Tiny Dancer

It has always been pretty clear to me that I'm not a tiny person, but today I also learned that I am not a dancer, either! I had my first flamenco dance class today at "El Horno" in Lavapies, a funky neighborhood in Madrid, and it was a cultural experience, to say the least.

The teacher was a great dancer from southern Spain. He sang and tapped his dancing cane to the beat, but it was to no avail. Despite my years of music lessons, I could neither capture the syncopation, nor step to the tempo. The majority of the eight women in the class were in a similar position to me, and our instructor was thankfully not only musically inclined, but also incredibly patient. He taught us how to count (with an emphasis on the third, sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth beat) and led us through several short sequences.

One additional challenge to the class was learning the vocabulary. Learning to dance in English would be difficult enough for me, but I had to quickly pick up the words for heel and toe (and more) in Spanish! I definitely stepped (or danced, if you will) outside of my comfort zone (while working up a sweat at the same time!. The class gave me a new found appreciation for the hard work and great talent that is required of a professional flamenco dancer.

[I'll considering taking a photo at the end of the semester, and if you're lucky I'll post a video!]