Flamenco Classes for Adults Are Fun!

In Person & Live-streamed Classes :)

Flamenco Classes American Dance Institute

Students Lika  & Elizabeth from the American Dance Institute performing during a the Greenwood/Phinney Art Walk festival.

What is Flamenco?

Flamenco is a Spanish art form made up of three components:

1. Cante (song)

2. Baile (dance) and

3. Toque (guitar)


Recent School Awards

American Dance Institute - Greenwood reviews on Fresh Chalk

The readers of Fresh Chalk voted American Dance Institute the Best Seattle Dance Classes.

Check out Fresh Chalk, Seattle's exciting new source for trustworthy referrals & reviews!

Martha Stewart Living Mentions The American Dance Institute
The American Dance Institute of Seattle & Shoreline WA was one of just six dance schools featured in a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine, along with the Joffrey Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Center, and The Rockets of NYC, Koresh Dance Company of Philadelphia, and the Contemporary Ballet Dallas.
Rated Three Best Dance Schools in Seattle

The American Dance Institute, an independent school, was rated as one of the three best dance schools in Seattle.

Where Are The American Dance Institute Dance Studios Near Me?

Six spacious dance studios in four locations including Greenwood, Wedgwood, Magnolia, and Shoreline.

Click on any red flag above to learn more about our studio locations.

Our Adult Flamenco Classes Schedules

  • We will offer live-streamed and in-studio classes through the session. All in-studio classes will adhere to Washington Department of Health COVID-19 guidelines.   Masks are optional effective, 3/12/22. 
  • **Masks are required for individuals that have tested positive for Covid-19 or have been exposed to Covid-19 for a 10 day period following onset of symptoms, positive test results, or Covid-19 exposure.**

Click For Our Summer 2022 Class Schedule Here

June 27, 2022 through September 1, 2022

Click For Our Winter/Spring 2022 Class Schedule Here

February 7th through June 16th, 2022
Seattle Flamenco Classes

Students Pia & John from the American Dance Institute performing during a the Greenwood/Phinney Art Walk festival.

Why Flamenco? 

Discover yourself and recognize your own individuality through the powerful art form of Flamenco. 

Learn flamenco dance technique (floreo, braceo, taconeo, palmas and vueltas)  as well as the important musical components of flamenco such as compás (rhythm) and various palos (musical forms).

Adult Flamenco Classes choreography focuses on a particular flamenco palo and compás as well as utilizes the flamenco technique learned in class.

Practice body-awareness and learn self-expression while exploring exciting traditional and fusion choreography in a supportive and positive environment. Students are also introduced to playing the castanets.

Flamenco Classes Seattle

Students Pia & Lika  from the American Dance Institute performing during a the Greenwood/Phinney Art Walk festival.

  • Our Adult Flamenco Classes are a great introduction to the art of flamenco. All the fundamentals are taught in the technique class including posture, technique, compás (rhythm),  footwork, and palmas (clapping). 
  • The Flamenco Repertoire class is a place for dancers to use the fundamentals of technique within traditional forms of flamenco choreography, and students should take both the Technique and Repertoire classes simultaneously.

Choosing Your Skill Level

  • Flamenco I Technique: Beginning level: This class is for students who have 0-3 months of flamenco experience. Students will be introduced to proper body posture, basic hand and arm movements, basic sounds of the feet, introduction to hand-clapping, and will learn a short choreography with the focus on the palo of Tangos. 
  • Flamenco I.5 Technique: This class is for students who have at least 6 months or more of flamenco experience. Students are continuing to work on proper body posture, basic hand and arm movements, basic sounds of the feet with heelwork combinations, introduction to hand-clapping and rhythmic listening skills, and are currently working on the flamenco palo, Tangos, as well as the first copla of Sevillanas.
  • Flamenco III Technique Advanced beginner:  This class is for students who have at least 2 years or more of flamenco experience. Our goal for this session is to improve our skills with floreo and braceo technique in various positions, build confidence in flamenco turns and build speed and accuracy in our heelwork combinations. We will also continue to work with castanet technique. 
  • Flamenco III Repertoire Advanced beginner:  This class is for students who have at least 2 years or more of flamenco experience. This class will study the flamenco palo*, (To Be Announced in September), working with the meaning of the letras and polishing the choreography as well as improving our skills with using the upper body and core in flamenco expression. *Please note the many different musical forms of flamenco are referred to as a palo. 
  • Flamenco IV Technique:  This class is for students who have at least 3 years or more of flamenco experience. This level will explore how to develop more accuracy and speed in taconeo combinations, including latiguillo, as well as braceo with taconeo combinations and mastering advanced level vueltas (turns.) We will also continue to work with castanet technique. 
  • Flamenco IV Repertoire Intermediate level:  This class is for students who have at least 3 years or more of flamenco experience. This class will study the flamenco palo*, (To Be Announced in September), working with the meaning of the letras and polishing the choreography as well as improving our skills with using the upper body and core in flamenco expression. *Please note the many different musical forms of flamenco are referred to as a palo. 
  • Introduction to Castanet Technique (NEW) Beginning level technique class for students who have never played castanets and/or who need a refresher course and want to polish their technique. Note: Students are required to bring their own castanets. (NO ZOOM LESSONS FOR THIS CLASS)
Flamenco Dance Classes American Dance Institute

Students Pia  & Elizabeth from the American Dance Institute performing during a the Greenwood/Phinney Art Walk festival.

Helpful Information

Buying/Ordering Your First Castanets 

Teacher's recommendations:

There are so many different brands, colors and styles of castanets. One of the more important aspects is the size of the castanets, which come in many different sizes, not uniform but different for each brand. Depending on whom you speak with or order from, they should be able to help you if you ask. My recommendation is that you always go with a smaller size rather than larger. 
Also, if this is your first pair, don't feel you need to spend a lot of money. I started out with a very cheap pair of castanets in my studies. When I learned what brand and style I liked, I was able to buy another pair or two later. 
Local Resources USA:  
  1. Flamenco West (located in Los Angeles, CA) 
https://flamencowest.com/63-accessories
    Phone:   310.305.7661
They have beginner castanets starting from $40. Many Seattle flamencos use the Flamenco West store for Senovilla shoes and flamenco accessories. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and will help you with sizing questions. 

2. Land's Far Away Flamenco Boutique (located in Florida) https://boutique-flamenco.com/product-category/castanets-castanuelas/
 Phone: 727.400.6804
They have beginner castanets starting from $30. 

3. Olé Olé Flamenco Boutique (located in N.Y.C.) https://oleoleflamenco.com/collections/castanets
   Phone:  347. 960. 6379
Email: Hello@oleoleflamenco.com
They have beginner castanets starting from $32.
 
All About Castanet Facts & History

Castanet History

Castanets, also known as clackers or palillos, are a percussion instrument  used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish,Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. Castanets are a member of a very old family of musical instruments that has been found on every civilized continent, with some examples dating back 10,000 years.

The instrument consists of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by a string. They are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for rhythmic accents or a ripping or rattling sound consisting of a rapid series of clicks. They are traditionally made of hardwood (chestnut; Spanish: castaño), although fibreglass is becoming increasingly popular.

Etymology

The Spanish word for castanets is castañuelas, derived from castaña, meaning "chestnut" or "hazel" -- castanets were traditionally carved from these woods. The Andalusian word for castanets is "palillos."

So What are Castanets, Exactly?

The modern castanet comprises a pair of shell-shaped flattened wooden clackers which are held together with a single loop of string or thin leather. The leather is doubled and the thumb is placed through it, and the pair of castanets then hangs freely from the thumb and is manipulated by the fingers and the palms. Accomplished castanet players can make a variety of noises with the castanets, from a flat "click" to a warm roll. Castanets are always played in pairs, and each pair is tuned differently. The higher-pitched pair (known as "hembra," or "female") is traditionally held in the right hand and the lower-pitched pair (known as "macho," or "male") is traditionally held in the left hand.

Castanets in Folkloric Dancing

Though many people associate the castanets with flamenco, they are not a traditional element of flamenco music or dance; rather, the castanets are an integral part of folkloric Spanish dances, primarily Sevillanas and Escuela Bolera dance.

La Argentina and the Modern Castanet Style

Antonia Mercé y Luque (1890-1936), known as La Argentina, was a classically-trained ballet dancer who decided to leave ballet and explore Spanish traditional dance instead. Essentially reinventing the entire genre, she brought Spanish folkloric dancing to the stage and rebirthed it as a fine art. She was, by all accounts, an astonishing castanet player, and her style of playing became the definitive one. It's no stretch to say that every modern castanet player is basing their style (however many generations removed) on that of La Argentina. 

Castanets in Composed Music

Various baroque and classical composers have used castanets in their scores, though in modern orchestras, castanets that are mounted on a stick are generally used to perform these pieces. Jean-Baptiste Lully used them in many baroque dance pieces, usually to evoke a Spanish or Arabic feel, and they've been used similarly in many other composed works: Georges Bizet's “Carmen,” Strauss's “Salome,” Ravel's “Rhapsodie Espagnole,” Chabrier's “España,” and Massenet's “Le Cid.”

Source: Megan Romer and Mickey De La Serna


Tying The Knots For Your Castanets:
Some of you may need to restring or retie your knots on your castanets. 


Look here: https://flamencokc.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/castanets/

Or here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ6hJ7WkfhE

How To Change The Castanet Cord

Flamenco Dance Classes for Adults Notes

Ladies: Wear leotard or shirt, full skirt, and flamenco shoes

Men: Wear dance pants, shirt, and flamenco shoes.

Attire is available at:

Center Stage Dance Shop & flamencoexport.com

Flamenco dance students performing at the May 2018 Phinneywood Art Walk event in Seattle.

Flamenco dance classes, flamenco seattle, flamenco dance classes for adults

Flamenco Dance Classes instructor Michaelene De La Serna leads a class of beginning Flamenco students at American Dance Institute Greenwood.

About Your Flamenco Dance Instructor

flamenco dance classes, flamenco seattle, adult flamenco dance lessons, flamenco dance instruction

Michaelene De La Serna studied flamenco dance intensively for many years with Flamenco Chicago Artistic Director Ms. Rosetta Magdalen. She has also studied with flamenco greats Carmela Greco and Marija Temo.

Read More

Our Online Class Technology.

ADI's State of the art live streaming technology
Mihkai Wickline in an onine ballet class at home.

The Quality Online Class Room Experience - At Home

  • All studio broadcasts are via hard wire ethernet connections to insure best streaming quality.
  • Large TV screens allow teachers to clearly see their students.
  • Teachers give student corrections very effectively.
  • Excellent voice quality allows students to clearly hear teacher.
  • Excellent music transmission quality allows students to hear music in real time (without lags).
  • Students are able to see and chat with their classmates to maintain and grow friendships.
Dennis Landmesser American Dance Institute review image

Dennis Landmesser

Testimonial

We asked Dennis Landmesser, how he liked his live streamed online dance class today with instructor Dakota Crist.

The dance class today with Dakota was more than I could have hoped to expect.  I don't know what to rave about more, the quality of the production or the excellence to the class.  

Her instructions were clear and complete and made perfect sense.  The corrections were thoughtful and meaningful.  Dakota is golden and to be highly valued.

Dennis Landmesser

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Six Seattle Area Dance Studios In Four Convenient Locations

Greenwood, Wedgwood, Magnolia & Shoreline

american dance institute studio front, 8001 greenwood ave north, seattle, wa 98103

Greenwood: 8001 Greenwood Ave North, Seattle, WA 98103

American Dance Institute Magnolia

Magnolia: 2410 32nd Ave West, Seattle WA 98199

dance-classes-wedgwood-ravenna-maple-leaf-

Wedgwood: NE 7500 25th NE, Suite 1, Seattle, WA 98115

dance classes shoreline, lake Forest Park, Edmonds, Seattle

Shoreline: 1240 NE 175th Street, Shoreline, WA 98155, Phone 206-402-6561

Testimonials

Adult ballet dance class students Ryan, Mat, and Jenay from the American Dance Institute share a few things they enjoy about their new dance classes, dance teachers, fellow students, and the school.

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