{"id":534413,"date":"2026-01-22T11:03:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T11:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/534413\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T11:03:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T11:03:13","slug":"macho-flamenco-challenges-traditional-gender-roles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/534413\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Macho Flamenco\u2019 challenges traditional gender roles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Upending tradition, men will be wearing dresses and shawls as part of Macho Flamenco: Boys Don\u2019t Dance, Dallas group the Flame Foundation<\/a>\u2019s latest exploration of an art form that dates back hundreds of years to a time when gender roles were more rigid.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, what\u2019s feminine, what\u2019s masculine, has been present in flamenco,\u201d says artistic director Delilah Buitr\u00f3n Arrebola, who came up with the idea and is choreographing the show with her husband, Antonio Arrebola, the star of the production.<\/p>\n

As part of the performance, he and an all-male dance ensemble plan to don the long batas de cola dresses and embroidered mant\u00f3nes de Manila shawls typically worn by female flamenco dancers.<\/p>\n

A native of M\u00e1laga, Spain, Arrebola began studying flamenco when he was 7, turning pro at 16. Now in his mid-40s, he recalls having only female instructors and very few male counterparts in class. As the subtitle of the show implies, not a lot of boys took dance lessons.<\/p>\n

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\"Delilah<\/p>\n

Delilah Buitr\u00f3n Arrebola is choreographing the show with her husband, Antonio Arrebola, the star of the production.<\/p>\n

Justin Locklear \/ 2022 File Photo<\/p>\n

When they did, the emphasis was on moving powerfully with their lower bodies, including forcefully stamping their feet. Women, on the other hand, focused on the delicate employment of their arms and hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring that time in Spain, to see guys dancing was quite difficult,\u201d Arrebola says in an interview at Woodrow Wilson High School, where the Flame Foundation is rehearsing Macho Flamenco. \u201cYou can imagine the influence that had. I learned to dance with both the upper and lower body.\u201d<\/p>\n

By that time, dancers like Carmen Amaya, a central figure in flamenco in the 1930s and \u201940s, had broken the mold. She became known for the speed and intensity of her footwork. As flamenco evolved into a worldwide phenomenon, others built on her work to even include men in dresses and shawls. Still, traditions die hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was brought up with the same idea, that men dance a certain way. We\u2019re strong,\u201d says Macho Flamenco ensemble member Daniel Negrete, who teaches Mexican folkloric dance at Woodrow but started studying flamenco seriously only a few years ago. \u201cWe\u2019re exploring the passive and dominant energy within flamenco to redefine what macho really is. \u2026 What barriers can I break as a male dancer? Can I use a mant\u00f3n? Can I be in a bata de cola? Can I do movement that\u2019s a little bit softer?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Thomas<\/a>How a first-date conversation led to a bold new Dallas production<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cLungs,\u201d a minimalist two-hander about a couple debating whether to bring a child into the world, is part of the AT&T Performing Arts Center\u2019s Elevator Project series.<\/p>\n

\"Abby<\/a>\u2018Dance Moms\u2019 star Abby Lee Miller is coming to North Texas<\/a><\/p>\n

She\u2019ll share tips and answer questions at studios in Mesquite, Argyle and Waxahachie. <\/p>\n

Macho Flamenco is built around a narrative being written and directed by Matthew Posey<\/a>, artistic director of Ochre House Theater, which has been presenting annual flamenco shows in collaboration with the Arrebolas for years. A central theme is \u201canima,\u201d a Jungian psychological concept recognizing the feminine part of a man\u2019s personality and a broader idea of the irrational vs. the rational mind.<\/p>\n

The dancing will be accompanied by live music from three Spanish natives now living in the U.S.: guitarist Juani de la Isla, singer Jos\u00e9 Cort\u00e9s Fern\u00e1ndez and percussionist-vocalist Francisco \u201cYiyi\u201d Orozco. Macho Flamenco is a presentation of the AT&T Performing Arts Center\u2019s Elevator Project series of productions by local arts organizations.<\/p>\n

Details<\/p>\n

Macho Flamenco: Boys Don\u2019t Dance runs Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at Wyly Studio Theatre, 2400 Flora St. $34.50. attpac.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Review: A powerful Bruckner Ninth Symphony from Dallas Symphony, Fabio Luisi<\/a><\/p>\n

The Meyerson Symphony Center\u2019s acoustics dramatically enhanced the effect.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Musical \u2018Six\u2019 gives Henry VIII\u2019s wives their turn in the spotlight<\/a><\/p>\n

The Tony-winning show returns to Dallas this month before moving on to other cities, including Fort Worth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Upending tradition, men will be wearing dresses and shawls as part of Macho Flamenco: Boys Don\u2019t Dance, Dallas…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":534414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,10929,7260,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-534413","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dance","11":"tag-performing-arts","12":"tag-texas","13":"tag-tx","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115938420807565733","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}