Ballet de España ¡Qué emoción!

Wow. This was an absolute joy to watch — what a stunning display of rhythm and colour and movement! I really can't recommend seeing this performance enough.

As an almost complete neophyte to Spanish dance I’m making the assumption that the first half was the more traditional dances (Ballet and Bolero, would be my guess), and the second half infused with more recent influences — the contemporary dance and the Flamenco. I found the first half harder to anchor myself into; I could see the skill, the precision, and the grace of movement (and the incredible intricacy of the dancers' castanets) but it didn't immerse me anywhere near as much as the second set of two performances!

That second half was so full of colour, rhythm and joy (despite the dancers' stern faces) I couldn't help but bop along in my seat in those few moments where I wasn't on the edge of it. {{< friend yvette >}}, as a latina, proudly told me “now that was great Flamenco” — I can't wait to see more.

{{< figure src="./rmadya9.webp" caption="I snuck a photo during the encore they graced us with after the rapturous standing ovation they received at the end of their performance 🤭" alt="Colourful women swishing their flamenco dresses on the right, men in tuxedo-like leotards clapping overhead on the left: the band at the back of the stage loving the not-quite-battle before them." >}}