A decision about BG Flamenco and about what gives my work meaning.
Recently, I received a proposal to explore the possible purchase of BG Flamenco Academy.
I listened with respect. I wanted to understand what it would mean, what opportunities for growth it might offer, and how my responsibility at the head of the academy might change. I felt it was important to understand that path before deciding.
But before we reached the point of negotiating a price, I understood something: I did not want to move toward a sale. And that is what I told them.
I am not sharing this so that anyone will congratulate me. I am sharing it because that conversation made me put into words something I may not always have known how to explain: why, after so many years, I am still here.
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Money is necessary. But it is not the reason for everything.
Running an academy means discussing monthly fees, organizing classes, paying expenses, and making decisions that are not always easy. That part of my work exists, and I have a responsibility to do it well. The teachers deserve to be paid for their work, the studio needs to be maintained, and I too earn my living through my profession.
I do not want to pretend that money does not matter. But needing an academy to work financially does not mean that money is the reason it exists.
Perhaps, seeing me talk about prices, courses, or enrollment, someone has thought that this is what drives me. I am not writing these words to single anyone out or to argue with what others may think. I also want to show the part that does not appear on a price list: the part that explains why I keep choosing to teach.
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What we have built together
For more than twenty years, we have created shows, prepared choreography, rehearsed, and shared stages. We have devoted work, time, and resources to projects we believed in, to give flamenco the place it deserves and bring it closer to more people in Japan.
But BG's story is not made up only of major shows. It is also made up of weekly classes, of repeating a movement until we understand it, of learning to listen to flamenco singing, and of discovering that dancing is not just about remembering choreography, but about finding our own way to feel and express ourselves.
That journey continues in our YouTube videos, our online classes, and the materials we prepare so that learning can continue outside the studio. Even the new tools and AI we bring into our organizational work have that purpose for me: to help us devote more attention to teaching, creating, and supporting people along the way. It all belongs to the same intention: to connect Andalusia and Japan through a living, profound, and human flamenco.
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A family cannot be measured by a number
My students and my more than eight fellow women teachers are, to me, a flamenco family. Not because we all have to think alike, or because anyone has to stay forever. Each person has their own life, their own decisions, and their own path. That is precisely why the trust we share means so much.
I have not built this academy alone. The teachers have contributed their knowledge, their sensitivity, and their work. The students have contributed their time, their effort, and their desire to learn. They, too, have contributed greatly to who we are.
That is why, when I say that my students and my teachers are not for sale, I am expressing how I feel about that bond. I am not talking about people who belong to me. I am talking about a relationship I want to continue caring for personally, and a responsibility I do not wish to place in other hands.
I feel that some of my students still need my teaching. That I still have things to pass on to them, questions to work through with them, and paths we can discover together. And I want to continue living up to that trust.
That does not put anyone in my debt. No one has to thank me for this decision or prove anything to me in return. The decision to continue is mine.
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My response was not a request for more money
I did not turn down that possibility in order to wait for a larger amount. Nor do I think that someone who decides to sell their business cares less about their project. Each person has their own circumstances and their own way of caring for what they have built.
Looking at my own circumstances, I understood that I wanted to remain responsible for the direction of BG Flamenco. I want to continue teaching, creating, and making the decisions that shape our way of understanding flamenco.
My dream of bringing it to more places in Japan remains intact. I have not given up on growth. I want to grow while preserving what makes this project meaningful to us.
Continuing does not mean carrying everything myself or working without rest, either. I need to organize my work, lean on my team, and look after my energy so that I can teach well for many more years.
But today I know what my choice is.
I am here because of flamenco and for flamenco. And I am here to keep sharing it with those who trust my teaching.
I do not need applause for this decision. It is enough for me if it helps explain what returning to class, listening to the music, and continuing to work together mean to me.
BENITO GARCÍA
Image: BG PHOTO · AI-generated.