Flamenco!

I know very well of a place you can go
for a night of romantic Spanish flamenco.
It's a hole in the wall, this is true, but inside
the passion you'll find is a spicy surprise!
The sangria is sweet and flows freely, my friend;
and the rhythm will catch you for hours on end!
And the beat
  And the beat
      And the beat will unseat you!
And the dancing
   The dancing
      The dancing will free you!
I know a place for flamenco, I know it quite well,
and if you go to Madrid, then you'll know it,
  You'll need it,
      You'll love it as well.

5/15/12

  When we got to La Quimera we were some of the first ones, but we had a little table and pillowed bench set aside for us. We nibbled on our tapas and watched the people amble in. As the tables started to fill we saw the guitar player enter, Georgeo pointed him out. Soon it was 10 and the tables were filling and an electric excitement was buzzing in the air. I ordered my sangria, Georgeo his beer, and we got ourselves settled in for the show. It started with a single soft clang, almost like a hammer on a bell. A melody started, with just the bell, and soon it was echoed by hand clapping and foot stomping, keeping time. The lights went out, turning out gazes to a table at the back of the bar. The man from earlier with the big barrel chest started suddenly to sing- big bellowing passionate bursts! The crescendo rose- and so did a man in a tight suit (gorgeous!!). He rose slowly to the beat and stepped
                                             gracefully
                                                          slowly
                                                                  to the tabletop.
And then there was dancing!
  The show moved to the main stage and climaxed in waves. First one person would dance, a man in black. Then he would perform a stunning finish. After three or four of these dances, the grand finale and thunderous applause, then without pause, another song would start and the next dancer would take the stage. Sometimes the dancer would command silence with a wave and all noise would stop-
   then the dancer would start to stomp and clap out a beat and the other dancers, singer, and guitarist would nod and shout their approval and join in. Each dance or song was punctuated copiously with cries of "Ole!"- either soft encouragement or loud raucous finale cries! The passion of the dancers was palpable.
  The woman, a tiny thing, had so much expression in her face and her body when she danced. She'd lift her skirts and her legs would be moving like blurs underneath.
  The man in black had precision, ending on final beats with a clap like thunder, using the whole of the stage.
  And the man who danced last, the same as the table at the beginning, the gorgeous man women would melt for (and some men as well, to be sure), he moved with such fluidity. He used his hands to hypnotize and he worked his body to dripping with his fervor for the music!
  And the singers! Oh! The singers! Long ringing notes hanging in the air making you hold your breath, never wanting it to end! There were two singers. The man with the barrel chest sang first to open the show. Then he introduced the players and left the stage to stand by the bar and watch with the rest of us. I think he owns the place. The other singer was a woman; she accepted her introduction with a shy wave and so I expected her to be shy- but when she sang she had such power! And at the end of the show she stood in her long black dress and came to the front of the stage. I was expecting a power-note, but instead, to my breath-catching pleasant surprise- she began to dance! The grand finale had all four out dancing, the guitarist strumming wildly, and all the audience in thunderous wall shaking applause! It was a riot of passion!!
We left on winged feet, walking home on clouds...