LAFAYETTE — For flamenco dancer Fanny Ara, the art form began with a childhood memory that stayed with her.
Ara first discovered flamenco while watching her aunt dance in France at a young age. Soon after, a simple gift helped spark a lifelong passion.
“She bought me this beautiful skirt with a lot of ruffles, and I just fell in love with it right away,” Ara said. “So my mom put me in a flamenco class when I was 9, and I never stopped.”
More than 25 years later, Ara now travels around the world performing and teaching flamenco, sharing a dance style she describes as both emotional and liberating.
“While you're dancing, you're not thinking, you're just feeling everything,” Ara said. “It's a dialogue between the musician and me, on the spot. And the warmth of the audience can also take you somewhere else.”
Her latest stop brought her to Lafayette, where she introduced locals to the art of flamenco and gave beginners a chance to experience the dance firsthand.
Ara says flamenco is unique because of its improvisational nature.
“The beautiful thing about flamenco is that it’s all improvised, so you never know what’s going to happen,” she said. “When you go on stage, you have no idea what will happen.”
According to Ara, the dance form is open to anyone interested in expression through movement.
“It’s an art form where age doesn’t matter,” she said. “You don’t have to be very muscular. There’s so much going on, the hands, the clapping, the body percussion and the sound we can create with our feet. Everything becomes super exciting.”
Ara is performing as part of Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, a Tuesday night event happening at 7:30 p.m. at the Hyman Center, bringing the internationally known company’s performance to local audiences.
For those planning to attend, Ara said they can expect passion and energy on stage.
“A wonderful show,” she said. “And us giving 100%.”
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