be learned and understood first. As such flamenco is not an easy dance to learn but the rewards are worth every bit of energy put into it.
While having good techniques and understanding of what you are doing are important in flamenco, the flamenco purists believe that you cannot express yourself at flamenco if you do not possess “duende.”
Duende has been defined in many ways by multiple individuals. The one that often comes out of the most is that of the poet Federico García Lorca who wrote that duende is “that mysterious power that everyone feels but no philosopher can explain.”
As for the gypsies they often say “it is not a question of ability, but of true, living style, of blood, of the most ancient culture, of spontaneous creation … everything that has black sounds in it, has duende.”
In a certain way we can say that flamenco is a lifestyle, something most flamenco lovers will certainly agree to.
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All classes are conducted upon appointment and privately or in small group only.