ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – As you walk down the hall at Mesa Verde Community Center, you might hear what sounds like rhythms of applause or Palmas echoing throughout. At the sight of noise-making shoes and patterned skirts, it becomes clear; that this is a flamenco class. Story continues below Crime: New lawsuit claims CYFD could have prevented toddler’s death Community: New Mexico crews share experience of helping fight California wildfires National: United Airlines flight returns to O’Hare after hitting coyote during takeoff In the front of the classroom is Huitzil Bennett Perez, the instructor guiding the group through the steps and movements she did when she was younger. An opportunity, she said, that's been rewarding, "Seeing the kids' faces light up when they start to understand a step or something. I remember I started dancing when I was young, and it was just so amazing to feel like my body is actually understanding what I'm doing,” said Bennett Perez. The free program at the center has been in session since August but the National Institute of Flamenco said it’s just one of many outreach classes in its Flamenco in your Neighborhood initiative. "We're trying to bring flamenco arts to kids all over the state, all over the city, and so we're doing a lot of classes in community centers through the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County,” said April Goltz, Artistic Programs Director at the National Institute of Flamenco It's expanded beyond the metro to Taos, Hobbs, and most recently Los Lunas, where an in-school nine-week flamenco residency started this week, sponsored by Meta. And while their outreach efforts started in 2022, the program has seen an increase in growth over the last year. "This allows us to bring the art into all these different spaces that may not have experienced flamenco before,” said Goltz. "At the beginning, a lot of them were like, I don't know what this is, I just signed up for dance class and now we're not really doing what I imagine dance class to be but the more they understand, the more their body understands how to do it and they are actual succeeding and getting little things, the more they want to keep learning,” said Bennett Perez. The flamenco institute hopes to expand the program to other demographics including senior citizens. For more information about the program, click here.