xactly what whim gripped me when I signed up for dance classes, I do not know. I haven’t danced since I was five, and I have a very poor sense of rhythm. However, something must have moved me because I am now taking Flamenco classes, which basically consist of me flailing around in high heeled tap shoes for an hour and a half, twice a week.
It is so much fun. I knew nothing about Flamenco before arriving in Spain and definitely pictured something similar to Salsa dancing with lots of hips and sensuality. And while Flamenco dance does include moving your hips, it is more about power and ‘intención’ or intention, as my professor always says, than any dance I have seen before. At its heart is the sentiment of Here, I Am, a declaration of existence. After all, the dance originated among marginalized groups of people in fifteenth century Spain, particularly Gypsy communities, and Flamenco became a way for them to declare their existence and celebrate their community. It was certainly a communal gathering. There was no actual divide between the audience and the performers and the two frequently switched off roles as one dancer joined the crowd and an audience member stepped up to replace him. It wasn’t until three centuries later that Flamenco came to be considered a proper art form, and because of its informal beginnings, its exact origins are rather clouded. However, it is thought to include strains of Arab, Indian, Christian and maybe even Jewish influence.
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