Learning Flamenco in Barcelona

Every semester, ASA students in Barcelona have an amazing opportunity to join in on a flamenco workshop.

“It is a great introduction to Spanish culture through music and dance,” said Marta, our Barcelona-based European Operations Manager who joins the students in the workshop. “Students love it. It is a very passionate and energetic activity. The professor teaches them traditional Flamenco, Flamenco Fusion, like Rosalía, and Rumba Catalana. Flamenco was originally created in Southern Spain, in Andalusia. However, in Catalonia we have a strong Flamenco tradition, and Rumba too. It is one of my favorite events with students. When we go to Seville or Granada for a weekend trip, the students already have a knowledge of Flamenco music when we go to watch a Flamenco Show."

The dance combines poetry, song, guitar, dance, clapping, finger snapping, foot stomping and audience interaction. It was recognized in 2010 by UNESCO as part of the World’s Intangible Heritage, but it has a complicated history in Spain.

Did you know that, in “Toy Story 3”, the automatic ‘Spanish mode’ that Buzz Lightyear is set up accidentally at one point turns him into a Flamenco dancer? To the outside world, this is a big stereotype: Flamenco is synonymous with Spanish culture, and that’s just one example.

Spaniards haven’t always embraced this dance though. The country’s national identity is continually evolving and very complex, and it was originally thought that foreigners imposed this unwanted association with Flamenco onto them. It was once considered vulgar, brought to life by the ostracized Gypsy people from the southern regions of the country.

It wasn’t until around 1900 that a form of Flamenco began to be slowly elevated into “high culture” by artists and intellectuals. It declined again during the Spanish Civil War, but was then commercialized and promoted by the Franco regime as a way to appeal to tourists and lure them back again. It worked. It became more accepted by Spaniards as an important aspect of their culture and, more recently, Flamenco gained renewed respect both artistically and academically.

Above is a very short version of its history, but there’s a fantastic article in Smithsonian Magazine called “The Complicated History of Flamenco in Spain” if you want to learn more about Flamenco.

Or come study abroad in Barcelona with us, join in on one of our workshops and learn about and experience the dance firsthand.

“I had the chance to take a Flamenco lesson with other ASA students in Barcelona,” said Saoirse Herlihy who is studying abroad in Barcelona this spring. “I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about Flamenco prior to the class, but was excited to learn about the dance that seems to be very influential in Spanish culture. I went into the experience with an open mind, and had the best time. The teacher had amazing energy. It was so fun to learn about the culture and tradition of the dance while actually dancing ourselves. In my two months in Barcelona so far, this Flamenco class was definitely one of my favorite memories from my time here.“