FLAMENCO STORIES

     These stories are the result of my new found interest in documenting my history of Ritmo Flamenco through taking a look at the people that have come through the doors of my studio throughout the past twenty years.  The first person I chose to do a “snapshot” of is Krista Raun Spence who I first met when I was the flamenco teacher at the Spanish Center for Language and Culture during the years 1996 to 2000.  These group classes were small but contained an interesting cornucopia of women of various ages, backgrounds and ethnicities who wanted to give flamenco dancing a quick try.  Krista was still a student at University of Toronto and used to come to class in a casual outfit – sometimes wearing a bandana and carrying along her saxophone as she was an avid jazz player.   Krista became so hooked on flamenco and continued more serious studies at my school learning more complex technique and choreography.  Continuing to perfect her training, she came to Jerez de la Frontera, Spain in 2003 on one of our group study trips and became a professional member of the dance company for several years.  Krista took a break around the time she began her family and presently a mother of two, has an awesome husband (Nick Spence) and is going back to work as a Teacher/Librarian and is Head of Technology at the University of Toronto Lab School.  The great news is, she is resuming her flamenco dance career and will be joining the company in future productions.

                                                                                            

KRISTA RAUN SPENCE  “Flamenco is the Dance Of My Life”.

   I didn’t really know what flamenco dancing was, other than what I had seen in a Mission Impossible movie.  A girl I met at university was willing to take dance lessons with me but we couldn’t find a night that worked so I went to the Spanish Center and took my first Flamenco Class with Valerie when I was 20 years old.   I had taken ballet and jazz dance lessons as a child and had dropped out when I got into doing more musical theatre and playing in a band. 

            After my first lesson, I was hooked.  I loved the rhythmic elements to the footwork and the focus on expressive arms and hands.  I went to see a Ritmo Flamenco show at a church with my mom, and decided that I definitely wanted to be dancing flamenco on stage someday.  At that time, I was playing hockey, playing saxophone in a jazz band, and taking flamenco lessons.  In the fall, all three fell on Tuesday nights, and I had to make a choice.  I knew I would never be a great hockey player, and figured I could be a jazz player anytime, but maybe this would be the chance to be a dancer. 

            I was dedicated and really noticed a difference in my dancing when I was trying to match Valerie’s body positions, when I looked at the line that her body made, and the space behind it.  It was like appreciating every part of a sculpture.  I would place myself just to one side of her so I could see and try my best to match it.  Once I started taking lessons three times a week, I felt it easier to dance.  My body got used to the work and was changing.  After going to Spain twice and studying there with Mercedes Ruiz (and extremely humbling but beneficial experience), and attending countless performances to see the broad range of flamenco dance in Jerez, my understanding of flamenco grew.  In Spain, I saw modern elements, humorous elements, and balletic performances.  We headed out to late-night caverns where flamenco lives and breathes. 

            I spent many years enjoying dancing and performing with the company and had lots of fun times seeing the affect that flamenco has on the audiences.  After leaving for a while, I tried many different kinds of dance; hip hop, modern, salsa, but never felt satisfied.  Flamenco says something.  It says something about oppression, a feeling that many of us can connect to.   It is the dance of my life.