A Glimpse of the Duende Flamenco Dance Studio Concert "Duende es mi vida"

Yesterday in the hall of the independent Riga theatre "Skatuve", the annual end-of-year concert of the flamenco dance club Duende took place. Various flamenco styles were danced on stage - tangos, farrukas, sevillanas, alegrias, tanguillo, bulerias. The performances were made more splendid not only by the variety of brightly coloured costumes, good dance technique, and the dancers' emotional engagement, but also by various dance accessories - castanets, fans, hats.

The show began with shadow theatre - the silhouette and graceful movements of a flamenco dancer. The novelty was the Soleá dance, performed by Ilvija, Aija, and Arta, dancing with "tails" - long, typically Spanish, voluminous ruffle skirts (bata de cola). Dance performances alternated with guitar playing performed by Niks Ancis, and even with a reading of poetry by the famous Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.

Dancers of varying experience performed - both dance teachers and seasoned dancers since Duende's founding in 2004, as well as those who stepped onto the stage for the first time this year. If the first dances were still a little uncertain and stiff, all the dancers without exception opened up in the second half of the concert, reaching a culmination in the final bulerias dance, where playfulness and lightness were visible, along with the desire not merely to follow the dance steps but to improvise freely.

Performing the joyful sevillanas, it turned out, was within the abilities of even the youngest dancers, who stepped just as confidently as the already-experienced dancers. The event also featured a short sketch from the production "The Clever Lover" performed by Skatuve theatre actors Lienīte and Artūrs.

Overall a very lovely and inspiring event. More in the photo gallery to follow.

P.S. To the dancers - if anyone would like to receive photos by email, please write to [email protected], I will forward them!