The 4 Stages Every Flamenco Dancer Goes Through

I have noticed every flamenco dancer seems to go through these four stages.

Although some of us spend a suspiciously long time in Stage Two. 😂

Stage 1: The Flamenco Love Affair

You discover flamenco and immediately think:

 

 

The music.

The shoes.

The dresses.

The drama.

 

You learn your first few steps and you're completely hooked.

 

Before long, you own several pairs of earrings large enough to interfere with the local wifi and have developed surprisingly strong opinions about who gets to wear polka dots.

 

Everything is new. Everything is fascinating.

 

You want MORE.

 

And then you discover that learning flamenco involves rather more than remembering which arm goes with which leg.

 

Welcome to Stage Two.

Stage 2: What on Earth Is Going On?

You've learned steps.

Maybe you've learned entire choreographies.

You can follow along in class reasonably well.

 

Then you watch a Bulerías circle.

 

Someone walks into the middle at exactly the right moment.

The singer begins.

The dancer responds.

Everyone knows when to clap, when to stop, when something is changing and when the dancer is finished.

 

And you're thinking, "What. How did they KNOW that?"

 

Or perhaps, "Was there some kind of pre-arranged meeting I wasn't invited to?"

 

 

Because you can know plenty of flamenco steps and still not understand what you're watching.

 

You might be able to reproduce a choreography beautifully when you know the music.

 

But change the singer, change the letra or ask you to improvise at Fin de Fiesta and suddenly the safety rails disappear.

 

Cue the traditional Stage Two survival technique: discreetly look at the dancer next to you and hope they know what's going on.

 

We've all been there. 😂

 

But here's what I find interesting about Stage Two. Those questions aren't evidence that you're failing.

 

They're evidence that you've started noticing there's more to understand. You've realised flamenco isn't simply a collection of steps put to music. So now the questions change.

 

 

These are very useful questions. Because they lead directly to Stage Three.

Stage 3: Hang On... I Recognise That

This is where you start connecting the dots.

 

You understand more about compás.

You begin to see how a baile is structured.

You start paying attention to the cante differently.

 

And then, one day, something that used to whizz straight past you doesn't.

 

You hear a familiar phrase.

You recognise the caída.

You notice a change in the melody.

 

And instead of thinking, "What just happened?"

you think, "OHHHHH. I know why they did that."

 

That moment is ridiculously satisfying.

 

Because the music hasn't changed. You're hearing something that was there all along. Then it starts happening more often.

 

You notice one thing.

Then another.

Then another.

 

Which brings us to Stage Four.

Stage 4: You Join the Conversation

Now, let's not get carried away. I'm not suggesting you immediately announce:

 

"I'm off to Spain. I'm ready to work in the tablaos." 😂

 

But something has changed in the way you're experiencing flamenco.

 

When the singer does something, you're actually listening to what they're doing.

You hear a line repeated.

You recognise when it's time to enter.

You understand why you're waiting.

You hear something finishing.

You spot a llamada.

You hear a subida and think, "Hang on... I'm pretty sure I know what they're asking for here."

 

You're not simply trying to remember what step comes next.

 

And you're not relying quite so heavily on Rebecca in the front row to keep everybody alive.

 

You're recognising what's happening. That's the conversation. 

 

The singer isn't just providing the music you're dancing over. The dancer, singer and guitarist are responding to one another.

 

And the more of those signals you recognise, the more of that conversation you can actually follow.

And Then Comes the Slightly Inconvenient Part...

You discover there isn't really a Stage Five called:

 

"Flamenco Complete. Congratulations. You May Now Relax."

 

Quite the opposite.

 

You start noticing MORE.

 

You hear the singer stretch the phrase.

You notice everyone change to playing palmas sorda.

You recognise another llamada.

You find yourself rewinding a video because: "Hang on... wasn't that the subida asking the guitarist to switch to Bulerías?"

 

And suddenly all those little things that used to happen right under your nose are the things you can't stop noticing.

 

That, for me, is one of the most enjoyable parts of learning flamenco.

If You Recognised Yourself in Stage Two...

This is exactly the kind of thing we do inside my Online Dance Studio.

 

We don't just learn what to do. We spend time on why it happens.

 

The compás.

The structure.

The cante.

The signals between dancer, singer and guitarist.

 

All those things you might have watched a hundred times while quietly wondering: "Yes, but how did everybody KNOW?"

 

So if you love asking "But WHY did that happen?" as much as "How do I do that?", you'll fit right in.

 

Especially if Stage Two has started to feel less like a phase and more like a permanent address. 😂