Flamenco – Sacromonte

There appears to be a debate – heated at times – as to where flamenco music and dance originated. One of the early places where flamenco was to be found in the caves of Sacramonte near Granada, where the gypsies lived. These days those caves have been sanitised and host nightly flamenco shows for tourists, of which I was one. Yhe effect is quite dramatic as the cave has fantastic acoustics, and the dancers now seem to be wearing tap-dancing shoes and dancing on wooden boards, which in a restricted space is a loud combination!

This picture of one of the dancers we saw that evening is another attempt to apply acrylic paints with a palette knife – a medium I chose to use because I wanted dramatic colours to match the ambience of the cave and the percussive sound of the music. The colours I think I have achieved, although I am less sure whether the dancer’s motion has been well captured or not..