The Matt Faus Blog

I went with some friends from the school I’m studying at to a Flamenco show last night, and it was pretty cool. We got there about 30 minutes before the show began so we were all kind of standing around. They didn’t play any background music, so it was a little awkward at that time, but when the show started it was better.

From what I heard, I think Flamenco is the Spanish version of “flowin’”. There were two guys sitting on stage, one with a guitar, and one with a microphone. The guy with the guitar was playing some rhythms and the guy with the mic was laying down the vocals. The singing was really pretty cool – you could tell by the guy’s face that he was really getting into it. It really reminded me of going to parties where two people would pick up guitars and just start jamming with each other. Improvised music, I think, is some of the most interesting stuff to watch live. It’s like the people playing are just using the instruments as an extension of themselves and talking back and forth with them. It’s also awesome to see how two people can remain so harmonious by only making a plan moment by moment.

Anyway, the Flamenco Dancer came out after a while and that was the icing on the cake. The rhythm was a big part in the music as the dance consists of a lot stomping and twirling. She used her hands as a flourish, twirling them around, and then stomping with her feet to the music. I guess I’m not very good at describing people dancing, but rest assured that it was a lot of fun to watch and listen to.