How to learn flamenco From scratch

“The flamenco it is a philosophy, a way of thinking and feeling of an entire people and its historical tradition." Manolo Sanlúcar.

Can you learn to dance? flamenco? To learn to dance you have to have time and patience. Apart from a lot of desire. The flamenco it is a show of aesthetics, style, charisma and dance discipline as the great dancer Matilde Coral already said.

What is flamenco?

The flamenco it is Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Declared by UNESCO in 2010.

It is an art of Andalusian origin that integrates dance, singing and guitar music. Which is based on the rhythm of flamenco palos. He is known for his emotional intensity and is distinguished by his arm movements and the ferocious clatter of his heels. All this is accompanied by the deep strumming of the Spanish guitar.

It is the result of the cultural miscegenation of Andalusia where peoples as disparate as the gypsies, the Arabs, the Christians and the Jews coexisted.

It was born in the mid-eighteenth century but its roots go back to earlier times. It combines dance and musical elements that already existed in different cultures. Including African and Caribbean dances.

Dance Classes  

In the flamenco singing, dancing and guitar merge into a single artistic expression. The dancer interprets the feelings expressed by the singer. The dance is created with movements of arms and wrists, wiggers, turns, footwork, rhythms and setbacks. The dancer with the percussion he plays in the zapateo becomes another part of the musical piece accompanying the guitarist and palmeros.

In dance classes, a sequence is taught so that it can then be adapted to the rhythm, the guitar and finally the singing. Even working on improvisation. It begins with the placement of the body, the control of the arms, the movement of the hands, the turns, the footwork and the breaking of the body.  

You learn the techniques and knowledge of the placement of legs and feet for a correct footwork. All classes start with stretching and warm-ups beforehand so as not to injure yourself. It is decided which stick is going to be worked on for a full week.

The most important thing isUnderstand the flamenco through the body itself, paying attention to each of its parts and gaining confidence in the movements.

With the Technique You will learn to listen to singing, guitar and rhythm, to understand the flamenco and use the necessary tools to launch yourself into improvisation.The flamenco it is an improvised art. 

The sticks of the flamenco

There are so many flamenco and diverse styles that it is difficult to select a few. The most danced are the seguirillas, the soleá, the soleá por bulerías, the alegrías, the fandangos or the tangos without forgetting the sevillanas.   

The joy has the same rhythm as the soleá but faster and as its name indicates the feeling is of celebration. Soleá is one of the pillars of the flamenco. The fandango comes from an area of Huelva and has an Arabic and Portuguese origin, so it is reminiscent of fado. The seguirillas present a solemn and sober dance. Unadorned that comes from sad and painful feeling. Tango is one of the oldest. The most curious thing about tango is that when it gets slower it is called tiento.  Bulerías is the most flexible singing and dancing. There is no flamenco party that does not end with its bulerías. Like the alegrías, the bulerías show a rhythm similar to the soleá but more fast-paced. And finally, the sevillanas, which is the best known and most widespread. Apart from being a couple dance.

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