"It has to be said that I have avoided exercise since school showers and team games…gyms didn’t do it, swimming didn’t do it, even walking didn’t do it – so finally I faced the body nemesis and walked through the doors of Ama’s flamenco class.  If you’d told me a year ago that I would have lost a stone, given up drinking and smoking, and be dancing in heels and a skirt, I would have bet you £500 you were wrong.  The passion, the discipline, the challenge and the fun of this amazing dance is inexplicable without experiencing it yourself.  If I can do it – anyone can – it’s revolutionary…"

Rozz McDonald

"I attended a "taster" workshop at" Dance Around The World" at Cecil Sharp House, London in 2006. I had gone [to DATW] ostensibly to take photographs of the many and varied dance troupes from around the world, with my friend. However by chance, and fortuitously, I was distracted from my photography by your [Amarita's] all round joie de vivre and infectious brio  for your subject 'flamenco' and thus decided to put my toe in the water and attend the taster class.
    I wished to applaud a fantastic 30 minutes spent but my hands were so sore by the end! I haven't attended any further classes but have since enjoyed the music of Estrella Morente and my head is often turned at just the mention of flamenco! Hoping to do a further class one day should you relocate to London. Thank you for such a memorable time."

Joseph Fassbinder

"There should be special prizes for helping theorists to dance............."

Lesley Aspden

I really enjoyed today’s class and the work on the strength of the body language which really changed everything even though it requires some more thought and practice. I always love watching you dancing - it is mesmerizing! Just watching you inspires me to find this strength inside me...

Mariola Edelmann

"Flamenco  - for the head and the heart!
It's true what they say: Flamenco is a dance on two levels. The upper body belongs to the heavens and the lower body to the earth (or hell if you insist). To co-ordinate those two areas is the secret of Flamenco  - the secret of life! And what Flamenco does to the posture, co-ordination and general aptitude  - well .....!
Put on that music and dance, dance, dance..."

Christa Bringmann-Smith

"As a student of Ama I found her to be a wonderful teacher.
Very encouraging and supportive. Flamenco lifts your soul."

Fiona West

"Amaritas classes are fun and exhilarating. During the class I was transported somewhere else, my mind highly tuned to the changing rhythm of the classical spanish guitar, My body intuitively discovered a sense of elegance, power and self control as I was taught to move to the music. The benefits stayed with me long after the class, feeling both mentally and physically fine-tuned and uplifted."
                               
                                 Nicola Boyd



"I am a very new student at the Oxford Flamenco Academy, after many years of wanting to learn.
I attend the Sevillanas class and whilst I am, a little self-conscious in front of other students who have been learning for months, Amarita Vargas is a very understanding teacher, making everyone feel relaxed and encouraged to keep trying.
    As a runner who runs six mornings out of seven, and an ex-amateur actress, I wanted something which merged the two. A one hour lesson not only lets you escape mentally but can be a good work-out and, as I've already mentioned, I spend a lot of time running!
    Children and adults alike can really benefit from this. Many people find it hard to find a form of exercise they enjoy and the Oxford Flamenco Academy provides them with fun plus an education in another culture's tradition."

                        Sheena Macfarlane



It’s a great tension-reliever – using my brain to control my body doesn’t allow external stress to intrude!
                               
                       Judith Boyd



"I have attended a course of both private and group Sevillana lessons with Amarita Vargas and have found them to be very beneficial in a number of ways. Firstly of course, they are good excercise and for those who lead somewhat sedentary lives they represent at least one hour a week of high energy activity, not to mention the practising required in between classes. 
    Secondly, they are good training for the brain as it is necessary to learn and remember quite a long sequence of steps. Thirdly, they have a social value both here and in Spain as at a Feria it is very enjoyable to be able to take part in dancing Sevillanas.
    Amarita Vargas is an excellent teacher with endless patience, as well as being extremely thorough in her methods and demanding a high standard of her pupils."

                    Fiona Melville



"I am writing to express my enthousiastic support for Amarita Vargas, and the Oxford Academy of Flamenco. I first took some lessons from Amarita about 10 years ago, and was inspired to continue. Now I have taken some further lessons and have been inspired to go to Andalucia, also, to  learn some more about flamenco."
                
                  Sue Brown


"I just love Tuesdays and your Flamenco lessons! I can honestly say that people like me, who are not coordinated and who cannot make the difference between several rhythms can have great fun.    
I feel that my body coordination is getting better and better, I am starting to recognise buleria from tango
rhythms and I am not as scared as before when we work on counter-tiempo. I practise Sevillanas at home and I am thrilled to see how much I can dance after a few hours.
    I believe that Flamenco classes are more than just dance classes. Not only do you realise that you have a
« body memory », that is to say that your body recognises sounds and steps that you can hardly conceptualise, but you also discover that you can clap to a rhythm you would not have heard before.
    What is also different with Flamenco classes is that I feel part of an international community. Spain is in Oxford for a few hours and the people attending the class are all open-minded and ready to know more about different cultures. No wonder we start with the roots & traditions of Spain ! The social life you are organising around the club helps us develop and enjoy even more this traditional dance. As you keep us informed about Flamenco-related events and classes around Oxford and London, we get a chance to really learn what Flamenco is about! "

                       Sophie Loyer




"Since I started Flamenco classes I have become fitter, lost weight and have found a new confidence. The pressures and stresses of daily life disappear when the music starts and the dancing begins.
All that attend the classes are enthusiastic and although we all work or study, an energy is found in the enjoyment of flamenco.
Flamenco is totally unique and Amartia inspires the passion of the dance."
   
                        Sue Wheeler


"Family life looking after three boys, a husband and a dog is a very joyous thing and I do count my blessings, really!  But along with the huge amount of privilege I feel to be in my position come other less positive emotions: 
-  frustration with the non-productive nature of constantly washing, folding, cleaning, tidying.
-  stress when you have to do three things at once whilst being spoken to by at least two very earnest little people!
- distress and even depression when things go badly for one of the children or somebody hurts them.
- anger when you don’t feel appreciated for all the things you do.

Dancing at your classes lifts me out of these negative emotions.  It’s probably one of the few times in the week when I am not fretting over some problem or just organising something mundane in my head!  I find it absorbs me completely and somehow re-connects me with the bigger picture.
    Also, although I love being a mum and feeling like a mum and even looking like a mum, it is nice sometimes to not feel ‘mumsie’ and to feel part of something beautiful which is what I feel  when I’m dancing some of your choreography or even just some of the simple time-honoured set steps of flamenco.  The music itself can be enough to transport me out of myself!"
                                                                
                        Ella Morley



"I find that flamenco offers a more interesting, more creative form of exercise. Its variety of rhythms, steps and mood means that it is far more appealing to me than other conventional forms of exercise, which can seem quite limited."
                       
                       Fleur Yerbury-Hodgson





"Amarita is a demanding teacher but by combining merriment with seriousness she has a remarkable capacity to make you feel both enthusiastic and happy."
                           
                            Ros Odling-Smee



"I had my first lesson in Flamenco just a week ago, having wanted to learn Flamenco for a very long time, but never having got round to it.  How I wish I had done it sooner - the class was exhilerating, stimulating and very hard work!  But everyone there was enjoying themselves hugely, and there was a real determination to succeed. 
    One of the reasons I have wanted to do the class for so long, and one of the reasons I think I am enjoying it so much, is that unlike some forms of dance it is not in any way ageist.  In fact flamenco itself seems to celebrate all ages, and to embrace all kinds of people, large and small - in fact it seems to celebrate life itself.   I am very much looking forward to continuing the journey which has started with such tremendous enthusiasm and encouragement!"
       
                                Lucinda Whitely



"I began Flamenco some weeks ago because I love the music and rhythms of flamenco. I found to my astonishment that not only does it provide you with an aerobic workout but your mind is completely absorbed too. Flamenco takes you away from all the stresses and strains of our 24/7 lives and involves you in an  experience which recharges the batteries and transports you into another world . You leave the class on a high. As a Stress Management consultant I have recommended Flamenco to my corporate clients as a way of team building and relieving stress.."           
                                                                           
                                    Pamela Elder

"Flamenco is a unique and very special combination of passion and control, structure and flow which is incredibly powerful and allows the expression of emotions and feelings which would be difficult if not impossible to express in words.  I love it."
                   
                                    Kay Renfrew

 "I find learning the flamenco routines is stimulating a part of my brain that I don't use at work. I think this is very good for me as I have to concentrate hard to remember the sequences. I also find that it is very good exercise and good for the posture. I prefer this type of exercise to going to a gym. I also enjoy the dramatic and expressive nature of flamenco, although I am not very good at this myself as yet. I think your enthusiasm and good teaching style makes everybody in the class feel included and that one finishes a lesson feeling that one has had fun and gained something from it."

                                    Celeste Loots

"The Flamenco course run by the Oxford Flamenco Academy gives me the best way to balance my intensive study and spiritual as well as physical health."

                                    Sue Y. Xu

"I have to say that I like it very much (even if I am still a very early beginner who does not find the time to rehearse at home!)
I think it is a very good physical exercise with a lot of muscles working. The little choreography is very motivating. I like also the fact that there is a lot of different thinks to learn, a lot of different dance in one, different aspect to develop (clapping, coordination, posture, face expression....) and also that is suitable for all ages. You exercise, you relax and you learn things...I think this is really good !"

                                    Marie-Line Mayoral

"The attendees of DDS’ customer event, on May 11, 209 in Birmingham, enjoyed the entertainment performed and supervised by Amarita Vargas.The Spanish dancers performed Flamenco dances and taught some movements and the use of castanets to the guests. They were accompanied by one guitarist and one singer. DDS is highly recommending Amarita Vargas group for their professionalism and their enthusiasm that warmed the atmosphere."

Thierrry Attal, Marketing Director, DDS