Flamenco Got Me Through Career Downtown Eastside

I’ve been thinking a lot about how flamenco and my work were so intricately intertwined. I truly believe I could not have lasted 17 years working in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside if I wasn’t dancing flamenco. Colleagues were often surprised that I worked so long in the DTES, as most workers seemed to hang in there for 7 years on average. It is a difficult community to work, with the rate of burnout and vicarious traumatization high. My job as Associate Director of Community Programs for Crabtree was right up there in terms of stress levels. We worked with the vulnerable, “at risk” women and families who faced multiple barriers in their lives. We were witness to stories of abuse, addiction, trauma, death, racism, sexual assault, child apprehension, and much more, on a daily basis. We seemed to race from one crisis to another with little to no time to debrief. It was imperative that staff had an outlet for stress that tended to build up in ones body and soul quickly and silently. For myself, flamenco was that restorative place.

The sounds and rhythms of the flamenco guitar, the power of the footwork, the challenge of learning this beautiful art form and the friendships became my antidote to a job that I loved, but a job that demanded so much from me. Classes were like lessons in mindfulness. For 1.5 hours my entire focus was to BE in that moment. This “moment to moment” awareness helped me to let go of built up stress in my body, of any trauma I had witnessed, of anger at a system that was often impossible to work with.

The Dance itself..the powerful footwork that seemed to come from the Earth, grounded me in a way nothing else could. It’s no wonder I was drawn to the powerful palos…Solea, Seguiriyas and Bulerias. These rhythms were mesmerizing, tribal, and healing on some level. I would feel strong and empowered when I danced. I became separate from my work and all the roles and responsibilities I juggled daily. I was learning something new, something for me.

The infamous Hastings Dance Studio at 828 East Hastings Street, home of Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy, Oscar Nieto & Kasandra since the 1990s and into the 2000s, was only a few blocks from where I worked. There were many evenings I left work exhausted and perhaps upset about something I had witnessed that day. As soon as I would open the door to the building where classes were held and be met by the wonderful mural made by flamenca and artist Marta Robertson-Smythe & the many Mozaico around the clock painters in 2002, my energy returned! My enthusiasm was reignited. This was something I loved and something I needed.

It is difficult for me to put words to the powerful impact flamenco had on me and how that transferred to my work. I don’t know if words would do justice to the benefits I experienced. Flamenco was like a form of art therapy where I used my body to express my emotions. It grounded me, brought me joy, helped my mental health. It took me in, restored my soul, and then sent me back out to East Hastings Street….renewed, stronger, recommitted.

Flamenco got me through my career in the Downtown Eastside

Blog by Nancy Cameron