Taking a 12 yr old girl to a flamenco show. Any suggestions on which is the best for a "drama" queen that loves dance and flashy? February travel

if you put the word flamenco in the "seach this forum" box you will see several threads.

Reecee will be back with some ideas later (on my lunch right now & running) but start with this site

Also for those looking for Sara in Feb...

http://www.esflamenco.com/scripts/ne...mIdPagina=1094

I also recommend the new show 'Carmen' by Sara Baras. Read 'Soleá with Sara Baras' at this magazine:
http://www.esmadrid.com/recursos/doc...2009103115.pdf

All about flamenco in this store located in calle Conde de Lemos 7
http://www.elflamencovive.es/index.asp

Ok Reecee,

Since you say your DD loves dance, (is she a dancer?) but you need to expose her to a bit to the sounds of flamenco music before the event. Has she ever heard any real flamenco? (I am not talking about the Gypsy Kings type sound) If one has never heard it true flamenco song can be jolting the first time. Tune into the free station Tim's radio a few time and read about flamenco on the link
on the earlier post.
http://www.flamencoradio.net/default...ation=flamenco

Now then the next question is that of money. You can take her to see Sara Baras as suggested and also to a tablao. There are several and they are listed in the Maribel Guides. The shows generally start after 10 pm, so be aware of that.

I have been wanting to go to both Las Tablas and Las Carboneras.
They appear intimate & smaller venues so I think they would be fun for her. They are both less expensive than the the long standng Cafe de Chintas or Corral de la Moreria.$$$ The owners of Las Tablas are two dancers so perhaps you may even get to mee them with your daughter.

http://www.tablaolascarboneras.com/web/index.html

http://www.lastablasmadrid.com/

http://www.lastablasmadrid.com/

Casa Patas is very popular and you might consider having a meal there prior to the show to ensure a good seat as the food is pretty good (for a tablao) They might however have a smaller show as they frequenly feature one dancer or perhaps a singer as a featured artist.

http://www.casapatas.com/


Just FYI as a point of information Madrid's famous dance studio Amor de Dios has attracted dancers of all different levels of expertise from all over the world.

http://www.amordedios.com/WebAD/El%2...o/QueSomos.htm

Reecee,
Ditto, of course, to all of the above that our flamenco expert, amsdon, has told you.

And as she says, your most expensive venues would be Café de Chinitas and Corral de la Morería; they also have a larger ensemble cast of singers, dancers, guitarists. So that for your daughter could seem "flashier" because there would be more performers rather than the solo artist at Casa Patas. These venues have been around for decades and boast of a long list of celebrities/dignitaries who have seen their shows. But if you decide on either of the first two, just go for the performance and skip the meal. It will save you considerable money, and you'll dine better elsewhere.

I've also had very good reports on Las Tablas, which is the least expensive of the whole lot.

You can probably get a sense of each show by watching a snippet of one on youtube.com

We have tickets for the new Sara Baras show, Carmen, at the Teatro Lope de Vega (on the Gran Vía) which we purchased here:
http://tinyurl.com/dja7f4

(This El Corte Inglés ticket site is in Spanish only, but we can help you through the purchase if you're interested. It only shows availability thru March 29, but I strongly suspect that the show will be held over, as her shows in Madrid usually are.)

Carmen lasts 110 minutes. The weekday performances start at 10, but Sunday shows start at 7.

We've seen this internationally renowned flamenco star's shows in the US, Paris and Spain, and she is truly phenomenal-magnificent choreography and costumes-quite a memorable show. I think your daughter would love this spectacle and would be something very special for her.

I brought my boys, who were then 11 and 13, to Las Carboneras - Tablao Flamenco-Restaurante. We enjoyed it very much. I didn't know what the boys would think, but it was an experience for them and they enjoyed the beat of the music, foot stomping, and clapping, in addition to the dancing.

We didn't want to have dinner there, so our table was towards the back. The people dining have the tables closest to the stage. It is a small, intimate room, so we could see fine.

If you are loooking for drama and flash, perhaps a larger show with flashier costumes is what you are looking for. In a small venue like Las Carboneras, you can really feel the beat. It kind of gets into your soul.

Have fun!