What I learned from 9 years of teaching flamenco online

Nine years ago, I opened the doors to the Online Flamenco Studio with a handful of videos and dancers. 

Now, with over 60 courses and 500+ videos, thousands of dancers worldwide have joined me! Teaching online has *profoundly* changed how I dance, teach, and build community, both online and on stage.

Here are the top things I’ve learned about flamenco, teaching, performing, and myself over these 9 years of teaching online::

1) Compás is Everything 🎶

At the core of flamenco is the compás—the rhythm and driving force that holds everything together. Without it, the dance loses its pulse. Focus on mastering the compás, and the rest will follow. And, of course, this sounds OBVIOUS, however, it’s harder to control online! Dancers need to sloooooow down and *really* focus on that compás at every level. A challenge, but the truth!!!!

2) Keep It Simple & Strong (K.I.S.S.) 💋

Flamenco is intricate, with complex compás, varied palos, and detailed technique. But I’ve found that focusing on simpler moves with strong compás and clear accents creates the most impactful performances. It’s not about doing the hardest moves—it’s about dancing with confidence and aire. Also, when teaching online, it’s the simpler moves with resonance that seem to be the most impactful to my students.

3) Speak Flamenco 🗣️

Understanding the structure of flamenco is key. It’s not enough to memorize choreography. To truly *speak* flamenco, you must know the vocabulary, recognize the different palos, and grasp the structure of each dance. This is the foundation that allows you to express yourself freely and confidently. Of course, I’ve always known this and taught this in my in-person classes. But teaching online, I realized that soooooo many dancers never were taught this, so I made it my mission that ALL of my dancers in my community spoke flamenco!

4) Feel Flamenco ❤️

Flamenco isn’t just technical—*feeling* the dance is what makes it come alive. It’s about stepping into the attitude of the palo and embodying the emotion behind the movement. Before dancing, decide how you want to feel—strong, proud, or explosive—and let that energy fuel your performance. Feeling flamenco is also an act of courage—whether standing in front of an audience or challenging limiting beliefs about what a woman can do as she ages. This art form gives us the strength to take up space and be seen. Every step, every move is an opportunity to express ourselves without hesitation. Meeting women from around the world at various stages of life has profoundly touched me and shown me this courage.

5) Dance Flamenco 💃🏿

Flamenco is more than just learning choreography. To *dance* flamenco is to move with intention, strength, and style. It’s about hitting the key accents, whether with a flick of the wrist or a strong planta, and practicing with purpose to refine both your technique and expression. All this so we can dance with confidence, passion and authority.

6) Community 💃🏿💃🏼💃🏻

We need each other, our people. I love, love, love my flamenco community within my own in person classes, the wider flamenco community in Los Angeles. Flamenco doesn’t exist in a vacuum- even online! I’ve seen how my online flamenco community has strengthened and provided support for so, so many dancers from around the world. And I’ll continue to focus on that community as well! ❤️

I look forward to many more years of connecting with you all in person and online as we dance together as a community.

xoxox

Rina