Did you ever wonder how to play castanets? Well, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana demonstrated how to do that and more, bringing the dance that originated in southern Spain to the Charlottesville and University community last week.
The company just ended its brief residency in Charlottesville, which was made possible through a partnership between the University and Piedmont Virginia Community College. The group's stay included lecture demonstrations throughout the area -- one of which was held in Culbreth Theatre -- as well as a master class and a performance on the last night.
Second-year College student Ann-Marie MacFarlane spent the summer studying in Spain, taking flamenco classes while there, and said the environment added to her experience.
"Once the cante and guitarra [at the lecture demonstration] started to play, it reminded me of when I was in Spain," MacFarlane said. "I feel the dance has a lot of passion."
Tricia Gooley, who teaches dance through the drama department, said the lecture demonstration held at Culbreth was very informative and that she wished there had been a larger turnout.
"I thought it provided a nice balance between actually demonstrating the dances and explaining the origins and the technique," Gooley said. "Being able to relate [flamenco] to a more Western society and how here we think of dance as more theatrical and [in Spain], it's much more cultural."
Second-year College student Erin White, who has been dancing flamenco for four and a half years, also said she enjoyed the lecture demonstration at Culbreth.
"I was really impressed with the complexity of their footwork and also the passion that they had while they were dancing," White said.
White also attended the master class, held in Piedmont's Dickinson Theater, and said it was a slightly different style than she was used to but fun nonetheless.
"When I walked into the master class, I immediately thought that [some] students had the weirdest choice of shoes on, and it made me wonder, 'Do they know what flamenco is?'" White said. "They chose zip-up leather boots or sneakers, and one girl had on stiletto heels that completely ruined her section of the newly-installed hardwood floor."
White mentioned that the teacher of the master class told them the company thought the University audience was pretty quiet, but White said she thought most audiences in the area would be about the same because flamenco and other Latin dances are quite different from the more traditional dance styles.
"I like the attitude [flamenco] portrays," White said. "It has a sort of a sensuality and beauty that is so different from ballet and other forms of dance."
Gooley added that, without a real dance department here, the University would benefit from any and all types of companies that could be brought in.
"Dance has been one of those things that hasn't been as prominent within the University at a professional level as some other of the art forms," Gooley said. "I think anything we can do to get people more educated as a dance audience here, the better off the University will be"
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