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flamenco - schools

Flamenco 101: A Lesson in Life

by Virginia Gil
Most are acquainted with the idea of traversing huge bodies of water in search of political liberty, economic opportunity, or religious freedom. But what happens when the same journey is made to pursue a life-long passion? The latter accounts for many of Madrid’s most dedicated and proficient flamenco dancers – immigrants of a different sort. For those unfamiliar with the art of flamenco this might seem a bit extreme considering how small the world has become. Nowadays you can find a country-western bar in the middle of Siberia as readily as you may find a tablao in middle-America. Yet, it still holds true that Americans are known for flamenco as much as...

by Virginia Gil

Most are acquainted with the idea of traversing huge bodies of water in search of political liberty, economic opportunity, or religious freedom. But what happens when the same journey is made to pursue a life-long passion? The latter accounts for many of Madrid’s most dedicated and proficient flamenco dancers – immigrants of a different sort.

Neta Gashri - photo by Alan Moran

For those unfamiliar with the art of flamenco this might seem a bit extreme considering how small the world has become. Nowadays you can find a country-western bar in the middle of Siberia as readily as you may find a tablao in middle-America. Yet, it still holds true that Americans are known for flamenco as much as Russians are associated with line-dancing so for those in pursuit of the real deal, Spain is the mother land.

Those traveling to Madrid in search of an authentic flamenco experience automatically steer towards Amor de Dios, internationally renowned flamenco dance academy that is credited with churning out some of the world’s most prominent flamenco dancers to date. From La Trucco, who studied under La Tati, to Cristobal Reyes and his very own family of dancers, including the renowned Joaquin Cortés. The strict lineage of the art itself is manifested in the school’s instructors; many of the current teachers were students of the most recognized names.

The flip side of this excellence is exclusivity - while most students will admit to a welcoming environment, the competition is still palpable. Yet, the hallways lined with posters and accolades of previous “graduates” make for a gleaming light at the end of a long tunnel.

Neta Gashri photo by Alan Moran

Neta Gashri is one of these devoted souls. She’s a soft-spoken but passionate 33 year-old Israeli dancer, who migrated to Madrid a year and a half ago. Before deciding to come to Spain to pursue dance Neta worked as a social worker in her native country. Her decision to pursue flamenco came later on in life, a reality which she says has actually helped her cope with the difficulties she’s encountered so far, “It gave me a lot to be 33 and start doing this. The life experience is important for me as a person, I don’t think at 20 I would’ve survived.”

Although Neta acknowledges the hardships she has nothing but positive things to say about her experience. For her, the enormous risk involved in leaving her country and career has provided the ability to dream, “fear means you’re doing something meaningful and not feeling like you have any regrets in life.” Undoubtedly, for many like Neta, the ends justify the means.

She maintains that she wouldn’t have been able to make the progress she’s made anywhere but Amor de Dios. Besides practicing anywhere from two to five hours a day, it’s “the teacher’s that take [her] seriously” that have allowed for significant progress. Most importantly, with Neta’s story one can admire the perseverance of these dancers and the positive way in which their art influences them. In conversing about flamenco she poignantly describes it as falling in love: “I just fell in love, couldn’t think, ‘this is what I want to do’…I just fell in love.”

A year and a half later, Neta has no regrets, “dancing flamenco is the most profound dance I’ve ever done.” She wishes to one day dance professionally and is by no means deterred by the long road ahead. Still, as the struggle for balance between work and dream continues, she’s not quitting her day job.

Karen Vilches - photo by Quico Lopez

Karen Vilches, a vibrant eighteen year-old dancer from San Antonio, Texas, has been living in Madrid for close to seven months and recalls her motivations for moving as “having hit a glass ceiling,” one which she hopes to shatter in Madrid. “I didn’t feel like I ‘kinda had to’, I ‘had to’ come here.”

As a child, Karen traveled every summer to Spain to take dance courses at Amor de Dios and upon graduating from high school decided to pursue her dream full-time. She rejected San Antonio’s ambivalence towards the arts, recalling that, “in San Antonio there are lots of cultures but none of them are doing anything.”

The heterogeneity of Amor de Dios provided just what she was looking for. She remembers her first few days encountering everything from the stereotypical “gypsy woman,” keeper of the art,“ to neophytes, people who’ve never put a shoe on in their lives.” The former at times was met with difficulty as she was forewarned about their “jealousy for their art.” It isn’t easy , but her goals as a dancer have taken precedent over any hardships moving to a new country have caused. The difference in environment has resulted in a heightened level of commitment.

Nicole Pearson - Photo by Quico Lopez

Like Karen, Nicole Pearson, a spirited thirty-seven year-old dancer, moved to Spain to pursue her dream of becoming a flamenco dancer. Previously a resident of Seattle, Nicole didn’t set out to pursue flamenco until later in life. Her first encounter with flamenco came by way of a public broadcasting special - a flamenco version of Carmen. She recalls feeling as though she “was struck by lightning.”

After taking flamenco lessons for six months in Seattle, Nicole moved to Madrid under her teacher’s recommendation. Though her experience is not entirely analogous to Karen’s, Nicole does compare some of the people she’s met in the field as “guard keepers” who guard a “different language forbidden to teach.”

However, soon after Nicole began taking classes at Amor de Dios, she felt an “instant community that you become a part of.” Nicole also had to battle a language barrier that she readily overcame thanks to this network of dancers and friends.

Nicole Pearson by Quico Lopez

Yet, in spite of the comradery, this path requires enormous drive and discipline in order to cope with their “Flashdance” lifestyle – average worker by day, dancer by night. Even then, Nicole finds herself in the studio two to three hours a day, “I always want more…I thought I’d be satiated.”

The same tenacity can be perceived from “Yosi,” short for Yoshie Karahashi, a vivacious Japanese immigrant whose passion for dance led her to the city of Madrid. After twelve years here, she identifies more with the Spanish culture than that of her native Japan. Yosie is now what she calls a “Madrinesa” (part Madrileña, part Japanese), a hybrid of two cultures that serves as a more accurate representation of her today.

Yosie’s relationship with flamenco dates back to her days as a student in Tokyo where the need to earn money overpowered her desires to pursue her dream. Her first encounter with the art was the movie “Dancing Hero,” which she says, “made me very emotional, I felt goose bumps, it inspired me.” It would be a few years after “Dancing Hero” until Yosie would gather up the courage to move to Spain. After a chance encounter with a production company filming a flamenco music video in the TV studio where she worked, Yosie dropped it all and headed to the Iberian Peninsula.

At the time she recalls feeling that, “you only live once, now is the perfect time to go to Spain and pursue my dreams.” However, her arrival in Madrid wouldn’t be without disappointments as Yosie barely spoke the language and her integration into the world of flamenco wasn’t the easiest. “I knew 5 words in Spanish. It was summer of 1996 so 'water' was first. Then 'thank you', 'hello', 'please' and 'goodbye.'” Dancing wasn’t easy either as she didn’t travel with the appropriate attire and began her lessons in “jeans and a pair of Nike sneakers,” an experience she recalls as a “lesson in survival.”

Yosie’s sometimes-tumultuous experience was difficult at first but soon she began to incorporate herself into the world of flamenco. Via her experiences with the other dancers and in her daily classes she slowly learned the language and began to adopt this “Madrinesa” persona she’s so comfortable with today. The twelve years of holding down a job, attending daily rehearsals and constant perseverance has lead to her joining the renowned Cristobal Reyes dance company and she looks forward to her first performance this Spring.

For these dancers, as well as countless others who travel to Spain in pursuit of a dream, success is entirely relative. Neta will continue her “love story” with flamenco while Karen recognizes that “economically [its] not very rewarding [and] really unstable [but] it’s something I want to do while I still can.” Nicole will continue to practice with hopes of being able to perform next year and Yosie is already living the dream. But until they can all achieve this status, they’ll continue to keep their feet firmly on the dance floor despite the wavering conditions.