This last weekend was a winter highlight, the International Festival of Madison. The many cultures that grace this small city are represented in music, dance and food. To mention a fraction of the offerings: Capoeira, Swiss Alphorns, German music, Taiwan Puppets and for dances; Mexican Folkloric, East Indian, African, Chinese, Bolivian and Lithuanian. We wish we could see them all, but several groups perform at one time in different rooms of the concert hall. A favorite for our family is Flamenco!

Tania Tandias has given Flamenco classes in Madison, Wisconsin for a least a decade. She was trained in New Mexico and Spain. Her students are becoming very accomplished and put on a great show at the festival. The footwork, the costumes, the fans and the castanets are delightful to see. The group has several videos on YouTube. They are a great Midwestern flamenco troupe; the real thing (not fake ; ). We love shouting, “Olé!” to encourage the dancers.

We were transported to southern Spain for the twenty minutes they danced. This year we also saw Cuban, Gypsy Swing, and Brazilian music. The festival is a wonderful way to keep the frozen pavement from making us frown.

The Henna booth was another hit:

The food was wonderful; Italian, Jamaican, Mexican and Thai!

Hope to see you here next year, if you’re climate is too warm.

Gracias for reading Fake Flamenco! Olé! –Rebecca