Your Dose of Dance: Flamenco Chicago Studio

By Amy Mikel in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 4, 2008 4:40PM

SummerDance is over for the year, but you shouldn’t be at a loss if you have a hankering to hunker down and learn a new dance form; there is no shortage of dance studios here. Dance instruction can be like the proverbial “box of chocolates”, and there are many teachers and studios in Chicago that have wonderful reputations for attentive, thorough and professional guidance in the field of dance.

Flamenco Chicago Studio, owned and operated by Rosetta Magdalen, started five years ago with informal flamenco dance lessons in the humble basement of Magdalen’s Avondale bungalow. Although she has said openly that she didn’t initially think she had the patience to teach the intricate art of flamenco, it didn’t take long before Magdalen realized her love and potential for teaching. The studio blossomed, eventually moving to a Roscoe Village location in 2007.

In June of this year, the studio caught on fire, and Magdalen and her students stood outside for hours, watching it burn to destruction. Now, with a new space and over 70 students already enrolled, Magdalen hopes to continue her legacy as having one of the best Flamenco dance studios in Chicago. Classes are small, and Magdalen teaches each level herself, giving as much personal attention as students are prepared to receive. Everyone at the studio has the opportunity to perform in two student showcases a year, held in a professional theatre – a rare chance for adult amateur dancers. Magdalen hopes to help her students feel the depths of flamencos rhythms and emotional expression, and to find their own essence in the art, or as she puts it, “To be able to be alive, more alive, through the medium of dance.”

2914 W. Belmont Ave., New Beginning Flamenco classes starting the week of September 8th, Mondays 7:15-8:15 p.m., Tuesdays 8:15-9:15 p.m., and Saturdays 12-1 p.m., $85 for a six week session

Image courtesy Flamenco Chicago