Yinka Esi Graves, a British flamenco dancer, assists in opening our eyes in regards to flamenco’s stereotypical form and how this traditional ideal is being reshaped through her performances as well as others’. As she begins by expressing her own sentiments towards the style, Graves states that “the act of flamenco is greater than you as an individual”. When musing about the modern world and its preoccupation with marketing and spectacle, she creates a contrast to emphasize the nature of truth within flamenco. Because it is a genre of dance rooted in the concept of community, it is stressed that rather than a focus on story and plotlines, flamenco sheds light on “the human experience” as a whole through its various styles, one of which is known as alegrías, a festive and celebratory palo (style).

 

     Through her own expression of the dance form, Graves portrays this notion of “accessing different realities of experience”. As a black dancer of the style, her work invites those around the world to witness the flexibility of flamenco, so that it may be separated from the typical Spanish elitist context that many associate it with. And in her journey of becoming a performer, this is her reality. As our group has discovered before, flamenco plays with femininity and masculinity to enhance performance through duality. However, we had never discovered any womanist showcases dealing with the female struggle and menstruation, as Graves mentioned. This evolution of flamenco is bound to take it far, as it can fit into the changing world where foreign dancers of the style no longer feel compelled to dye their hair lighter, or change their names to more “Spanish sounding” ones, which Graves herself had observed during her tour.

 

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