Flamenco lover, this post is dedicated to you.
Last week I asked some students what they loved about flamenco. (I asked myself too.) Our answers became the list below. Following the list you'll find the video that inspired one reader to begin dancing flamenco along with a downloadable valentine for you.
What We Love About Flamenco:
The challenge
The community
The emotion
The elegance
The passion
The boldness
The rhythm
The beauty
The focus
The complexity
The communication
The music
The history
The structure
The jaleos
The layers
The intensity
The soulful singing
The way it makes me feel
The expressive movement of the dance
The multiple elements one needs to follow
The sensation of being empowered to fully be myself
The combination of precision/technique with expression/interpretation
There is no competitive aspect to it except to see what I can do
How my brain focuses only on exactly what I’m doing at the moment and I stop thinking about all the other things I worry about during the day
It is beautiful and hard at the same time
It is deeply authentic
It pushes me to go outside of my comfort zone
It speaks to my soul
It’s not just learning some dance steps, it’s learning a culture, it’s history, a feeling, a song and it’s lyrics, a rhythm
It is a dance form that can be an in depth, lifelong study or practiced for the pure enjoyment of moving in the moment
It is a powerful, and passionate dance that expresses the emotion of the dancer and the singer
It’s a perfect balance between pushing my limits of physical coordination and rediscovering my musicality
Being able to actually feel things when seeing certain people dance ...
That last one came from a reader on this day last year. "It was what motivated me to start dancing," she shared. "Here is the video that started it all for me. It may seem funny because it is all men, but I knew I wanted to do it after seeing this!"
I love this clip for Valentine's Day. They're dancing for a wedding. What could be more perfect than that?
For You
I made you a valentine, and you can download it here.
I know there's even more to love about flamenco. So tell me, what do YOU love about flamenco? Let us know in the comments below.
Happy Valentine's Day!
(A BIG thank you to all of the students who contributed to today's post. ¡Gracias!)