ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando woman is continuing a tradition that began hundreds of years ago — flamenco dancing.

Raquel Tacon said she was inspired to become a flamenco dancer when she lived in Valladolid, Spain at the age of 6.

She said she snuck out for her first performance that was at a radio station.

“Nobody (knew) — not my father, my mother, or my sister. I put (on) my best dress, and I call and I sing… “ Tacon said.

She then went on to dancing school to receive her professional certificate. It takes eight years to qualify, and the dancer must perform in front of the world’s best dancing professionals who judge whether or not the dancer is ready to receive the certificate.

Tacon said she was nervous and had trouble with the hand movements.

“After a while they said, 'No, no it’s this way.' They helped me,” she recalled.

Tacon said lied about her age to receive her certificate. She said she was 18, but she was really 16.

The lie helped perform around the world until she decided to move to Orlando to open her own studio to teach other dancers to keep the tradition alive.

“Flamenco is a dance that’s very passionate,” Tacon said. “You have to feel it. You have to feel it a lot inside, the passion, and you have to transmit it to the people.”

When Tacon isn’t teaching or performing Flamenco, she’s working her other job as vice-consulate of Spain.

She will perform next spring to raise money for cancer survivors.