Flamenco, Duende, and the Art of Systems Thinking

One of the most memorable performances I have ever seen was a dance off between a flamenco dancer and a young hip hop dancer.

This was a while back, at the Edinburgh Festival. It was an experimental show in a very small dark venue. The two dancers shared a tiny, basic stage. And yet, their conversation through dance remained ingrained in my mind, and probably in the minds of everyone who watched it. It was incredible.

Flamenco is my absolute favourite form of art. I spent a big part of my twenties learning how to dance it, going to every flamenco show or performance I heard of, and I even wrote my PhD thesis to the beat of Paco Pena’s Flamenco guitar.

A few months ago, this story came up during a chat with a fellow systems thinker, and he challenged me to create a systems thinking workshop that is inspired by Flamenco dancing.

I laughed.

He was serious.

OK. Challenge accepted!

But first, let me tell you how it all began.

Duende

My first encounter with Flamenco was at the Dance House in Glasgow, a community-led dance space that offered cheap courses in various forms of dance. I joined an open day with tasters of all their offerings: Pop, Ballet, Jazz…