Let’s dance: Flamenco is one ‘valuable lesson in life’ for Hong Kong to learn
Top international dancer of this ancient gypsy form is coming to Hong Kong with her company to stage Aparienciasat the Grand Theatre next month
The first time I ever saw flamenco I was 23, in Madrid on one of my first business trips, and my Spanish colleagues had suggested we meet for a late night drink in a popular flamenco bar.
I was early, and none of my colleagues had turned up. The bar had a very “local” feeling to it, with sawdust on the floor, rough walls and no pretensions – and not even any advertising of the flamenco. It was small; I couldn’t see how there’d be space for a performance.
My friends still had not appeared. I had another drink. It was getting busier. In the corner two men started a fight. And, when that was over, someone started playing a guitar and singing while clapping a curious rhythm.
I found out later that there is a clear distinction between hard claps and soft claps and for some types of flamenco you have to clap (hard or soft) on the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th beats, and for others you have to clap in the spaces – no wonder it sounded complicated.
Just then a woman of about my age, early 20s, dressed in black, long skirt, long sleeves, stood up and everything fell silent. She tapped her feet and it was in the same rhythm as the clapping, and then very slowly she started to dance and it was almost hypnotic.
