This video records some of the Flamenco performance that I was able to see in a restaurant in Granada. Flamenco is a proud part of all of Spanish culture but has been most significantly developed in the Spanish region Andalusia. The namesake of the dance has been debated for years and it is likely that an answer will never be produced. The word flamenco can mean "Flemish" or "flamingo" and many researchers point to past Gypsy cultures. Despite, all debate it is clear that Flamenco started in the lower classes and as far back as 900 years ago. In fact, it wasn't until the 1980's that it began to be formally recognized by the dancing world as an art. To some extent this has lead to its unique style and also the ambiguity of its history. Until the last two decades, only people surrounded by the dance, rather than official scholars, recorded much of its development.
I was surprised at the combination of grace from the upper body and the speed and technique of the feet. The music played along with the dancer were also unique, even to the extent that a specific flamenco guitar is used. Because the dance developed through the lower classes and was inspired by moorish influences, to me it captures a lot of the skill and grace of the Spanish people. It developed without the international pressures for the structure of dance and remained constant through the transfers and conquests of power in the Iberian Peninsula. In many ways, it is a cultural icon because until very recently, it was purely Spanish.