Flamenco Steps in East London - Idea Store of Tower Hamlets
24 August 2026
Fun, energising and uplifting - I was at the ‘End of Year Show’ on 4th July in Bradley Arts Centre in Whitechapel, where the adult students of various types of performing arts shared their learning outcomes with amiable audiences. It is an annual festivity organised by Idea Store, the community centre of Tower Hamlets, East London. The featured dances included ballet, contemporary dance, African dance, belly dance, and flamenco.
In my article ’How My Flamenco Journey Started’, I described how my quest for an Irish dance class ended up with flamenco instead, because Irish dance wasn’t offered by the community centre in my area. Yes, you guessed right - it was indeed Idea Store, and I appreciate the fate. Watching the flamenco students’ dancing with joy, I was reminiscing about my initiation to flamenco, which was a long time ago.
Being my first home of flamenco, I still have a certain attachment to this cultural hub in East London, even after I left there for further artistic development. My then flamenco teacher is no longer teaching there and it’s been a while for the lovely Rowena Ritchie to have taken over the responsibilities. I still try to attend their End of Year Show as a member of the audience, including this summer, mainly to celebrate the hard work of our good friend Rae and his lovely classmates who chose Rowena as their mentor.
Among numerous adult learning centres across London, the biggest advantage of the Idea Store is the fee: they offer the most affordable classes in London in various subjects. A 1.5 hour flamenco class currently costs only £10 per week, or if you’re eligible, even less than £4 per week on concessions. Obviously, flamenco and other performing arts subjects are just one part of the many options you could take up. I used to go to their French and German language classes too (a long time ago!). Whatever subject you choose, Idea Store easily wins in expensive London in terms of affordability and accessibility. Besides, you don’t have to be a resident in Tower Hamlets to enrol in their course!
Regarding our interest in flamenco there, the quality experience is also guaranteed throughout the course. Rowena is surely one of the nicest flamenco teachers you’d come across in London and she’s been highly admired by her current and previous students as well as her colleagues alike. Our friend Rae, for example, always praises her for being supportive and encouraging. He also compliments his classmates for being friendly to each other, far from showing rivalry. I remember that my then senior classmates always helped us novices to revise and memorise new steps. It’s also an artistic privilege for the class to be accompanied by the renowned guitarist Steve Homes, who is very kind too. Moreover, at the end of the term, you’ll have fun showcasing your learned routines at the End of Year Show! (and probably more performing opportunities throughout the year)
The new term of flamenco classes with Rowena starts on Thursday 24th September for beginners and Tuesday 22nd September for improvers as well as intermediate levels. Stepping into the Idea Store will surely be a good idea.
Flamenco classes with Rowena Ritchie - How to enroll
How My Flamenco Journey Started
https://www.baileplus.com/articles/how-my-flamenco-journey-started
