중학교 영어 2 (천재교과서 소영순) 연계 글

Imagine a small stage in a crowded room. A guitarist begins to play, and a singer's voice rises above the music. Then two dancers step forward, and their heels strike the floor so quickly that the sound fills the whole room. Around them, other performers clap their hands to the beat. This is flamenco, an art from the south of Spain.

Flamenco combines singing, guitar playing, and dance, and the sound of hand clapping often joins them. The songs can express many feelings, from deep sorrow to great joy. The dance shows the same wide range of feelings through movement. For many years, the guitar has done much more than accompany the singer.

Flamenco grew mainly in Andalusia, a region in the south of the country. No one knows exactly when or how it began. However, many communities there have helped it develop, and the Gitanos, the Roma people of Spain, have played an especially important role. For generations, families and local flamenco clubs have passed the art down to young people.

In 2010, UNESCO added flamenco to its list of the world's intangible cultural heritage. Unlike a building or a painting, intangible heritage is not something you can touch. Instead, it includes living traditions, such as music and dance, that people pass from one generation to the next.

Today, people enjoy flamenco in many places. In Spain, audiences watch it in theaters and in tablaos, cafés with live flamenco shows. Seville has held a flamenco festival every two years since 1980. Many people also want to learn the art themselves. Every year, a flamenco festival in Jerez, another city in Andalusia, offers dance classes, and the classes are so popular that students come from every continent. Flamenco grew out of life in Andalusia, but today its rhythm connects people around the world.