Abanico and Flamenco Workshops

Over a period of two days, we did two special workshops, a fan painting workshop, and a flamenco workshop. While some students were excited about the activities, others were nervous. In the abanico workshop, we first learned about the history of fans, about how fans used to be a luxury item made out of gold or other expensive materials, and how fans were used in various countries on the Silk Road such as Egypt and China. Then we learned about how women would use fans to secretly communicate with others depending on the way they would hold the fan. For example, covering your face with an open fan meant “someone is watching”, or touching your face next to your eye with a closed fan meant, “when can I see you”. The last half of our workshop was painting our own fans. The kids took inspiration from a wide range of things such as sunsets, flowers, the night sky, and even empanadas. 

In the flamenco workshop, we had a wonderful teacher who encouraged even the most shy of students to participate. For the first half, everyone danced together following the instructor's guidance to learn the basic steps. They learned a series of clapping and stopping patterns to create a beat and danced to both traditional and modern versions of flamenco. For the big finale, we formed a circle where the ring of students made a beat with claps and stomps while one by one each student stepped into the spotlight and showed off their newly learned dancing skills.