Most of us have watched some type of dancing performance, such as ballet, samba or ballroom. Flamenco, a Spanish art form consisting of sweeping arm movements and choreographed stomping, stands out from the rest in many ways. The dance is extremely expressive. The dancers change their facial expressions during the dance to demonstrate all types of feelings contained in the song. These emotions typically include despair, anguish, surprise or adoration to the Virgin Mary. Love is also demonstrated passionately.

Flamenco got its origins in Andalucía. As Manuel Molina, one of Spain’s finest flamenco singers, said in an interview: “In order to sing flamenco, you need first to be a gypsy. We are made from a different cloth.”

In Flamenco every element of each artist’s movements works together to create a unique performance. Of course this includes the dancing, but the hand clapping is an art in and of itself. It becomes the background of the song, along with the sound of the wooden castanets. Oh, wait, there’s more! The “zapateo”, or foot stomping, is part of the act as well. Coordinating all of this is extremely difficult. The singer needs to be in sync with the dancers and the guitarist, as well as the clapping and foot stomping. If you look closely, the singer will often improvise lyrics as he goes. It’s amazing to watch the dancers and musicians adapt to a sudden change like this. Each dance is executed in a crescendo, until it reaches a climax.

Flamenco does not care how old the dancer is. You can see 75+ year old women performing flamenco. Flamenco dancers are proud of themselves and their bodies. Hats off to them!

There are several awesome flamenco shows in Madrid. I was just recently at Las Chinitas. The show was spectacular! At one point, I interjected my lyrics into their song–rather than escort me out, they actually welcomed it.

The show was wonderful, the service was superb, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.