"Gender, Traditions and Techniques in Flamenco"

Flamenco dance technique classes reflect the evolution of the form from its origins among the marginalized classes in Southern Spain to a professionalized, codified vocabulary that is taught across the globe. Prior to a master class with Israel Galván at 5:30 p.m., Michelle Heffner Hayes will provide some context for the development of flamenco as a technique, its gendered conventions, and the standardization of its norms. Artists like Galván use flamenco as a language to embrace and disrupt these "codes" for the purposes of artistic expression. The limits of these disruptions reveal the parameters of a tradition that is simultaneously conserved and advanced by innovation. Both events are part of Pasión y Arte's 2014 Philadelphia Flamenco Festival.