This Oscar®-winning short documentary is an impressionistic record of a flamenco dance class given to senior students of the National Ballet School of Canada by two great teachers from Spain, Susana and Antonio Robledo.

For a few weeks each year, in the depths of winter, senior students at the National Ballet School of Canada are treated to a style of dance that is unlike any other – flamenco. Susana – dancer, teacher and choreographer – comes from Spain with her husband, Antonio Robledo, to introduce the students to the rhythms of another culture; the secrets of an ancient art that speaks of the passion of itinerant gypsies, the songs of Spanish Jews, the ways of the Moors.

Beautifully illuminated, with a dynamic visual style that emulates the staccato rhythms of the dance, Flamenco at 5:15 is a thrilling introduction to the most visceral art form. It is a wonderful opportunity for dancers and non-dancers alike to learn what is at the heart of the passionate discipline that is, in Susana’s words, “earth and sky and always the contradiction.”

Yet it’s mesmerizing once you get into it. What Susana and Antonio do is magical. These types of teachers go beyond just teaching dance moves – they passionately teach you about life and a bit of what it has to offer. Why shouldn’t learning be fun?