Flamenco

​I asked the toreador if there was any relationship in the moves of bullfighting to the moves in the dance of flamenco. "Of course not", he said.  I think he was insulted. 





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I didn't mean to insult. But only two days earlier we ate at a local restaurant in Ubeda which was also hosting a wedding party. Our tour leader invited three charming little girls, high from the festivities and wedding cake, to join us. There was singing and dancing at the party, Our tour leader asked "do you do Flamenco?"  "Of course" was the response of one precocious 10 year old, followed by a spontaneous demonstration quickly choreographed between adult and child ('could be mother and daughter) showing steps obviously common in a Spanish beginning dance school.

It was sweet, and so unexpected that no one captured the scene on camera. Now only a memory; the posturing, the graceful moves with a cape or shaw, the use of staccato rhythm to excite the mood, made me assume there must be some coincidental relationship to the bullfight. My bad.  But I'm not convinced either...'something quintessential-Spanish in both of these aesthetic and athletic displays.

We ended our trip with a planned dinner-time visit by professional Flamenco dancers.  This sketch captures that scene, reminiscent of the wedding party.

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