As with the Spanish tradition of bullfighting, I had also always known that Flamenco was a very important part of Spanish culture.  Again, as with bullfighting, I had seen many photos and videos of Flamenco dance and music and was eager to learn more about the tradition when I arrived in Spain.
       After arriving in Spain, through my own research as well as through my Spanish host family, I learned that Flamenco was not only a dance that had originated from southern Spain but that it also had a lot of Gypsy and Arabic influences.
      After researching and learning so many interesting facts about Flamenco, you can imagine how excited I was when I learned that our last group excursion would not only take me to Andalusia, Spain's southern region, but that it would also allow me to see a live Flamenco show!
        The following is a photo of the outside of the Flamenco dance theater as well as one of myself and other La Fundación Ortega y Gasset students before the show began.  Take a look!

        After finding our seats in the cozy theater, the Flamenco show began.  Here are some photos of the show's most exciting dances!

           In addition to getting a first hand experience of traditional Flamenco dance, by attending the show I was also able to get a first hand experience of traditional Flamenco music.  Here are serval photos highlighting the show's guitarist.  Take a look!

          

         After a fabulous evening of beautiful Flamenco dance and music, other students from La Fundación Ortega y Gasset and I happily exited the theater knowing we had all just had the opportunity of a lifetime!

         Well this is all for now, I hope you have enjoyed my eleventh post!  In my next post I will explore more of the experiences I had while on the last group excursion with a special focus on one of Andalusia's cities, Córdoba.