An Investigation into the Duende Experience among Professional Flamenco Dancers and Musicians / Aviva Kornel (2020)

This study, consisting of two phases, investigates the experience of duende in flamenco dance, the effect it has on performance and its relationship to flow theory as developed by Csikszentmihalyi (1975). A literature review revealed that there is only one quantitative study on duende with no participant perspective (Salazar-Lopez, Gomez, & Verdejo-Roman, 2013). As such, this thesis intended to address the significant gap in literature and present qualitative findings. As this paper aimed to explore and gain insight into an individual’s experience, the interpretative methodological approach (IPA) was used (Smith, 1996) in analyzing semi-structured interviews with sixteen participants. The first phase included thirteen professional female flamenco dancers and the second, three professional (one female, two male) flamenco musicians. Because musicians are integral to flamenco performance, phase two contributed to building a more holistic perspective on the duende experience.

Findings from phase one revealed that duende is a highly subjective experience, requires a connection with other performers and the audience, and results in a heightened emotional state. Mastering technique, minimizing negative thoughts, and a knowledgeable audience were found to be determining factors in experiencing duende. The study also revealed that the environment in which the artist performs in and the artist’s ability to improvise are facilitating factors that increase the chances of experiencing duende. Furthermore, duende was found to enhance performance. Findings from phase two supported initial results and revealed that coordination and teamwork are additional determining factors. Most importantly, phase two served to demonstrate that duende is heightened when experienced collectively. Thus, despite its relationship to the construct of flow, duende was found to be more akin to the theory of optimal experience and group flow.

This thesis offers compelling novel qualitative research on the duende experience. Future research should aim to study duende more in-depth with a larger and more varied sample. The fact that duende was found to enhance performance is significant and can serve as a focus in future dance science studies.