My wife and I were here on a 2-week guided tour of Spain, our 4th time here…read more
We had been to another Flemenco dance long time ago and weren't going to this one, but ... there wasn't much else to do and we decided to join our fellow tourist and go.
We were bussed over, and there were over 10 buses parked around the Flemenco! I told our tour director later that she was in the wrong business - should have been an owner of a Flemenco place. They have a dance with dinner at 7, and 9, and just a show at midnight. Dinner was 3 course meal - we had a shrimp cocktail, salmon and pork cheek as entree and a dessert. All was very good. My wife did have to wait a long time before her Pork Cheek meal came, though she had asked 4-5 people about it. I was almost done with my salmon meal by the time her meal came, and the two fellow tourists that sat at our table were more than half done with their chicken dinner.
What about the show itself? To be honest - to me, and only speaking for myself - after 15 minutes of the Gypsy dancing, tapping of shoes on the floor, chanting, to the rhythm of telling different stories, it started to seem all the same. This is not to take away anything from the performers, as they were very good, and you can tell that they really worked at it, seeing the sweat that came out. However, for me - again - not understanding what they were chanting (it's not Spanish, but Gypsy), and many of the dances and rhythms seem alike. I know each one tells a story, but ... I don't know what the story was all about! The show had, at various times, 3 guys with music and chanting, and 3 women and guys performing dances and alternating and changing of outfits. The rhythm with the beating of the heels on the wooden floor, coordinated with the dancing was nice. Hope you enjoy the slides on the various performers.
Flamenco music has medieval roots and is strongly associated with Spain's large Roma, or "gitano," population and with southern Spain. Its dramatic singing and dancing, clapping and stomping, flamboyant dresses for female performers and guitar accompaniment have made it a symbol of Spanish culture worldwide.
There seem to be various scenes in which it appeared that the final curtain was coming down, only to continue on with another dance. Finally around 8:40, it was over and we piled into the bus and got back to the hotel after 9pm.