Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Spain frets over future of flamenco

A decade ago, Madrid boasted 20 flamenco taverns featuring this unique kind of entertainment - the furious, rhythmic tapping of a dancer's heels, the thundering chords of a classical guitar, a singer's soulful lament, all that contagious hand-clapping. Now only four or five remain, all packed with tourists and too expensive for the average Spaniard.

Silvia Calado, a critic for the Web site http://www.flamenco-world.com/ said flamenco is not quite in a state of crisis. But while it has built up great prestige abroad, here in Spain it is low on creativity and has failed to reach out to new audiences.

"Flamenco is distancing itself from young people and they are the ones who can keep it alive," Calado said.

For the full text of the article, click on http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/ap/20071027/ten-flamenco-for-foreigners-5e343d7.html.

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