Pyroteks soundproof floor too noiseless for Flamenco Studio

In what sounds like a contradiction, well known flamenco teacher and choreographer, Diana Reyes has set acoustic experts including Pyrotek's Soundguard division the impossible task of soundproofing the floor in her Newtown dance studio so that it makes a noise.

Diana � who studied and performed flamenco dance in Madrid before returning to Australia to teach, choreograph and promote flamenco here�admits that most conventional dance studios built over other tenants would kill for a floor that kills the passage of noise downstairs. But she then goes on to point out that flamenco without the sharp staccato rhythm of hard heels on wood is not flamenco at all to those on the floor or teaching the dance.

"Where we are in King Street is an old building, built about 1905, and its acoustics are intrinsically bad. Moreover, we are over an Internet café and a library, which, naturally, we wanted to insulate from the noise of our classes," says Diana.

"David Smart of Pyrotek's Soundguard division was very helpful in our attempts to have the best of both worlds. He proposed using their Silentstep acoustic underlay under a floating floor laid on joists and Dynabolted to the floor slab. It was excellent at stopping the noise transmission downwards, but the sound was horribly dead for those dancing or teaching flamenco."

In other words, it proved to be a product too good at what it was designed for�soundproofing�to be good at what it wasn't�rapping out the rhythm of flashing heels.

An Australian-made composite, Silentstep comprises a rubber underlay and a flexible loaded vinyl. Proven in domestic situations such as between upstairs and downstairs apartments, it also excels in commercial premises where conversation areas need to cohabit with adjacent rowdy bars, lounges with cinema complexes, restaurants with bowling alleys and professional rooms with shopping centres.

The product is effective against airborne noises such as hi-fi woofer reverberation. But it is just as effective against impact noise, such as heavy footfalls pounding on the floor above.

Diana Reyes claims that she still hasn't found the happy medium she is seeking; but admits that, with the poor acoustic make-up of her building, she might never be quite satisfied, despite the expertise and helpful free advice given by companies like Pyrotek.

Silentstep (inset) figured in Diana Reyes's quest to hear the flamenco beat above but not below her teaching studio floor