One of the many things that Seville is known for is its fabulous flamenco dancing. Getting to see this while there was a definite item on my bucket list. The cultural exhibition hall recommended by the tourist Information office and by our guide book happened to be just 1 block from our hotel so we booked the late show, 10:30 pm. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures until the very end of the show.
The show was really fantastic and not quite what we expected. The first 'act' was a singer accompanied by a lovely spanish guitar. The singing was a bit more like wailing and at times it seemed like he was about to burst into tears. The origin of flamenco dancing lies with the Roma gypsies and the singing sounded a lot like a Jewish cantor singing.
After that a lovely young woman came out and danced for us. She whirled and stomped to the guitar music. The singer sang (a little less whiny this time) and there was another accompanists who clapped a marvelous rhythm. The synchronization was phenomenal. It was loud and staccato and it started and stopped abruptly.
Then there was another instrumental by the guitar player which was lovely, but there was a problem. It was beastly hot - well over 100 degrees in the room. There were about 80 people in there and everyone was fanning themselves to keep from passing out. While the music was lovely, it wasn't what anyone had come there to see.
The next 'act' was an unbelievable male dancer. His feet moved so fast at time they were just a blur. It was the best tap dancing I have every seen or probably will ever see. I felt sorry for him in that heat. He was just drenched by the end. As he danced the woman, the singer and the guitarist accompanied him with stomping, clapping, music and song - all incredibly syncopated. Just amazing.
At the end of the show we were able to take some picutres but it was hard to capture the marvelous show. The two danced together for just a moment at the very end. It was wild. I really feel that I have been to Spain now!
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