Hombre flamenco

A dancefloor in Spain often promises sexy men and muscled asses in tight pants showing off their moves. But long before there were the expansive fields and floors that play host to house music in Ibiza and Barcelona, there was flamenco. The thunderous footwork, sometimes tender, often tension-filled movements, accompanied by the iconic Spanish guitar and heart-wrenching singing, all come together to showcase some stunning moves and captivate audiences.

Expect something along these lines during the sixth annual Toronto International Flamenco Festival, when award-winning flamenco artist and choreographer Rafaela Carrasco and her company — including four passionate male dancers — perform. Carrasco brings to Toronto not only her brilliance as a dancer and her innovative choreography, but also a rare show in which male dancers outnumber the female ones.

Although some gay men in the city have discovered the joys of the UNESCO-recognized art form, it’s surprising that more are not yet involved in the rich and dazzling dance form. With flamenco’s penchant for flair and drama, it should be a given that homos would flock to this gypsy-inspired tradition.

“I started dancing when I was five; I wanted to dance to everything. It was something that came from within me, filling me with the spirit of joy and well-being,” says Ricardo López, a gay dancer in Carrasco’s company who revels in the way flamenco lets him tap into his sensitivity and inner feelings.  

Not all men, however, embrace the dramatic emotion that flamenco demands so naturally, whether in the Old World or the New World, where its popularity is growing — at least with women.  

“Men see flamenco as a very virile dance. Most of them come into a classroom and they don’t see that masculinity in themselves right off the bat,” says Esmeralda Enrique, founder and director of the largest and longest-running flamenco school in Toronto, the Academy of Spanish Dance. “They get frustrated. Women don’t see themselves as dancers right away, either, but they eventually accept it.”

So why do those few good men, such as López, stick it out in the classroom to eventually make it onto the stage? To shine in the spotlight, of course. “He will stand out. For every one male dancer, there are 20 women. You are not going to be just one of the crowd,” Enrique says. “And you’re not encumbered in a lot of ways by the outfit, wearing those long skirts with the shawls and fans. Women may love it, but it’s hard to make herself noticed in that costume. The proportions of the male body give a whole different look to the dance.”

Enrique notes a recent trend that has seen men donning traditionally female costumes. “Women have appropriated men’s moves and power in the footwork before. Now, the tables are turning, and men are appropriating the fan, shawl and the bata de cola [the long-trained dress].”

This year’s flamenco festival reflects this trend. Carrasco has been forward thinking in representing men in a different light, including dressing her handsome dancers in the bata de cola. All her shows, including Vamos al Tiroteo, which she brings to Toronto, have received accolades from audiences all over the world; in a way she’s a kind of global ambassador for the dance form she loves.

“In the beginning, not only were there so many people who didn’t know the word flamenco (or would say flamingo), but others would associate it with salsa or Argentine tango,” says Lionel Félix, the founder of the Toronto International Flamenco Festival. The festival, he says, “has always brought huge artists, and bringing them into Toronto, we see the expansion of flamenco even more. It seems that the word flamenco is now all over.”

— Eduardo Sabate is a virile flamenco dancer himself, and he looks amazing in a bata de cola.

Toronto International Flamenco Festival Sat, Oct 20. 8pm Sony Centre 1 Front St E torontoflamencofestival.com

Esmeralda Enrique runs flamenco classes six days a week at the Academy of Spanish Dance, 401 Richmond St W, suite B104. flamencos.net