Dancing up a storm

A fusion of cultural traditions and pulsing with passion, the characteristic dance styles of Spanish and Latin music are often art forms in their own right. Who hasn't been moved after seeing an exceptionally emotional flamenco performance – or hasn't been compelled to move their feet and swing their hips to the sounds of salsa beats? These dance forms are compelling, enthusiastic, and addictive – for before you know it, you'll be hooked!

These days, Spanish and Latin dances are rightly regarded as a great way to get out, have fun, meet people, and get fit at the same time. Taking dance classes in Madrid, in Spain, or in many locations throughout the world can also be your ticket to unlimited opportunities when it comes to seeing great sights around the globe, all whilst benefiting from a musical educational experience at the same time.

However, let's have a brief look at the history of two key Spanish and Latin dances, namely flamenco and tango, and see exactly how their origins have varied. If you're trying to decide which dance class to take, especially if you're a novice, this could help determine which class is ideal for you.

Flamenco

Think flamenco and all the connotations of a sun-drenched Andalusian vista should spring to mind. Originating in Southern Spain, flamenco is a dance with an obscured history, due to its inextricable links to lower class culture. In fact, the Gitanos (Gypsies) have been integral to maintaining this dance form, yet because of their oral culture, the early developments of the dance haven't been recorded in the pages of history. It was only in the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries (the so-called "Golden Age of Flamenco") that flamenco developed a define form, and this came with performances in cafes and eventually theatres as the dance form acquired widespread and international recognition.

Tango

Almost a world away, in the port neighbourhoods of urban Argentina in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, this distinctive dance and musical style emerged. By 1912, with travelling troupes of dancers from Buenos Aires arriving in Paris, a tango craze was well and truly established in Europe. The following year, tango-mania struck the United States and it affected both the urban and elite classes in equal measure. Suddenly, tango was being performed in theatres in Paris and London and hotels in New York, until it became a staple of all the big name concert halls, theatres, and hotels in London, Paris, and Berlin. The enthusiasm for the dance was curbed by the onset of the Great Depression and then furthermore by the advent of other dance styles, including rock and roll, however the form has been revived in grand style from the 1980s to the present day.

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