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 In learning Flamenco dance your mirror is your BFF. Without a mirror to practice in front of, you have absolutely no way of knowing if you are doing something correctly or incorrectly. Could you imagine putting on makeup without a mirror? You may have done it a million times, but try and do it without a mirror just once! That’s just asking for trouble.
Read the full article at DanceUs.Org
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 "Listen? To singing? But this article is about dance!" you say. Yes, it is. But we are talking about Flamenco! Flamenco is not a dance. It is a cultural art form of the Spanish Gypsy. Dancing is just one part of it. Singing and guitar playing are the other parts. (If you haven't read my first article, "It’s Flamenco, Not Flamingo!" you might want to check it out now).
Cante (CAHN-tay) is the singing in Flamenco. Right after the compas (rhythm), cante is the most important part of Flamenco. Read the full article at DanceUS.Org  One of the things many students ask me is "will I hurt my knees?" The answer is no, and yes. It all depends.
Your knees are one of the most important parts of your Flamenco anatomy. They allow you to execute footwork so that you look like a Flamenco dancer. They also allow you to continue walking every day when you are not dancing, and they will carry you right through into advanced age. So naturally you want to treat your knees with the utmost of care and respect Read the full article at DanceUs.org  by Linda Machado
Jaléo (hah-LAY-oh) is a Spanish noun that means "uproar." In Flamenco, jaléo is an important part of the relationship between the performers and between the performers and audience. In this country, most audiences sit quietly through a performance (Flamenco or otherwise) and then clap and shout "bravo" at the conclusion of the performance. In a Flamenco performance, it is customary to shout your bravos during the performance, clapping and becoming part of the show while it is going on. When the performance is over, it's just over. No clapping, no bravos. Why? Because Flamenco (as opposed to theatrical Flamenco) is really not a performance, it's a communal activity connecting performers and audience. Everyone in the room is a participant, an unusual concept for many audiences. Read more at DanceUS.org  The importance of quality instruction in Flamenco dance and guitar (and anything in life for that matter) is often, unfortunately, highly underrated. We seem to be living in a fast-paced "now" world:
Read the full article at DanceUS.org  So often I see Flamenco dancers executing extraordinarily complex and fast-as-lightning footwork patterns, whipping their arms about in a frenzy, their wet hair clinging to their faces, chests heaving from exertion, jackets being tossed aside, but when I see their faces, look at their eyes, too often I see... nothing. I see no spirit, no emotion, no connection of their heart to their audience and, worse, no connection of their heart to themselves. What I do see is an exhibition, a proud display of their technique. A display designed to wow the audience with their technical expertise.
 The Flamenco guitarist is a partner to the Flamenco dancer -- two people embarking on shared but separate journeys.
Flamenco dance is not dancing steps to music; it is dancing from your heart within a rhythm structure, using Flamenco technique and being able to communicate non-verbally in a manner that a Flamenco guitarist can accompany you -- follow you not lead you. A proficient dancer knows the rhythms, a proficient guitarist knows the rhythms, and mostly that is all that is needed. The dancer knows the rhythms and leads; the guitarist knows the rhythms and follows. Period. There really is not much need for rehearsal, if any. The dancer does not follow the guitarist, the guitarist follows the dancer. Read more at DanceUS.org  Floreo (floor-A-oh) in Spanish means "to flower". In Flamenco dance, floreo means handwork -- the movement a dancer makes with his or her hands while dancing. Both men and women do floreo, but it looks quite different on women than on men. Men have very strong movement of the hands with minimal movement of the fingers while women have very graceful movement of both the hands and fingers. For women, floreo and braceo (arm movement) are some of the most beautiful parts of Flamenco dance technique.
Read more at DanceUS.Org.  Escobilla (es-co-BEE-yuh) in Spanish means a small broom or brush. In Flamenco dance, an escobilla is where the dancer does an extended section of zapateado (footwork). Several Flamenco rhythms, such as Alegrias, Caracoles and Soleares, have sections of escobilla.
Read more at DanceUs.Org.  Flamenco dance is considered by many to be the world's 2nd most difficult dance form, 2nd only to Indian classical dance. Its history can be traced back to the time when the Gypsies left their homeland in India, traveled through Egypt, Europe and arrived in Spain around 1492, right around the time the Arabic peoples from Morocco who had occupied Spain for almost 800 years left.
Read more at DanceUs.Org. |
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Ricardo de Cristobal is a Master Flamenco Guitarist and Flamenco Historian with over 50 years experience in the art form. Archives
November 2017
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