After the walking tour of Seville, both the Two Bad Tourists and I were determined to see a Flamenco Show. An authentic one. And given advice by my very own cousin who lived there for as while, she recommended that I should see a free Flamenco Show at La Carboneria in the backstreets of Seville. A show almost every night and you will be wowed by the sheer intensity of the performance to be given then.
So what is Flamenco dance? Before I fully researched into the intricate details of everything, I just imagine it was a dance for women who wanted to act out their bad days or as I said PMS before getting slapped in the face by a Canadian girl sat next to me. And extremely fond and clapping seashells together. I was very much mistaken. This Spanish Folk music and dance hails from the region we are travelling in now, Andalusia in southern Spain that include 4 parts to the whole experience. I know, it’s pretty complicated. First is the ‘Cante’, the singing that provides a backdrop to the emotional aspect of the performance. I mean, do you get moved by a wail? The second, is the ‘Toque’, the Spanish Guitar playing. This person who strums follows the woman dancing. It’s strange because, instead of the music leading the dance, it’s actually rather opposite. The dance, the ‘Baile’, is ultimate the one in charge. And the final part, which intrigued me was the the ‘Palmas’, the handclapping. The handclapping sets the tone and speed, you’ll definitely find yourself going along with it.
So as we sat down on the packed front row of the stage, we were faced with the flamenco dancer in her swirly green dress and an attitude on her tanned face, a man with a high degree of expressions on his face ready to sing his heart out and a tough guy with a spanish guitar slung round his shoulder. They faced us. I glanced back looking at the crowd who waited with bated breath. Most of them were locals themselves and only a smattering of tourists who heard about this from other people. I turned back and as the first wails erupted from the man himself, I was truly transfixed. Welcome to Flamenco.
http://youtu.be/2pBGKhntrww
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