Flamenco Dance Videos
Por Livianas
As part of the Seguiriya family, the Liviana is one of the oldest cantes (song styles) in flamenco. It is a cante that has been sung since the time of singer Silverio Franconetti as a preamble to the difficult Serrana, which in turn was finished off with the Seguiriya de Cambio by María Borrico. Singer Antonio Mairena affirmed that the Livianas are cantes in the style of Seguiriyas that are often interpreted in a continual flow, and can serve as a prelude to the Siguiriya itself.
Some scholars say that Seguiriyas originate from Playeras, or the songs of plañideras: women (often Gitana/Roma) who were hired to sing songs of mourning for wakes and funerals. For this reason they often have a theme of loss or death as a source of inspiration
Seguiriyas are performed in Modo Flamenco (Phrygian scale)
Their Compás (Rhythm) is: 3/4 + 6/8 (the opposite of the Soleá)
There is an incredible variety of melodic variations with beautiful melismas and vocal elaborations. Livianas share the same scale and rhythm as Seguiriya, but vary in melody from Seguiriyas, Serranas and Cabales.
Por Soleá
The Soleá is one of the most revered styles in the art of flamenco. In part, this is because it contains every characteristic element of flamenco:
A 12-beat musical measure
Deep emotive qualities
Flamenco (phrygian) mode
Rich melodic melismas
These elements have permeated many other styles within the flamenco genre as a whole. Other styles have adopted one or all of these elements:
Soleá’s melodic richness
Its tonality or rhythm
Its ‘air’ (feeling)
For example, the styles of the Cantiñas family are essentially Soleares in major mode, with the energetic characteristics of that mode - most often upbeat and joyful.
The word Soleá comes from the Spanish word soledad (solitude). Its plural form is soleares.
The style emerged as we know it today in the 1850s having emerged from the Jaleo - which in turn had emerged from the musical combination of the ancient Fandango, Seguidilla and Jotas of Lower Andalusia in the beginning of the 18th century
The compás of the Soleá is a combination of the time signatures 6/8 + 3/4 to create the twelve-count compás characteristic of the style.
Within the style of Soleá there are a great number of variants called Soleares Personales (personal soleares), created by the artists who crafted them, differentiated by melodic variations and which are organized into geographic locations associated with the creator and/or where the style came to be concentrated.
Por Tientos
Part of the Tangos family, Tientos were pioneered by singers like El Mellizo, who solidified tangos as a flamenco form by changing the tone from major or minor to por medio (also called flamenco or phrygian mode, the same mode as the Seguiriya and Soleá), with the feel of the Cádiz tango, but set to a slower pace.
The first flamenco tango to emerge from this recipe was the Tientos, originally in 6/8 time.
The crystallization process of the tangos family, including the Tientos, involved a process of rhythmic binarization, consisting of creating a binary (2/4) rhythm out of the original African 6/8 rhythm. Over time, this binarization process would enter and nourish the rhythmic characteristics of almost all the styles of the tangos family, adding a new rhythmic group to the genre of flamenco in the 1880s, which until then had been dominated by ternary rhythms.
The styles that would come to acquire the binary rhythm (or in the case of polyrhythmic styles, those that would include this rhythm) consist of: Tangos, Tientos, Tanguillos, Farruca, Garrotín, Rumbas, Colombianas, Milongas, Vidalitas, Zambras, and Tarantos.
Por Martinete
Martinete is a style that is part of the Tonás family, which in turn is part of the Seguiriya grouping. The Tonás family includes the following styles: Tonás, Martinete, Carceleras, and Debla.
These styles are all A Palo Seco, meaning they are sung acapella, without accompaniment. Traditionally they are also sung without a set compás (rhythm). Today, they can adopt the Seguiriya’s compás (3/4 + 6/8 time) when dance is present. However, they can still be sung without compás when dance is not present.
Tonás is one of the oldest styles of flamenco, which gave birth to the other variations in the grouping, including Martinete.
Martinetes are songs of the forges, with themes of forge life. The name comes from Martillo, meaning hammer/anvil. They are sung in major with moments that dip into the phrygian scale.
2023 Lindsey Bourassa Flamenco Student Showcase at Mayo Street Arts, Portland, Maine.
Por Tarantos
Part of the group of songs called Cantes de Levante, a distinct family within the Fandangos group that includes six styles: Tarantas, Tarantos, Murcianas, Cartageneras, Levanticas and Mineras.
Within this group, the style called Taranta is the group’s anchor; the Taranta’s characteristics define the elements that define the group as a whole.
Tarantas are a free form style (sung without adherence to a rhythm) that are complex, intricate, and necessitate a wide vocal range.
They include a large number of variants and as cantes of mining origin, main variants come from the traditional mining areas of Almería, Jaén, and Murcia.
By 1890, migrants from eastern Andalusia (also referred to as Levante) arrived in the region of Murcia to look for work in Murcian mines, through which a triangle of cante emerged between Almagrera (Almería), Cabezo Rajado (Murcia) and Linares (Jaén), nourished by a constant migration of large numbers of people traveling between these points in search of a better livelihood. All styles in this group (called Cantes de Levante) first developed through this migration and exchange of songs among migrants; later they were polished and refined by flamenco’s artists, both professional and often non-professional singers. This exchange and refinement has created the variants that exist today: Tarantas, Tarantos, Murcianas, Cartageneras, Levanticas and Mineras.
Tarantos, a variant of Tarantas, has come to include a 4-beat rhythm when dance is present. The introduction of rhythm to this style is credited to dancer Carmen Amaya.
Por Sevillanas
Some styles of flamenco derive directly from Andalusian folk music and their characteristics are such that they cannot be grouped into the groupings of Seguiriya, Soleá, Fandangos, or Tangos.
They are, instead, the flamenco versions of specific folk styles, created and integrated into flamenco by flamenco’s artists.
These include Sevillanas, Villancicos, Bamberas, Nanas, Romances, Pregones, Campanilleros and Alboreás.
Sevillanas are traditionally a partnered folk dance from Sevilla and sung/danced at Sevilla’s spring fair called ‘Feria de Sevilla,’ but now danced throughout Andalusia. They come from la Seguidilla - a dance that was practiced in Andalusia in the 18th century, as part of the escuela bolera and Spanish classical dance. They are in 3/4 time and can be sung and played in any musical scale.
Por Alegrías
Meaning joy, Alegrías are one of the oldest dance forms to emerge in flamenco. Alegrías are performed in a 12-Beat Rhythm, in major and are part of the Cantiñas family.
In addition to finding elements of the Spanish Jotas in the Alegrías, we also find other elements that come from styles such as Coplas Romanceadas, Panaderos, lower-Andalusian Pregones, Seguidillas, ancient Fandangos from Cádiz and, above all, of Jaleos sung in a major key.
They are lively, upbeat, fast-paced and as their name suggests, full of joy.
Flamenco Film: El Lobo y La Paloma
Created by flamenco dancer and choreographer Lindsey Bourassa, El Lobo y La Paloma (The Wolf and The Dove) is a multimedia, contemporary flamenco performance that explores themes of loss, connection, and ancestry. Through all original flamenco dance, Arabic music and song, poetry, and projected imagery, the filmed live performance tells a story about the loss of a loved one and the mystical connections between physical and spiritual worlds.