Those two things in my title were the things I noticed most about the flamenco movies. The contortions the singers's faces took when they were singing those notes were absolutely amazing, awe-inspiring, and incredibly real emotion. I heard that come through particularly well when their voices cracked and you could see the strain on their faces when they tried to sing the next note. To me, that was absolutely beautiful. But you were right - if I had heard anything like that on the radio, I probably would have turned it off. Seeing the musicians actually do it made it that much more compelling. It seemed appropriate for silence in the room for two minutes after each scene simply because there was such a heavy mood and intense expression in each dance that it seemed overwhelming to even begin to comprehend. Each little grace note in the voice, each little arpeggio in the guitar, each twirl of the skirt and stamp of the foot has a meaning that the musicians and dancers pull from the deepest places of their being. To be able to share in that experience by witnessing a dance was definitely amazing, to say the least.
The expressiveness of the whole dance was something that really stood out to me, particularly in the first "Bolerias". The flamenco skirt can do so much in terms of its own vividness and movement and everything. The way the woman's heels clicked as she moved with the man and the sensuality that flowed between them though you knew the dance was rehearsed was brilliant. I'll write more when class is done.