i'm quite the beginner to ballroom dancing, so, please bear with me. i'm somewhat taken by the paso doble and am wondering if this dance draws from flamenco as its ancestor and to what degree?

yoyodyne. For some information on Paso Doble. Google Paul Killick Click on the top one then find Paso. It was evidently developed in France.

"beginner" he says... I would have to say, a rather impressive beginner!

I heard Paso was a French march type dance, that Flamenco and Spanish Gypsy dance elements have been incorporated into. I found that information rather surprising, but they seemed to know what they were talking about.

We even have a eight bar Sequence Dance call Paso Madrid. Just about everybody who dances here knows this one. Even though it is a fun dance it still keeps the true Paso feeling.

thanks to all who responded with their comments. you've been very helpful in answering this question of mine.

I am by no means an expert in Latin American dance, in comparison with some members of the forum, but Spanish culture/history is a strong point of mine!
The Paso Doble was indeed orginally a Spanish "two step" marching dance which is still danced to this day in Spain, especially at weddings and other family gatherings. It was developed in France, I believe in the 1930s, (hence the names of steps/figures being in French) and elements of the bullfight were incorporated, eventually leading to the dance we know as the Paso Doble today. Flamenco dancing is closely associated with bull fighting and elements of Flamenco can be seen in the Paso.
Incidentally, the "stamping" of the foot known as the appel, is not flamenco, but derives from the way in which a bull fighter attracts the attention of the bull.
It is interesting to watch a bull fight (albeit a short clip!) to see how the dance reflects the bullfight.

It actually dates back long before that-- it was in fact danced at the world champs. in 1921-- and probably was not as we know it today .

Sorry Terence2, I've just read my own post back and I didn't word that very well - by saying the dance was developed in the 1930s in France I wasn't suggesting that it hadn't been danced before! I was trying to make the point that the dance didn't become popular in France until that late stage and has its orgins firmly in Spain and Spanish culture. Then at that later stage the French developed it further - giving the current French names to the figures etc, as it become popular at that stage in France.
As you quite rightly say - it had been danced much earlier than that, although it wouldn't have been the paso we're used to seeing on the dance floor now!