By Elizabeth Gregory
Speaking from my own personal experience, I can tell you that even though dinner shows can be touristy or cheesy, they can also be amazing. One particular dinner show that comes to mind is a Flamenco dinner show that my husband and I attended in Madrid. This was the first time he had been to Spain. We had walked past the place that declared the inside was a replica of "La Alhambra" in Granada and there was a lot of advertising proclaiming the "best flamenco show in Spain". Although I had been to the real Alhambra, I had a sneaking suspicion that the inside of the venue wouldn't really be an exact replica, (just like the castle in Disney World isn't an "exact replica" of the Neuschwanstein castle in Germany) rather something loosely based on the Alhambra. I thought it would be something fun to do one night and so talked him into it. (Not an easy task since my husband is not one for musical extravaganzas). I didn't mention it to him, but I had my doubts that it would be too touristy or unauthentic. However, we were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed a wonderful cultural evening of music, dance and food.
The meal was several courses and consisted of traditional Spanish food like paella. The costumes were amazing and featured several styles of Sevillana dress. The music was varied in emotion from peppy, to sad, to seductive. The audience surprisingly was pretty varied from locals to tourists, families, couples, pretty much everyone. By the end of the show, the performers and musicians received a standing ovation and came back for 2 encores. We did not leave until almost 2 hours past when the show was supposed to end. It was great!!
I found a great website that allows you to book flamenco shows in Spain on-line: Spanish Fiestas. We attended the show at Torres Bermejas in Madrid. I highly recommend it!
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