Flamenco online classes with live virtual tours of Spain

If you are looking for flamenco online classes, why not choose one that also ‘takes’ you to Spain?  Friends, while I am in Spain (May-July), my Singapore-based classes go online. And after the class, I add the bonus of a free live virtual tour (40 mins) for participants. That way, they can experience Spain from Singapore, interactively. What we discover depends on which city I’m in, and our surroundings.

Date/Time:

• Sundays, 6pm – 7pm (Beginners. 4 week term: 4, 11, 18, 25 July)
• Thursdays, 7.30pm – 8.30pm (New class to be opened, new beginners: 5 week term: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 July. Min 4 to start)

Experience Spain beyond the studio

These are some of the culturally rich places I’ve done a virtual walking trail with my students. Getting to know Spain’s culture and lifestyle also helps us to connect to the source of our art, appreciate and understand it. That way, we can also interpret and express it in our dance and music!

Jerez, Andalusia 

Land of flamenco, Andalusian horses and Sherry (that’s where the word comes from). I was here in May for the Jerez Flamenco Festival, so this was a good time to immerse students here, because Jerez is very significant in flamenco, especially for a particular style of flamenco called Bulerías. At some point in our flamenco lives, we have to learn this spontaneous style! (Along with Seville, I think Jerez is one of the key places we have to know)

Students got to see the flamenco barrios (neighbourhoods), get to know a Tabanco and chat to the owner (a tabanco is a little restaurant which can also have live performances of flamenco), view the exterior of a sherry bodega, the Cathedral, ending up in a bustling plaza where locals hang out.

Badajoz, Extremadura

Extremadura is famous for its amazing produce, such as the famous Spanish hams. Apart from the food, they have a rich Moorish history too.  My maestro-artist was conducting a workshop here, so I went along to get to know the flamenco community here. And then on Sunday, I took my students on tour after our online class.

Seville, Andalusia

I’m currently based here, so in June students virtually visit parts of Seville.

Barrio of Triana – Famous Flamenco quarters in Seville. (This is where my maestro’s academy is, so I conduct the online classes from here, and after class, we step out and tour). Culturally, I connect students to what they have danced, for eg, some of them would have danced the Tangos de Triana, and virtually they are now seeing Triana for the first time.

They get to know the background (like how it was a barrio for the gypsies, and how they would dance and make music in their communal spaces, patios etc. We then have an idea of  that social and cultural context, to express the spirit of the dance we do (when we are back in Singapore, for eg).

Triana is right by the banks of the Guadalquivir River, so students get to learn of historical background too, that links Spain to the New World. The headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition is also located there.

River Walks, River Stories

Did you know that Seville was the most important port of the Western world in the 16th century? Our walk along the banks of the Guadalquivir River took us back to that golden age. Sights include Triana’s Calle Betis with its row of lovely traditional houses and balconies with a view across the river, to the Seville Cathedral and Bullring. Our tour ended at the very point where the first round-the-world Magallanes-Elcano expedition set off in 1519!