Francesca Girone: 'I am La Gitana Inglesa'

Flamenco was designated as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage by Unesco on 16 November 2010, and since then this date has become established as International Flamenco Day. Thanks to this, flamenco became much more international, a shared art form. British dancer Francesca Girone has taken on the mission of sharing flamenco experiences and spreading the word about this Andalusian art form.

Francesca's life story clearly shows that it is possible to achieve recognition in the world of flamenco without being Spanish and at any age. She is British by birth, from Manchester to be precise. Her ancestry comes from her father, the son of a Gypsy and a Jewish woman, and her mother, a mulatto from Jamaica.

“I confess that my first flamenco experience was aged 14, when my late father intuitively forced me to watch a flamenco show in Malaga whilst we holidayed there. My father said ‘this is your path’. At the time I considered it to be an absurd comment; if only I knew what destiny had in store for me....” Francesca Girone told SUR in English.

Andalucía reappeared in her life much later. It was not Malaga, but the town of Mojácar in the province of Almeria, where she moved permanently in 2006.

“All I can say is that something drew me back to Andalucía and threw me into something immense. Since my move here I instantly fell in love with the passionate sounds of flamenco music. I started very late, approaching 40 as a complete beginner. I advanced at an extraordinary rate - driven by passion and a burning desire to immerse myself into this fascinating world of flamenco art. I attended local classes which just didn't sit right with me, like something was missing,” Francesca confessed.

The British admirer of flamenco ventured out to Granada, considered a cradle of flamenco. In Sacromonte she spent small fortunes on private classes in order to get to the roots of Gypsy flamenco. Then, to continue delving deeper into flamenco, Francesca travelled much further south.

“I discovered that the nucleus was in Jerez and parts of Seville such as Utrera, Moron de la Frontera and Lebrija. I have been adopted by the Gypsies, schooled by them and through this privileged situation I realised that all the formal, academic study meant very little. I literally had to undo all that I had learnt and shed blood (especially losing toe nails in my hard toe shoes), sweat and tears. I was groomed in the house of a highly skilled, self taught, Gypsy dancer. He taught me how to dance in a completely spontaneous and improvised manner. It seemed impossible but after performance and numerous mistakes and heartbreak, I broke through and achieved it. A gift for life. Further down the line I fell in love with a prestigious flamenco singer from Seville, a wild free spirit who opened up the door to performing with some of my all time idols,” Francesca explained.

Francesca Girone has defined her new mission - helping people, especially foreigners, truly understand flamenco and thereby more appreciate this Andalusian art. "Qué viva el arte y que viva Andalucía!" as she often exclaims. Francesca travels to the UK as well as to other countries and regions of Spain to perform and organise master classes.

“My mission was to not only learn but also to educate a non-Spanish public about the intricacies of flamenco. So often the public come out of a performance intrigued but also with a burning desire to try and understand what they have witnessed. They want to think that they have seen a story. This is not always the case. In response I offer performances which remove the mysteries and let our public feel incorporated in what they have experienced. They can laugh, they can cry, whatever is appropriate according to the 'palo' of flamenco performed,” Francesca said.

In Mojácar they share their total flamenco immersive experiences by receiving people of many nationalities. Their private performances are organised in various languages, with lunches in breathtaking settings. Francesca can be contacted via the Flamenco in Mojácar Facebook page or email laikamialma2@gmail.com