Adance found in the north-western region of Galicia, the muieira is an example of the Celtic influence on the local culture in this part of the world. One of the most obvious parallels with Celtic music is the use of a type of bagpipe known as a gaita to perform the accompanying music. There are regional types of muieira, including muieira de Chantada.
Discover the joy of flamenco dancing with a professional lesson led by a talented Spanish instructor. Immerse yourself in the art of flamenco and rumba in just 45 minutes. Learn about the rich history and enjoy the authentic music of this captivating dance form. Perfect for beginners and dance enthusiasts alike. A fun and engaging way to experience Spanish culture. Dance your way through an unforgettable cultural journey.
The jota is a dance which exists in distinct forms in many of the regions of Spain, including Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia and Galicia, where in each case it reflects the local culture and history. One of the best known is the Aragonese jota, which dates back to the 18th century and was particularly fashionable in the 19th century. In its purest form, the dance is particularly complex, involving rapid foot movements and small jumps.
As the name indicates, the Sevillana is a type of folk music and dance which originates in the southern Spanish city of Seville and shares similarities with the other main Andalusian dance: flamenco. However, Sevillanas are less formal and less physically demanding than flamenco, meaning they can be performed by people of all ages and sexes, which has made them particularly popular at festivals in southern Spain.
Not exclusively a dance, the zarzuela is more a popular form of lyrical performance featuring song and dance. Dating back to the 17th century, the dance was later popularised in the 19th century thanks in part to the work of Francisco Barbieri and the Zarzuela Theatre in Madrid. After falling out of favour during the Spanish Civil War, it was revived during the 1950s and 60s, and continues to be performed in theatres across the country today.
The concept of Spanish dance immediately conjures up images of the strumming guitars, stomping feet and bright dresses of flamenco. While many people make this common connection between Spain and flamenco, a plethora of traditional dances from Spain's various regions weave into the lengthy history of Spanish dance. For example, not many people would ever expect to visit Spain and hear the music of bagpipes and tambourines floating through the air, yet it is the traditional music accompanying Spanish dance across northern Spain!
For almost as long as man has existed he has used dance as a form of communication and personal expression. Spain is certainly no exception. Ritualistic dances commemorating battles and other war-related themes were the first to appear, and centuries later during the Middle Ages, structured religious-themed ritual dances were recognizable.
The 15th century saw the distinction created between the various genres. Serious and measured dances quickly grew outdated while the popularity of the happier and free-moving dances surged exponentially. With the Renaissance, popular and folk dance continued to make huge strides in the history of Spanish dance and even gained recognition internationally. These regional dances both flourished on their own and melded with other dances to birth brand new ones. You can imagine how many- at one point, there were over 200 traditional dances in the region of Catalonia alone!
During the Baroque period, gypsies arrived to the Iberian continent and the growing popularity of the gypsy music and dance, flamenco, eagerly formed part of the history of Spanish dance. The rest is history- or rather Spanish dance history- as flamenco has since become both a national and international sensation. With feisty flamenco's ever-rising fame, regional dances suffered a decline- a decline which intensified during the 20th century, when the dictator Francisco Franco actually banned all things regional, including dance, music, and languages. Luckily today there has once again been a boost in the pride and the practice of traditional dances, and the history of Spanish dance continues!
Jota Aragonesa. This typical dance hails from the north of Spain, namely Aragn, and features a fast tempo as couples dance with their hands raised high above their heads playing castanets.
Zambra. The zambra began as a Moorish dance, but with monarchs Fernando and Isabel's reconquista of Spain, the Moors were able to conserve the dance by adapting it to Spanish dance customs.
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Flamenco (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-smallfont-size:85%.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-smallfont-size:100%Spanish pronunciation: [flaˈmeŋko]) is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Murcia.[1][2][3] In a wider sense, the term is used to refer to a variety of both contemporary and traditional musical styles typical of southern Spain. Flamenco is closely associated to the gitanos of the Romani ethnicity who have contributed significantly to its origination and professionalization. However, its style is uniquely Andalusian and flamenco artists have historically included Spaniards of both gitano and non-gitano heritage.[4]
The oldest record of flamenco music dates to 1774 in the book Las Cartas Marruecas (The Moroccan Letters) by Jos Cadalso.[5] The development of flamenco over the past two centuries is well documented: "the theatre movement of sainetes (one-act plays) and tonadillas, popular song books and song sheets, customs, studies of dances, and toques, perfection, newspapers, graphic documents in paintings and engravings. ... in continuous evolution together with rhythm, the poetic stanzas, and the ambiance."[6]
Historically, the term Flamenco was used to identify the Romani people (Gitanos) of Spain.[8] The English traveller George Borrow who travelled through Spain during the 1830s stated that the Gitanos were also called Flemish (in Spanish, 'flamenco') due to German and Flemish being erroneously considered synonymous.[9] According to flamencologist Cristina Cruces-Roldn, a year prior to Borrow's account, there already existed a Gitano party in Madrid that was clearly identified as Flamenco. This equivalency between Gitano and Flamenco is also noted by Manuel Fernndez y Gonzlez, Demfilo, and the scholar Iriving Brown who stated in 1938 that "Flamenco is simply another term for Gitano, with special connotations."[9]
The origins of the term lie in the sociological prejudice towards the Roma who were seen as ruffians and cocky troublemakers by the Spaniards and were thus associated with the 18th century German colonists of the Sierra Morena who formed groups of urban Bohemians that lived outside the law and were seen as idle and lazy.[10] Other less successful hypotheses include those of Felipe Pedrell and Carlos Alemendros who state that while the term Flamenco is Spanish for Flemish, it is actually synonymous with Cantador (professional singer) in reference to the group of Flemish singers brought by Spanish King Carlos I in 1516. Another hypothesis that is not widely accepted is the Arabist theory of Blas Infante, which presents in his book Orgenes de lo flamenco (Origins of flamenco)[11], Flamenco as a phonetic deformation of Arabic fellah-mengu (runaway laborer)[12] or was derived from the Arabic terms Felah-Mengus, which together mean "wandering peasant".[11]
The first use of the term Flamenco to refer to the music genre appears in a 1847 newspaper article of El Espectador where it was referred to as a "Gitano genre." In the early years of Flamenco, the term was versatile and was used to refer to a variety of concepts in the Gitano-Andalusian world.[13] For example, in the 1860s-70s this versatility was exemplified through its use to refer to a musical style and a certain aesthetic, manners, and way of life that were perceived to be Gitano. At that time, Flamenco was not a strict genre but a way of performing music in a Gitano-Andalusian style.[14]
There are hypotheses that point to the influence on flamenco of types of dance from the Indian subcontinent; the place of origin of the Romani people.[1] The Indo-Pakistani scales of Flamenco were introduced to Andalusia by the Romani migrations from Northern India.[15] These Roma migrants also brought bells, and an extensive repertoire of songs and dances.[citation needed] Upon arrival to Andalusia in the 15th century, they were exposed to the rich Arab-Andalusian music culture, itself a hybrid of Spanish music tradition going back to the 8th century with the establishment of Al-Andalus, which brought in traditions and music from the Arabian peninsula, Northern Africa and Sephardic features. Some of the instruments associated with Flamenco and Spanish folklore in different regions today, are the wooden castanets and tambourines, both believed to originate during the Al Andalus period.[16][17] This centuries-long period of cultural intermingling, formed the roots of Flamenco song and dance genres.[18][19]
It is believed that the flamenco genre emerged at the end of the 18th century in cities and agrarian towns of Baja Andalusia, highlighting Jerez de la Frontera as the first written vestige of this art, although there is practically no data related to those dates and the manifestations of this time are more typical of the bolero school than of flamenco. It appeared as a modern art form from the convergence of the urban subaltern groups, Gitano communities, and journeyman of Andalusia that formed the marginalized Flamenco artistic working class who established Flamenco as a singular art form, marked from the beginning by the Gitano brand.[13] Andalusia was the origin and cradle of the early Flamenco cantaores and of the three or four dozen Gitano families who created and cultivated Flamenco.[20]
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