Ballet Naciònal de España

This past weekend I had a chance to see the National Spanish Ballet, and it really blew me away. The music and dance was an interesting blend of predominantly flamenco, fused with several other styles of dance. The music was rythmic and flowing, much like flamenco, and the costumes were elaborate and flowing, much of the extra material being used to control the flow of the dance. There were about 8 musicians, and, as in flamenco, the dancers provided a large portion of the rythm. In this case, there were about 20 dancers in total.

Having already seen one form of flamenco before, I was able to pick up on some of the different nuances of the ballet. There was much more movement and choreography involved in the ballet, naturally drawing from the traditional ballet performance of motion and carfully planned coordinated groups. This chief difference is what separates the ballet from the flamenco. Like flamenco, the dancers used their feet and hands to keep and command the ebb and flow of sound.

Overall, the lighting, costuming, and beauty of sound combined to make one of the better performances I have seen here in Spain.