I'm a flamenco dancer taking intensive courses at Escuela de Carmen de las Cuevas, and while here…read moreI've been touring as many of the local tablaos as I can, so here's how Tablao Flamenco Albayzin stacks up compared to others:
Price is typical of tablaos (around 16-18 Euros) and includes a free drink (most people order sangria or tinto de verano - red wine with lemon soda).
Show will be mostly flamenco, but as their website mentions, they will have one belly dance. This venue's decoration and this part of the performance are more Arabic-influenced than others - so if that interests you, this is a good show for you.
The GOOD:
-Though this theater feels large and holds 150 people, the audience is arranged on 3 sides of the elevated stage (front and 2 peripheries), and every row of audience seats is on risers, so you can easily see over the heads in front of you regardless of where you are seated.
-Show is 1 hour and 15 minutes, which is a little longer than most. There was a singer, guitarist, and 3 female bailaoras (dancers) and 1 male bailaor. To me 1 of the bailaroas was pretty sloppy, 1 mostly did the belly dancing, and then the other was phenomenal - in terms of expression and precise technique. The male bailaor was also fantastic in these elements (the night I went). Every tablao venue seems to have their own structure of how they have the performers dance, in this one every dancer soloed for a long time - so if there's one you really don't like, you'll still get to see several others.
The MEH:
-Unfortunately the night I went it seemed to attract large tourist groups who are not self-aware; there was a large French group behind me who were talking SO loudly during a very quiet and beautiful solo dance that it even distracted the singer on stage as he glared at them (though they did not even notice this...). Not the venues fault, but I did notice the largeness of this theater seems to mean that they can, and therefore do, accommodate large tourist groups who may be loud.
-Some of these large tourist groups may also, unfortunately, be in possession of selfie sticks and trying to take photos and use their giant iPads to record videos so that you are forced to have the view of the show on their device instead of just viewing the show...(Other venues like Casa del Arte prohibit videoing/photos until the very last dance of the performance).
If you only get to go to one show in Granada, I wouldn't make it here, I'd go where you're guaranteed to see great dancers in a space that respects the art form: casa Del arte does this without fail.