Flamenco Dance March 18, 2011
Posted by cantueso in art, stage.trackback
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Cante Jondo is the hardest to get for foreigners, for it is slow, very slow, often improvised, and all text- based. The subject is nearly always pain of every kind. The photo is by Sebastian Gebhard.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/typo3agentur/ — the photo is no longer there. The original link http://www.lafibi.com/images/cante_jondo_1.jpg does not work anymore.
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This picture, also by Gebhard, is called Lorca. That is the name of one of Spain’s great poets, best known for his play “Blood Wedding”.
The link http://www.lafibi.com/images/lorca_29.jpg no longer works. The picture is does not produce any results at the TinEye Reverse Image Search either.
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It is a surprise to see that the best talk about Flamenco on the net is in English. The dance can easily be traced about 200 years back, but is much older, as the music echoes its Jewish, Gipsy, and Muslim origins.
The dance is introvert, individualistic, takes place in a small space, and all of the body, but especially the dancer’s arms and hands, respond to the guitar.
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The dress is part of the dance and traditional, but some photographers and people in the advertising industry exaggerate its importance :
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Sometimes the dress ends in a long train difficult to handle, because it is heavy and subject to its own laws of inertia, unless the dancer knows how to control those.
See Flamenco-Bata-de-Cola for the know-how.
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This is Pepa Montes by Antoniocid at Flickr in a perfect profile snap. Flamenco is rated for its “duende”, maybe best translated as “depth” or “reach” or “scoop”…. and much of it is somber , sometimes defiant. –
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antoniocid/ — but the photo is no longer there nor at the original link http://www.flickr.com/photos/antoniocid/2816602939/ , and the photographer has since become subjective and more abstract.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/venturemedia/3585055470/in/set-72157619085594580/ The link is good.
Another Sebastian Gebhard photos at Flickr. There ought to be some flamenco photo by Spain’s incredible Almodovar, but I haven’t found any yet.
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See? In this moment only her hands are dancing.
The photos are from the same link as above http://www.flickr.com/photos/venturemedia/3585055470/in/set-72157619085594580/
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Eva la Yerbabuena. Literally that is Eve the Mint plant or Mentha.
As flamenco has become international, it has merged with ballet and stage dance art, and more recently has moved closer to pantomime – maybe to make it more intelligible to an international audience?
Sometimes it does look like “rizando el rizo” meaning “curling a curl” or, as in this case, adding layers of novel emotions to the tensions of the traditional dance.
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http://www.flamencoarana.com/images/sarashow0400.jpg
This is a good photo: the dancer, in this moment, is not aware of the audience, but listening only to the voice of the guitar, and that voice, too, is often just minimally present, just a tinkle, as if the guitar were also listening and waiting. The picture was taken by Catherine Yavorsky and published at http://www.flamencoarana.com/
Ideally, the whole thing takes place in a bar or late at night in a little patio, with very few people present.
It is not easy to get flamenco photos and information. It is basically a serious dance, which in English might seem a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron. Many photos make it look as if flamenco were some sort of girlie display show which it isn’t.
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Flamenco dancer seen from the back
No way to find the original Flickr location and the author of this great photo. Even a reverse image search via TinEye only brings up my own URL. This post was first published in May 2008.
The lyrics are often high quality, elliptical but sharp, at times just a single sentence that the singer spreads out and modifies according to patterns set by tradition:
…………………………….. “Remember how under the bridge you used to say: Wait, there are people coming”.
…………………………….. “You know very well that I loved you, but my mother told me that I was shameless.”
…………………………….. “I got my heart so used to my ways that I say “weep!” and it weeps, and I say “sing!” and it sings.”
…………………………….. “I keep telling you not to send me more papers, and you keep writing and writing.”
To get an idea, remember the opening tune of Almodovar’s Speak to Her which is not Flamenco, but recalls it all over.
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And the photo below is Belen Maya, Madrid:
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[Belen means cradle and manger, and her complete name is probably Mary of the Manger].
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Added December 26, 2009
By Antonio Martinez Castaño: a male dancer, and a good photo. The cloth that accompanies the dancer’s movement could be the red cape seen at the beginning of a bullfight.
The photo is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/neueart/4194978284/in/pool-kareemkoutaflamenco
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Added January 15, 2010
They dance normally on a small platform called a tablao, formerly in any old downtown bar, now often set up, even improvised, in good restaurants.
The photo was originally at http://www.flamencoarana.com/
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Added July 30, 2010
Marisa Wright online:
Belly-Dancing How to Shimmy: Belly Dance Technique
Teach-Yourself-Belly-Dancing-at-Home
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Added November 4, 2010
Flamenco lyrics + translation:
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Great pictures captures the moment. My love is Salsa but have always been fascinated by Flamenco
The best place for pictures and information about the flamenco, including shows, classes….everything…is the Deflamenco webpage. I think the address is http://www.deflamenco.com/indexi.jsp but you may have to click on the option for English, can’t remember.
Thank you for the link, but you would have noticed that their photos are mainly close-ups, and that is not a good way to represent a dancer or even a guitarist or a singer.
Couldn’t you let me have a few more of those epigrams? They are similar to what is called a “haiku” though these come from Japan.
I think the best way to learn about Spanish music is Pepe Romero, though I think he is not Spanish, but American.
To neeMcM
I think he is Spanish. He was born in Seville. Later (maybe because of the war?) the family moved to the US.
This is inspirational – your photographs are superb. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great post and your links are really helpful.
In most of the flamenco I have seen too much was made of the dancer’s footwork. That seems to be a recent development and seems to be appreciated by Flamenco’s international audience. It is too mechanistic.
Some dancers end up reminding me of my little old Olivetti…..
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