Flamenco Dance Academies in Seville : a transcultural exchange field

The objective of this text is to present flamenco dance academies in Seville as a field of transcultural exchange. The theoretical framework is provided by two concepts: Wolfgang Welsch’s idea of transculturality and Francisco Aix Gracia’s concept of the ‘flamenco field’ (campo flamenco). Flamenco dance academies serve functions that extend well beyond the mere execution of dance instructions – they are institutions where individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, including foreigners, Andalusians, Andalusian Roma, and Spaniards from outside Andalusia, interact and negotiate their cultural identity. Flamenco dance schools also may be considered as transcultural platforms for the renegotiation of elements integral to the identities of foreign dancers, including lifestyle, behaviour, language, body, movement, and expression.