Flamenco

Floreo

Who would have thought, in the little town of Selinsgrove, I would be able to take Flamenco lessons?  Two new stores have opened up downtown by the same owner - Peppers and Post and Lintel. Post and Lintel has a great variety of class offerings: drawing, glass blowing, jewelery making, and  flamenc (as well as a few others).   So, I'm taking the flamenco classes. 

A Bit of History on Flamenco
Flamenco originated with the gypsies in Andalusia (southern Spain).  It is believed that between 800AD and 900AD there was an exodus of a group of people from the Untouchables caste from the Punjabi region of India.  Apparently, there were two major routes of migration for these people.  The first route took them across Asia and the European continent.  The second major route took them down across North Africa and into southern Spain.  So, although the dance originated with the gypsy people, its influences include Indian, Andalusian, African, Jewish, and Arabic and have added helped to its evolution as an art form.

Flamenco Music
Originally, the music consisted of only singing (cante) and hand-claps (palmas).  The guitar, which is such a fundamental part of flamenco now, was an influence of the Arabic Oud.  Flamenco music uses the major scale, minor scale, and Phyrgian mode where the third note in the scale is sharpened.  The music consists of the rhythms of 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and unique to flamenco, 12 beat rhythms.

Flamenco Dance
Flamenco is an earthy dance.  The focus is internal and it is expresses strength, defiance, and passion.  As I am learning it, the dance requires a combination of body movement, intricate foot-work, arm movement, and hand movement (floreo).  As I am learning each move, I have to learn it in parts.  I first learn the foot and body movement.  Then I add the arms.  Finally, I add the hand movement, which is the hardest to incorporate for me.

I've embedded two videos.
This video shows the improvisational style of flamenco with the footwork combined with arm movement and floreo.  This is more traditional of flamenco in general.  You learn basic (or not so basic) steps and then you can begin to string them together.


This is a video of the Sevillanas dance.  It is the only choreographed dance in flamenco, mainly because it is more of a traditional dance found in Sevilla.  The dance has several coplas (verses) which you will see clearly defined by the pause in dancing.

Floreo photo used under Creative Commons license from http://www.flickr.com/photos/lievensoete/3020988541/ .