Research Notes: While Ms. Avilés lives far, far away in the ‘burbs, we decided to ground her shoot at her flamenco dance studio in Jamaica Plain. Watching flamenco dancing in action is otherworldly. The costumes, the sensual expressions, the intricate hand movements, the tapping of the shoes on the wood floor, and the music, all pull you in towards this place of complete euphoria. Ladies and gentlemen, it is sex on the beach.
Her performance was also quite loud. Her performances this evening clocked in at over 90 dBA. Noise is defined as unwanted sound. Now, had this been my upstairs neighbors, I would have called the cops, period (keep in mind, 90 dBA is equivalent of a the sound of a diesel truck 10 meters away). However, the sounds of flamenco, in that studio, on that day, were, simply put, magical. And, despite its loudness, it will never, in my opinion, be noise. Visit Ms. Avilés website to learn more about her flamenco company and classes.
Name: Ms. Avilés
Date: 6/2/2016, 7:00 pm
Neighborhood: Jamaica Plain, Boston
Occupation: Artistic Director/Choreographer/Dancer
On a scale of 1-10 , how loud ? In her neighborhood out in the burbs, 1
Actual decibel level: Inside of her studio: 91.2 dBA. Researcher Notes: I’ve measured noise levels in her town (Newton). If she lives on a busy road, it can reach 60 dBA. However, if she’s tucked away on a quiet side street, sound levels range from 35 – 50 dBA.
Tell us about the noise in your neighborhood: I live in the suburbs of Boston, so it’s relatively quiet here. Researcher Notes: Agreed!
