hey there madridman. for all fo your amazing advice to me i shall try and help you here. i went to two flamenco shows when i was there last year. casa patas and corral moreria. both were great. sure, they were a slight touristy but well worth it.
loved the performance at casa patas. this seemed to be a bit more "pure." it seemed that there were flamenco performaers in the audience. casa patas was near the tirso de molina metro station. i remember it being near catedral de san isidro.
corral moreria was great just due to its location. down in the moreria, it had some great atmosphere.
the best flamenco i saw when i was in spain last year was at los gallos in the barrio santa cruz in sevilla

Flamenco in Madrid used to be something for tourists mainly (this has changed lately as Flamenco has become more and more popular and fashionable between Madrlenos, specially young ones).

But in any case there has always been followers in Madrid, that had their places to go.

In Madrid, for Flamenco, you have 2 circuits, the touristic one (most of the public are tourists), and the local one, with much lower prices and higher quality.

I do not remember exactly the prices, but a tourist place like Torres Bermejas, Corral de la Moreria, etc, used to charge around 4000 pts only to attend the show and have 1 drink, if you wanted to have dinner, the price was the double or more.

For Flamenco, the place I was recomended is Casa Patas, in the Calle Canizares (I do not remember the number, but its only 1 block away from Atocha Street). A 5 minutes walk from the Anton Martin subway.

Most of the people going there are locals (with an increasing number of knowledable foreign visitors). The prices used to be 2000 pts per person I think, including a drink. You can have dinner also in the bar if you want, the tapas used to be priced very reasonably.

Altough I have been never beeing into Flamenco, I went a couple of times to Casa Patas, the place is completely authentic, and the Flamenco show impressive. Worth a visit.

Scott, put it in your to do list!

Hope it helps!

Florencio

I have made a little search and found the following link for Casa Patas:
http://www.visualware.es/guiamad/anct/patas.htm

UPDATE BY MadridMan: See Casa Patas NEW Website @ http://www.CasaPatas.com

[ 09-29-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

I completely agree with Florencio. I guess some of you already know Casa Patas as it is reviewed at Let's Go guide.

Saludos,

Antonio

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The best tips from your favourite hostal in Madrid.
Hostal Chelo at http://www.chelo.com

hello madrid lover, just returned from spain yesterday.....in reference to your flamenco dance, that is one of the few things that i really enjoyed while i was there. went to the one at the el patio sevillano and sevelle...we had a great time there..one piece of advise though take all the still shots you want, but don't try to use a video camera!!!!!! i got mucho yelled at for it. hehe hope you make it to see one while you are there. have fun

I am SO excited to be FINALLY going to a flamenco show in Madrid while there. I'll take your suggestions with me and will tell you how it wasn upon returning (or sooner!!) Thanks!

Saludos, MadridMan

Since you are going to be in Madrid until mid-October, I recommend that you wait until after the 7th before taking in a tablao flamenco in Madrid. The reason: A biennial (every 2-years) flamenco festival in Sevilla ends October 7 and many of the best Cantaores, Bailaoras and guitarristas will be down south from now until then.

WOW!! Your expertise is greatly appreciated, Eddie. Or maybe they'll all need a vacation after the festival in Sevilla and return to Madrid AFTER I leave!! ARGH!!! Hope not. Thanks Eddie!

Saludos, MadridMan

'Expertise?' No! It's just that we just got back from there.
There will be some performances at the Stadium and at the Maestranza during this Festival.

We have day-tripped to Sevilla from Madrid (viernes de Semana Santa); and I have vision of an overnighter (no sleep involved, except on the AVE on the way back): take the 19:30 AVE to Sevilla - proceed directly From Santa Justa station to dinner and an early 'Tablao Flamenco.' After that, maybe go to another Flamenco night spot and see another set of Flamenco artists. Then back to Santa Justa for the 07:00 AVE to Madrid. One of these days.....

[This message has been edited by Eddie (edited 09-23-2000).]

la cava baja, as mentioned way above, I can confirm is for locals and is very good but can be tricky to find.