Flamenco y Género: ¿Amigos o Enemigos? = Gender in Flamenco: Friends or Enemies?

For the past few months I have attended classes of flamenco dance at a gymnasium near the Alcampo. The class is one hour long, every Tuesday and Thursday night and the name of the dance teacher is Isabel Madrid. The class usually consists of nine female students, although the number changes every now and then. The majority of the female students are older than age 40 except for myself and another exchange student from Quebec, Canada. The class serves as an excellent introduction to flamenco dance because the professor teaches three relatively easy dances every class: 1) paso doble 2) el campaso de tango y 3) la guajira. In this essay I will generally discuss how I integrated myself into the class, what new aspects of dance I learned, as well as aspects of the language and culture that the class illuminated for me. However, primarily I will address the role of gender in flamenco and how my class functioned in general. In my conclusion I attempt to present a summary of my experience and how I feel I contributed to the class