Evening of Flamenco

Over 30 years ago, my friend Jean Thomas and I went to a concert featuring Carlos Montoya.  I had already fallen in love with Spanish guitar so was enthralled with his performance.  The love of that music has stayed with me to this day.  Last evening Bill and I attended our first (I'm sure there'll be others) flamenco performance here in Sevilla.

Rocio, one of our instructors at Enforex, the language school we attend, told our class about this particular theater.

Ingeborg, one of our classmates made reservations for all of us to attend the Saturday evening show.

 This is the entrance to the theater...

It's not a large theater...  seating only about 50 people.  

The smaller, more intimate room allowed everyone to sit near the stage and have a close view of the performers expressions, nuances and all other aspects of the dance.

We were not permitted to take photos until the last 5 minutes of the show so my visuals will be limited here.

The performance started with a young man on the Spanish guitar.  Just music... 

Then a young man joined the guitarist and sang ....  quite intense!

After his solo performance a male dancer came on the stage.

I wish I could describe his dance more clearly.  So precise!  So fast that at times his feet were a blur.  And SO intense!

He left the stage and the female dancer entered...

Another very precise performance...  and, again... SO intense.

As the dancers had a short break, the guitarist and singer again entertained us with their music.

Then...  the two dancers arrived back on the stage for a fantastic dance...  the movements so precise...  so exact...  so profound.

I just don't have the right adjectives to describe it all...

We were permitted to take photos during this part of the show.  

I wish I could have captured the intensity of it all!

And at the end of the event, the performers stood to receive much applause and appreciation.

 I really loved seeing the dancing - especially the fluid movements of the Flamenco dress - the cut of the dress and all those ruffles definitely accentuate the movement of the dancer.  

But I think it is the guitarist that carries the show.  He performed non-stop for the entire hour..  and was very, very talented.

I hope to go back to this...  or another... Flamenco show while we're here in Sevilla. 

After the show we walked a few blocks to have a drink at a bar.

 That's Richard (UK) on the left, Naoki (Japan), then Bill, then Mary, Richard's mother, Ingeborg (Netherlands) and then Isabel, Richard's sister on the right. Naoki, Ingeborg, Richard, Bill and I have been classmates this past week.

The show was over at 10:00...  we walked to the plaza for a drink, and around 11:30 we all headed to our respective "homes".

As we crossed the Isabel II Bridge, I had to stop and gaze at the lights along the river.  That's another bridge near the top ...   and the beginning of the Triana section all along the right side of the photo.

We crossed the bridge and are about 5 minutes from our house.

A couple are walking along the pedestrian mall around midnight.  There are still a few people out and about.
But for me and Bill, we've had a great evening...  great entertainment shared with our new friends.
What a great way to spend a Saturday evening in Sevilla.

That's All For Today!