Does it really work?
As research reveals the Spanish dance can have therapeutic powers, one woman joins a class to take a step towards her duende, or most authentic self
I’m a selfproclaimed unsettled person – and reading research on flamenco’s psychosomatic therapeutic capabilities, which connect you to your deepest self, was music to anxious ears. The idea that moving my body in a new way could allow me to let go of an inner restlessness, even if only for a moment, was endlessly appealing. That I’m also a fan of Rosalía – whose early music mixes pop with traditional flamenco sounds – made embarking on this journey a no-brainer.
I didn’t know what to expect before my first class; I’d never even seen a flamenco performance before, let alone tried it myself. Nerves lingered as I entered the studio, but while I felt intimidated, I knew I was in for something transformative. Soon after I chose a spot near the back of the room, the instructor, a renowned Spanish flamenco dancer, began teaching us ‘palmas’ – the hand-clapping motion synonymous with the art of flamenco. The goal of palmas is to match the rhythm of the music to accentuate both the song and the dance. It’s so essential to flamenco that it’s considered a musical instrument in its own right and may even substitute for the song itself.
Next, it was time for ‘plantas’ and ‘tacóns’. Plantas describes hitting the floor with the ball of your foot, while tacóns (‘heel’ in Spanish) describes stomping the heel. Left leg back, hit the floor, heel; repeat on the right. In flamenco, your body is an instrum
