[Black Sheep]

This is very premature as I need to get to some form of proficiency before embarking on a trip to Spain. And I want to have some lessons there.

My guitar comes from Granada and I love the look of that city but what do you know about guitar lessons there? Should I look at Seville? Madrid?

I've seen 'tourist' schools advertised 5 lessons/5 days etc... Are there any good? Or are they just 'souvenir' schools?

By the end of the year I'll hopefully be slightly better than a beginner. I hope to know a little (very little but maybe understand what they are...) of the common palos and be able to 'get something out of' a little time in a school. Maybe a couple of weeks...

What do you know of what's available?.. What's good?... What's worth leaving for later? What's a rip off? And where are the magic places to go?

Has anyone done some classes there?

[Payul]

This is one of the best schools in Spain, there are summer courses too.

Flamenco Foundation

Payul

[MarcChrys]

I found this thread on the internet - has some info/reviews:

http://www.jerezflamenco.com/my-firs...ssons-in-jerez

[Black Sheep]

This is a great start.

[deteresa]

I don't know much about the scene in Granada, but I wouldn't recommend going to Madrid, especially if you're interested in "old school" Flamenco.
Jerez probably has the most old-school Flamenco vibe of any city in Spain that I've been to but I'm not really sure how many teachers or schools there are there.
If you go to SEVILLA you will have no problem finding a great teacher at whatever your skill level is. Also it is the most beautiful city on earth and there is SO much to see and do and the night life is amazing. I just got back from two weeks there and I already feel like a piece of my heart has been ripped out from leaving.
If you study at Taller Flamenco they will take care of everything for you: 90 minutes a day lessons for as long as you want, a ride to and from the airport, and very affordable lodging if you want it. I would recommend this if you want to really live like a local and not a tourist.

FLAMENCO AND SPANISH LANGUAGE COURSES IN SEVILLE ANDALUSIA SPAIN CURSOS DE FLAMENCO Y ESPAÑOL EN SEVILLA ANDALUCIA ESPAÑA

A former teacher of mine also recommended the school of Juan Polvillo, who has Javier Leal teaching guitar.

elegir idioma

Buen viaje!


Andy
Andy Culpepper Flamenco Guitar

[falseta]

@deteresa - Did you study at the Taller Flamenco? If you did could you tell us a bit about how the 90 minute lessons are broken down? Also what are the opportunities to play or learn from locals or other students after hours?

Many readers may be able to and wanting to take a trip to Spain to learn Flamenco, so its great to read your experiences.

[deteresa]

I did study at Taller Flamenco and no, they are not paying me for this, but I would highly recommend it. I studied with Francisco Morales "El Pulga" at the upper-intermediate level (not sure who teaches beginner or advanced).
Every day he would teach me basically an entire piece of music! Over the two weeks, he devoted every day to a different palo (except maybe 3 days to Bulerias) ,and he would teach me about 10 falsetas and then at the end of the lesson record anywhere from 10 - 25 minutes of him playing everything at different speeds w/ and w/out Solo Compas.
In short he was just an amazingly generous teacher. Now it will just take me 2 years of poring over the tapes to actually learn everything he taught me!

As far as after hours, there is a student meeting every Monday that consists of going out to a bar and playing Flamenco along with local singers and guitar players that the teachers have brought with them. That was great experience for beginning to accompany cante and playing in groups doing palmas, etc.
Also, my teacher invited me to a gathering of Flamenco aficionados (a peña) at a local community center. These type of parties are absolutely the best place to see Flamenco in Spain because it is local, non-professional musicians expressing their art and not prostituting themselves for tourists like at the tablaos. The next day at my 11 am lesson he told me that the thing had gone on til 5 am. I guess that's what the siesta is for.

[Black Sheep]

Thanks for the heads up on Taller. I visited the site and it is quite complete with information on the courses. I've given myself 12 months to get off the beginner end of the scale.

The interesting thing is that most of their teachers don't speak English. So I've a little Spanish to learn.

Did you find the language a barrier or did it just add to the 'atmosphere' of the experience?

I might have to investigate this more.

[Sevilla]

Hi!

I´ve read you message and maybe we are what you are looking for. We are a small interprise located in Seville and we organize flamenco and guitar courses. We also offer cheap accomodation in case you will need it for your stay here.

You can have a look on our web site: Welcome to Seville!. You will get a lot of information about our services and prices.
You can also contact us by email : alexia@holasevilla.com or sarah@holasevilla.com
or by phone from Uk: 02081 33 36 53

We will be glad to help you in your research.

Kind regards,

Alexia

[mims]

Hello i'm new here!
Really interesting stuff in this thread. Thanks for posting. What about flamenco dancing classes in Spain? Any schools? Any ideas? i would really be interested.
Thank you.
mims