Flamenco de Sevilla

Flamenco de Sevilla, the Museo del Baile Flamenco, is the dance museum in the Santa Cruz quarter of Seville, and it is the best place in the city to understand flamenco before seeing it live. The museum was founded in 2006 by the dancer Cristina Hoyos, who was born in Seville and became one of the most admired flamenco dancers of her generation, and it occupies an eighteenth-century house on Calle Manuel Rojas Marcos, a short walk from the Cathedral and the Alcázar.

Flamenco belongs to Andalusia, and its roots lie in the communities of the region, especially the Roma, or Gitano, people, whose music blended with Moorish, Jewish and Andalusian traditions over several centuries. UNESCO added flamenco to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. Seville, particularly the Triana district across the river, has been one of its main centres, along with Jerez and Cádiz.

The museum takes a modern approach, using audiovisual displays, interactive installations and objects such as costumes, shawls, guitars and photographs to show how the art developed. The displays explain the palos, the different forms of flamenco such as soleá, bulerías and seguiriyas, each with its own rhythm and mood, and show the roles of the singer, the guitarist, the dancer and the audience. A central theme is duende, the intense, almost unspeakable emotion that performers aim to reach and that the poet Federico García Lorca wrote about. A film and a series of galleries guide visitors through the history from its early days to its present global audience.

Live performances are held in the central courtyard in the evenings, and many visitors combine the museum with a show. The setting is intimate, with the audience close to the dancers, which makes the stamping, clapping and guitar easy to feel as well as hear. Tickets can be bought separately or as a package, and booking in advance is sensible, particularly in spring and during the main festivals. Opening times differ on certain days of the year, so check the official site.

The museum is in the old quarter, near the Barrio Santa Cruz lanes, Casa de Pilatos and the Plaza de España, so it fits naturally into a day of sightseeing. It suits people who like to understand what they are watching, and it makes a good introduction before an evening at a tablao or a performance in Triana.