Flamenco dance as spelled. Woman dancing flamenco

Andalusia is the very south of the Iberian Peninsula, the southern gate of Europe, through which countless peoples have passed for three thousand years. Their traditions and culture, as if in a cauldron, were mixed here and were something new to the world, an exclusively local product. Flamenco is one of the best dishes that emerged from this cauldron and spread throughout the world.

We do not know the original meaning of this word. And why! Flamenco is a song and dance with which a person expresses his joy and sorrow. It can be frivolous, dressed in dresses with polka dots with ruffles and flounces, or it can be thoughtful, suffering, raising its hands to the sky in impotence.

Antonio Machado (1875-1939)

Kante hondo

Hushed, I unwound wearily
a tangle of thoughts, hardships and despondency,
when through the open window,
from summer night hot as the desert

came the groan of a drowsy melody -
and, telling a weeping cantilena,
broke the strings into gloomy trills
the melody of my native villages.

... There was Love, crimson, like a flame ...
And a nervous hand in response to roulades
took off with a shiver of a golden sigh,
which turned into a starfall.

... And Death was, with a scythe over his shoulders ...
- I imagined her like this as a child -
the skeleton that roamed the roads...

And, loudly echoing the peace of death,
hand on disturbed strings
dropped like a coffin lid.

And the orphan cry breathed like the wind,
sweeping up the ashes and blowing up the ashes.

In addition to Arabic, Jewish and even African musical traditions, the formation of the song features of flamenco was influenced by two facts: the use of early middle ages in Spain, Greek-Byzantine church singing and the resettlement of a large number of gypsies at once, again from the Byzantine Empire, after its fall under the blows of the Ottomans in 1453.

For several centuries, the ingredients were mixed, and in the XVIII century. formed new style. At first it belonged to large gypsy families, played only for their own in the patio. Singing and dancing was as necessary to them as breathing. Flamenco is characterized by impulsiveness and improvisation, where the singer (kantaor) and the guitarist, the singer and the dancer (baylaor) are in dialogue. By the end of the century, flamenco took to the streets, occupied taverns and inns. Now this style has more than 50 varieties. It is performed to the guitar, to the sound of a cajon (percussion box) and castanets.

Here are some of the styles and their content:
Tientos sings of wisdom;
Sigiriya (Siguirilla) reflects on life and death;
Farruca speaks of moderation and simplicity;
Fandango sings about love and sorrow;
Solea seethes with passion;
Alegrias entertains with elegance and grace;
Tangos (Tangos) and Bulerias (Bulerias) are raging with fun and enthusiasm.

Having reached its heyday in the 1920s, flamenco experienced a crisis in subsequent years. Commercialization and professionalization led to the emasculation of his spirit. Disputes began about the purity of style, about the legitimacy of innovations. However, being the product of a fusion of many traditions, flamenco cannot help but embrace new elements. So, in 1995, the singer Enrique Morente performed the poems of Federico Garcia Lorca to the music of thrash metal.

The now living guitarist Paco de Lucia, one of the creators of the new flamenco style, combines it with contemporary music and Brazilian rhythms. It was he who first used the cajon after receiving it as a gift in Peru in the 1970s. Since then, it is difficult to imagine a flamenco concert without a cajon.

Antonio Gades, one of the most titled dancers in Spain, received in 1988 National Award Dance for "his contribution to establishing a link between the flamenco tradition and contemporary trends, in Spanish dance." The writer Caballero Bonald said of him: “His dance hides all the depth folk custom. <>Perhaps the most important artistic merit of Antonio Gades was that he managed to introduce the tragic frenzy of flamenco into the expressive grace of academic and school dance. The sophistication of gestures, the presence of classical hand movements are combined here with the open frenzy of the Gypsy-Andalusian dance.

Joaquin Cortes, who represents the Roma in the European Union, has created his own own style which includes flamenco, classical ballet and jazz. Some may not like the glamorous image of Spanish dance, but the talented dancer made it famous and popular all over the world.

Federico Garcia Lorca (1898 — 1936 )

Portrait of Silverio Franconetti (Gypsy Vignettes), 1921

Gypsy string copper
and the warmth of Italian wood -
that's what it was
the singing of Silverio.
Italy's honey to our lemons
went along
and gave a special taste
I cry him.
A terrible cry was torn out by the abyss
this voice.
The old people say - move
hair,
and melted mercury
mirrors.
Sliding through the tones, never
didn't break them.
Still break flower beds
master was rare
and rise from silence
gazebos.
And now his chant
melts in the last echoes,
clean and complete
melts in the last echoes.

Speaking of inspiration, Lorca distinguished three types of it: "angel", "muse" and "duende". “The angel illuminates, but he himself is high above the person, he overshadows him with grace, and the person, not knowing painful efforts, creates, loves, dances”; "The muse dictates, and sometimes it whispers." Angel and muse descend. For the third state, one must fight: "Duende is power, not labor, battle, not thought." “Duende is possible in any art, but, of course, it is more spacious in music, dance and oral poetry, which need to be embodied in a living human body, because they are born and die forever, but live momentarily.”

To illustrate the duende, Lorca told the following story: “One day, the Andalusian singer Pastora Pavon, the Girl with Combs, a gloomy Spanish spirit with a fantasy to match Goya or Rafael El Gallo, sang in one of the taverns of Cadiz. She played with her dark voice, mossy, shimmering, melting like pewter, wrapped him in strands of her hair, bathed him in manzanilla, led him into the distant deaf jungle. And all in vain. There was silence around.<>Only a sly little man, like those springy imps that jump out of a bottle, said in an undertone: “Long live Paris!” - and this sounded: “We do not need any inclinations or training. Something else is needed."

And then the Girl with the Combs jumped up, wild as an ancient mourner, drank a glass of fiery casaglia in one gulp and sang, with a scorched throat, without breath, without a voice, without anything, but ... with duende. She knocked out all the supports of the song in order to give way to the violent burning duende, the brother of the Samum, and he forced the audience to tear their clothes, as Antilles negroes tear them in a trance in front of the image of St. Barbara. The girl with the crests lost her voice, for she knew that these judges needed not form, but her nerve, pure music - incorporeality, born to roar. She sacrificed her gift and skill - pushing the muse away, defenseless, she waited for the duende, begging to make her happy with a duel. And how she sang! The voice no longer played - it was pouring with a stream of blood, genuine, like pain itself, it branched with a ten-fingered hand on the nailed, but not resigned feet of Christ, sculpted by Juan do Juni ”(Lectures and speeches: Duende, theme with variations (1930)).

Isn't that what delights us most about flamenco? Duende can be shown by a person who has experienced a lot, therefore, not young and flexible, but mature and wise ones become outstanding performers. They may not get an incredible fraction on high speeds, but they know how to put their heads and wave their hands in such a way that the audience gets goosebumps all over their bodies.

You should also not think that flamenco is available only to the Spaniards. At one of the festivals, the hall gave a standing ovation to a Japanese dancer who infected everyone with his emotions. Moscow has been hosting the ¡Viva España! International Festival for 12 years now, at which Russian (and not only) performers demonstrate their technique and charisma to the jury and simply to connoisseurs of this culture. In big cities there are various flamenco schools where they teach fractions, compass, playing the castanets, and most importantly, the ability to carry oneself and hold one's head high.

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Emotional. Passionate. Rhythmic. Flamenco is a path that leads to inner liberation and joy, although outwardly it is saturated with sadness and compassion. With every measure and every movement, flamenco seems to want to get something from the depths of the human spirit, or, on the contrary, to hide it securely…

Wriggling hands, proud posture, rhythmic clatter of heels, piercing gaze, passion and fire… A sensual Spanish dance of inner liberation, with a clear rhythm and beautiful guitar music, is flamenco.

To understand the essence of flamenco, it is not enough to master the technique of dancing and playing the guitar even at a professional level, having studied all the shades and features of its musical styles. You need to be able to feel the spirit of flamenco, this art that has been formed over the centuries and peoples. Few people really realize that the way of flamenco with its special inner values ​​can be religious. And at the heart of this path is an appeal to oneself, to the knowledge that is dormant inside, but can be awakened by a deep experience: a song that comes from the very heart and gives rise to a storm of feelings in the soul, and zapateado - the rhythmic tapping of heels.

In modern flamenco, there are three main components - cante(cante - song, Spanish), bail(baile - dance, Spanish) and toke(toque- musical game, Spanish).

Kante hondo

relentlessly
the guitar is crying
like water through the channels - crying,
like the wind under the snow - crying.
Do not beg her for silence!
So the sunset cries for the dawn,
so an arrow cries without a target,
so hot sand cries
about the cool beauty of camellias.
So the bird says goodbye to life
under the threat of a snake sting ...

The musical and emotional basis of flamenco is kante jondo(cante jondo - deep singing, Spanish) is an ancient Andalusian chant. Nothing compares to the beauty and penetration of these gentle and mostly sad songs. kante jondo is the true art of expressing the inner state, deep experience.

... There is no price for this inheritance, and it matches the name that our people christened it, - kante jondo, deep singing. It is truly deep, deeper than all abysses and seas,
much deeper than the heart in which it sounds and the voice in which it resurrects - it is almost bottomless. It comes from ancient tribes, crossing the cemeteries of centuries and the fall of storms.
Comes from the first cry and the first kiss ...
F. G. Lorca. From the lecture "Kante Jondo"

Traditional occurrence kante jondo associated with ancient music systems India and the gypsies who roamed the world and transferred this knowledge to Spain from Rajasthan (northwest India) in the period from the 9th-14th centuries. This influence can be traced in many versions of the simplest (from the point of view of the tradition of musical notation) melody. A lot of technical nuances, shades of the sound palette - a distinctive feature of the "gypsy school". The same reference notes can be performed in an infinite variety of ways. Such a wide variability in the sound of one phrase was an expression of a three-dimensional vision of the world, which makes it possible to correlate knowledge of flamenco with Vedic philosophy. Other characteristic features of this style are polyrhythm, bright, emotional performance, accompanied by cries.

In addition to the gypsies, on the formation of flamenco and kante jondo how its foundations have influenced many other traditions. The emergence and development of this art affects several temporal and cultural layers, each of which we will consider separately.

How it all started

Flamenco arose from the merger of the cultures of the peoples of medieval Andalusia, which united Arabs, Jews, Gypsies, and Christians on their lands under the “patronage” of Muslims who were rather tolerant of other traditions. During this period, the three religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - entered into closer and probably more productive interaction with each other than in all subsequent times. It was a period of general search: there was an exchange of knowledge between people of different faiths. Practical experience was at the forefront, but at the same time, human life was considered very symbolically. Spiritual values, although interpreted by different religions in different ways, were respected by all equally. Flamenco as a symbol of the era was formed at the intersection of cultures, absorbed and synthesized the knowledge of various traditions.

Influence of Islam and Sufism. Arabs

Sufism emerged from Islam as a direction for which the independent experience of a person, the search for knowledge within, and not outside, was especially important. The 13th-century Sufi mystic Ibn al-Arabi (1165–1240), having been born in Andalusia and lived there for about 25 years, already in his youth systematized the art of understanding the human spirit and called the human path a mystical experience of living various rhythms, perhaps becoming, without becoming knowing, the main ideologist of flamenco of his time.

He pointed to three journeys made by man: from Allah through different worlds to the earthly world; to Allah - a spiritual journey, ending with a merger with the world essence; in Allah - unlike the first two, this journey is endless. Every journey is guided by feeling. Knowledge about feelings, as well as their correspondence to actions, was the object of study of all Arab alchemists who were looking for ways to transform energy.

At the time of Ibn al-Arabi, intuition, feelings and sensations were almost visible, material, weighty. Modern dance, full of expressiveness and emotionality, has largely become selfish and insensitive, it does not have that inner glow, for the sake of expressing which, in fact, it was created. Flamenco strictly follows the given external rhythm: externally, the rhythm is not free, but in order to achieve internal freedom during its execution, real concentration and tension are necessary. This is the condition of the dance, which makes it possible for a person to live and transform his internal energy during the dance.

So, it can be assumed with a fair degree of certainty that in the art of expressing depth kante jondo the concepts of inner awareness, correspondence, and connections were taken from the Sufi mystics.

In the systematization and development of flamenco, the role of the Persian poet Ziryab (789–845/857), an Arab singer, virtuoso lute player, poet and composer, theorist and teacher, whose name (“Black Bird”) was given to him because of the “dark” color, is great. and the melodiousness of his charming voice. Ziryab became the founder of the first Andalusian school of music and singing. In this music center, located in the city of Cordoba, the traditions of singing in different cultures. In all likelihood, Ziryab's school should be considered the first basic center of flamenco theory. F. G. Lorca wrote about him at the beginning of the 20th century:

Chu, Malegenya sounds I hear.
Deep singing, I hear the verse.
cante chico is also an art
What is sung under the sun of the south.
No, these lines are not about sweet love.
And not about strong male friendship.
In the southern night, the bird's song is heard -
Birds of the Black, who arrived from the East ...

Ziryab designed musical instruments and created the original model of the lute, improving the al-ud (the Spaniards called it la-ud), adding a fifth string to it, and thus creating a lute, which was later used both in Christian Spain and in North Africa. It is interesting to note that Ziryab laid certain foundations not only in the performance of music, but also in its study. He streamlined the education system, putting an equal sign between performing arts and strengthening the personal qualities of a musician. His attentive attitude to everyday activities and etiquette (it was Ziryab who was the legislator in matters of etiquette for receiving guests, and we also owe him the long-familiar order of serving three dishes: soup for the first, fish for the second, and drinks and dessert for the third) created a whole art of movements and pauses, which can be seen in art kante jondo.

Ziryab's actions intersect with the Muslim mystical art of immersion in a state of ecstatic experience, which allowed the performer not only to represent art more voluminously, but also to be filled with it, that is, to be in a state of ecstatic experience, which in flamenco is expressed in the concept duende(spirit, Spanish).

Influence of Christianity. Templars

An interesting fact in the history of Andalusia is associated with the discovery of traces of the Templars, who formed their order here in 1253-1258. In all likelihood, it was the Templars, as the keepers of Christian secrets and collectors various knowledge credit for bringing Christian religious rhythms into flamenco.

Dance as an art form special meaning and performed sacred functions, conveying a certain character of movements, principles of body construction and the internal rhythm of action. The dance was a mirror - an expression and a keeper - of knowledge about the rhythm of living and remained so until the Renaissance, when it became only a part of the aesthetic education of a person.

Islamic Andalusia was a special place for the development of various abilities and knowledge, and their search was one of the tasks of the Templars. The unique form of music and movements aimed at transforming the inner state and experience, of course, could not go unnoticed by them.

One of the secrets of the Templars was the knowledge used by Jesus and Muhammad. They were connected with the rhythm of the syllable of Scripture or prayer. In these rhythms, a microtone was used, which determines the frequency of the sound series. In connection with the use of such rhythms, knowledge about the laws of its construction and influence is clearly visible in flamenco - Rhythmic structures of different frequency and complexity have a corresponding effect on consciousness, determining the “level of rhythmic living”. The use of microtones and semitones creates a form of influence of a special force that can be used both for effective internal comprehension and for conscious influence on external space.

The variety of shades of polyrhythmic flamenco gives the performer the opportunity to change the emotional and energetic content of the dance at any time. Consequently, the dance also becomes deeply personal, because the dancer is required to have real, and not imaginary, technical perfection. Flamenco resembles a game in which you need to learn different rhythms, enter into resonance with them, bringing all participants in the action into a single ecstatic experience.

One of the classic Christian motives brought by the Templars to flamenco - Songs of St. Mary (Сantigas Santa Maria, Spanish), which were created in the 13th century for Alfonso X the Wise, King of Castile and León.

Africans. Iberians. Greeks

Africa- the cradle of mankind, the treasury of the rhythms of the Earth, could not but influence the deeply musical, passionate and rhythmic art of flamenco. Representatives of the African continent appeared in Europe during the colonization of Africa and Latin America by Europeans. There is a reasonable assumption that the original African step, which came out of tribal African dances, added fire to sensual flamenco.

The traditional dances of Kenya are built on the tight contact of the feet with the ground. Tanzanian dances, numbering over a hundred types, are also tied to the earth. Practically on the whole continent, the special importance of perceiving the rhythm with the feet is noted. So, in Ugandan ritual dances associated with the initiation of young men, strong kicks on the ground are used, which symbolizes the opening new strength, the power associated with the formation of masculinity in young people.

Footwork is a special ability to keep in touch with the earth, as if listening to its rhythm. The rhythmic forms of modern flamenco, created by the tapping of feet and heels, called zapoteado, most likely came from Africa and were used mainly by men. Women worked more with their hands. Today, these differences are difficult to identify, as the movements of men and women in the dance have become similar.

Iberian, the ancient population of the Iberian Peninsula, at the end of the second millennium BC. founded the state of Tartessus in Andalusia. Some researchers consider the Iberians to come from Africa, others - the heirs of the knowledge of the pre-Indo-European population of Europe, with whom they interacted in any case. Regardless of the actual origin of the Iberians, probably the oldest layer of knowledge of the art of expressing depth is associated with them - madre del cante(Madre del cante is the mother of singing, Spanish) - the basis of singing, based on the ability to express sound. This tradition goes back to the tribal customs of the Iberians, for whom the sound was correlated with the original effort from which all things came.

Sound is fundamentally the result of man's deepest conscious effort. That is why its impact on the consciousness and even the subconscious of people is so great. But the ability to find this depth and express it is a complex art, which Sufi mystics, Arab alchemists and Christian orders have worked on.

Greeks, who controlled southern Spain before the Celtic invasion, flamenco owes its castanets, which are used to rhythmically accompany the dance. The Greeks called them crotals and were made of metal, which indicates another connection with India and the cult of the god Vishnu, whose adherents to this day accompany ritual kirtans (chanting, Skt.) playing on small metal plates - karatalah.

... And, of course, the gypsies

With the gypsies, a mysterious and restless people, flamenco is perhaps most closely associated. In the Middle Ages, the gypsies migrated from India to Islamic Andalusia, bringing to the emerging living art of flamenco not only the traditions of Indian vocal school, which had a decisive influence on the formation of the song basis of flamenco kante jondo. The gypsies also showed the special footwork in the dance, which they took from kathaka- a sacred dance of northern India associated with the cult of Vishnu. The dance was an obligatory part of the religious ritual, accompanying the story of Krishna's pastimes. Important feature of this dance is to perceive the body as an instrument for the expression of divine energy. The appearance of the dance component in flamenco, apparently, is connected precisely with kathak. Its elements were added to flamenco inner strength and emotional stress, and also introduced a variety of footwork techniques into it.

In passing, we note that in the issue of leg movement for women, there was special knowledge in all mystical systems of the world, because if a woman does not work with her legs correctly, then she violates the physiological and energy functions of the uterus, which accordingly leads to the destruction of not only her personal nature, but also offspring. First of all, the footwork in the dance increases the muscular load, which can interfere with the achievement and expression of inner depth. But since today the dance has become more external than internal, then external effects are perceived naturally.

Kante hondo and Cante flamenco

In its modern, most familiar form to us today, flamenco arose in the 18th century, but already largely lost touch with its original source - kante jondo, the art of deep experience, expressed through singing.

It should be noted that the term kante jondo» Flamenco researchers refer to as an ancient way of deep experience, and the oldest group of styles directly flamenco, indicating their relationship. Thus, there is a double meaning of the concept kante jondo' - one stands for ancient art expressions of depth, the second - directions or a group of flamenco styles.

It was the ancient flamenco that seriously changed in late XVIII century. In dance movements, a special technique of footwork appeared, sharp movements of the lower back, etc. In all likelihood, the plasticity of the dance remained unchanged. A gap arose and began to grow more and more between those who perform flamenco and those who watch it. Actually art cante fell into decay at the end of the 18th century, and a new art was born - flamenco. It was the new that was born, and the old did not come to life, as many believe. The "emergence" of flamenco was accompanied by the development of many musical styles, called in the old fashioned way. cante flamenco, but in reality very different from kante jondo- its ancient, sacred basis.

Flamenco researchers use different principles for classifying numerous styles, but all of them are somehow divided into the oldest kante jondo and everything else". That is, everywhere kante jondo stands out especially as a fundamental and almost independent art.

Styles of modern flamenco

In modern flamenco there are three levels, three directions or, if you like, three genres, reflecting the depth and tonality of the performance. it kante jondo, cante intermedio(intermedia - intermediate, Spanish) and cante chico(chico - small, Spanish).

In ancient times, depth (hondo) was expressed only by singing (cante) without accompaniment, music with dance was added later. For kante jondo as a flamenco genre, dramatic poetry and music are characteristic; the guitar is used as a mean, unadorned accompaniment. This is the level deep singing, music and dance.

In broad daylight
The wind was crying because it was getting dark
In my heart.

cante chico- as opposed to kante jondo- a light and cheerful genre, as far as it can be light and cheerful in the art of flamenco, simple in form and character of images. In styles cante chico the guitar often solos, and the criterion for evaluating the skill of a guitarist is, first of all, technical perfection, and not the ability to open, to point with one’s art to something non-verbal, which one aspires to kante jondo in their the best examples. cante chico- the youngest direction of flamenco, its appearance is associated with the changes that have taken place in flamenco over the past centuries.

Dance in front of the people
alone with you.
'Cause the dance is on the waters
and does not burn
on fire.

Kante intermedio- category of intermediate forms between kante jondo and cante chico. The dramatic mood in the cante intermedio can be replaced by fun, and the guitar melodies sound more diverse and move from the nature of the accompaniment to the solo.

Each of the directions includes a group of flamenco dance styles, characterized by a special rhythm and manner of performance.

Solea por buleria- one of the main and most popular styles of flamenco. This is a dance in minor colors, which is characterized by slow movements of the arms and body interspersed with fast zapateos and turns, as well as an acceleration of the rhythm at the end of the dance. In Solea por buleria, the song is sung without rhythm.

Buleria - fast style dance. It is characterized by a mixture of syncopated rhythmic patterns expressed in zapateo, clapping hands, knees and chest, and other clear and dynamic movements. It can be performed in both major and minor keys.

Alegrias- cheerful and cheerful dance style. His homeland is the city of Cadiz. The appearance of allegrias is associated with the victory of the Spaniards over Napoleon. The besieged inhabitants of the city came to the aid of the Arragonese and together they managed to defend the city. This event is often narrated by couplets of alegrias. This style of dance is cheerful and at the same time a bit tough, triumphant. Performed in a major key.

Tangos- a cheerful, mobile and most often fast dance style, performed at holidays, fiestas and having a simple but clear rhythm. In tangos, there are often movements of the hips and shoulders, the body and arms are very plastic, which is most likely due to the African origin of this style.

Farruk- male style of dance. Solemn, majestic and proud.

Less known, but no less popular styles of flamenco performance.

Singing tones. It creates a special volume in the performance, as it is sung without a guitar to a given rhythm. This is one of oldest styles flamenco, which is performed at a free pace. This style has a particularly deep experience.

Saeta- flamenco prayer style. Saeta hides the religious mysticism of Islam and Christianity. Saeta- a link between a person and his destiny.

Style debla(goddess, gypsy.) was almost forgotten by the middle of the 19th century, but once it was one of the main styles kante jondo. Along with kanya, it is considered one of the most difficult to perform. Perhaps that is why debla is on the verge of extinction. Debla lies at the base kante jondo and is one branch with martinet and carceleras.

Martinete and carceleras- nature kante jondo. If the martinete is subject to a certain state Everyday life and expresses it accordingly, then carseleras expresses the state of striving for freedom. Actually, he was born in the places of her deprivation. At the same time, both styles represent a certain form of communication that expresses the state of a person.

Nanas- the style of "first birth", representing the original purity, childhood, the communication of a mother with her child.

Style cantes de trilla, or simply trilleras, completes the formation kante jondo. This is a style that corresponds to the end of certain processes and the transition to a different quality. This original style, as it were, switches consciousness, allows you to make internal transformations.

The diverse styles of flamenco, studied and practiced today not only in Spain, but also in other countries of the world, although they are not given enough attention, connect modern flamenco with his Andalusian roots. Each of them individually contains the key to comprehending the depth of dance, but together they open access to the spirit of the mystical and beautiful art of flamenco, to what the Spaniards call the word "duende".

... These sounds are a mystery, roots that have grown into the swamp, about which we all know, about which we know nothing, but from which the main thing in art comes to us ... Duende, an angel and a muse are in any art and in any country. But if in Germany the muse almost invariably reigns, in Italy - an angel, then the duende invariably rules Spain ...
F.G. Lorca. From the lecture “Duende. Theme with Variations»

Duende - the spirit of flamenco

Flamenco today is an egregore art, which is formed by the spiritual knowledge and traditions of the various peoples of medieval Andalusia and is oriented:

• to strengthen the spirit through emotional experiences;
• filling with movement, color, sound and sensations;
• unification of various forms of cognition in a single rhythm;
• bringing consciousness to harmony and balance.

And all this is held together by the inner strength of flamenco, its spirit - duende.

Without duende, flamenco loses its deep and subtle content, its inner essence. In the duende one should look for the true art of dance, and not its emotional form. Today, many seek to draw inspiration from dance, but this is the peculiarity of flamenco, that without inspiration you should not even try to dance this dance, because duende is a force, without which the dance becomes only a weak improvisation on the theme of flamenco. If it does not exist, then an attempt to find or imitate it is only an emotional substitute form, and this is the difference between true art and fictional art.

How to find the key to understanding the spirit of flamenco? This question stirs the mind and heart of every student of this dance. Any beginner masters dance vocabulary in several stages. First, setting the body, then studying the positions of the arms and legs, carefully practicing the movement of the hands. Then milestone works - staging a strike of the foot and heel, the so-called zapateado (a real flamenco dancer with a heel can extract five different sounds). Particular attention is paid to the positions of the head and gaze, since it is these elements that give the performance proper character. And the dancer will also have to understand the campas (rhythmic patterns characteristic of each form of flamenco) and master the clapping of the haleo. It remains to learn to feel the music and let yourself go into improvisation, weaving together technique and innate temperament.

But this is not enough for the duende! Duende requires a special state of mind, inspiration, which, as you know, is very unpredictable.

Who better than Federico Garcia Lorca, a Spanish poet and musician who grew up on folk songs cante jondo, who absorbed the Spanish melancholy and the depth of the sensual experience of the art of flamenco - to know what duende is.

“... Duende, like a blossoming rose, is like a miracle and awakens almost religious delight. In Arabic music, whether it be song, dance or lamentation, the duende is greeted with a frantic “Allah! Allah!” (“God! God!”), and in the Spanish South the appearance of the duende is echoed by the cry of the soul: “God lives!” - a sudden, hot, human feeling of God with all six senses ... "

“Duende sweeps away cozy, hardened geometry, breaks style; it was he who forced Goya, the master of silver, gray and pink overflows of the English school, to rub black var into the canvases with his knees and fists ... ".

In Spain, connoisseurs of flamenco art are very picky spectators. Their exclamation "No tiene duende!" (There is no fire in it!) is akin to a death sentence for a flamenco performer. Lorca loved to tell the story of how, at a dance competition in Jerez de la Frontera “The first prize for young beauties with a body boiling like water was pulled out by an eighty-year-old woman.” She defeated the young beauties with only one thing, with what feeling and inner strength “raised her hands, threw back her head and beat with her heel on the stage.” “But all these muses and angels that smiled and captivated, could not help but yield and yielded to the half-dead duende, barely dragging the rusty blades of its wings.”

"Golden Age" of flamenco

From the end of the 18th century, the art of flamenco began to play an important role in Spanish society, the era of its mass distribution. From that moment on, flamenco began a new history, within which, having become public, it probably ceased to be a path of internal search and development. At the same time, the loss of the knowledge on which flamenco relied began. 1842 can be called a turning point in the history of dance: the first specialized club was opened in Seville, from which the flamenco industry began to gain momentum.

Mass popularity came to the dance during the so-called "golden age" of flamenco, which occurred at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century. Its main figure is Silverio Franconetti. On the one hand, this is an extraordinary person who, having plunged into flamenco, presented him as special art. But on the other hand, the problem was that any art must mature in the minds of not only a few, but at least a dozen people. Flamenco was simply doomed to a false development when the followers of Silverio made it a competition, turning the sacred art into a kind of sport, which inevitably had to lead to its downfall.

So the "goldness" of this period is highly doubtful. And although the great cantaors of that time gathered around Silverio, they could no longer reach the former, original depth of flamenco.

Among the cohort of his students, only the appearance of Antonio Chacon can be noted, who surpassed his teacher, creating the conditions for the emergence of many new styles and varieties that enriched, first of all, the external, performing form of flamenco.

Songs began to be divided into accompanying dance ( atras) and just for listening ( alante). But without internal filling, the external form could not last long, and by the middle of the 19th century, flamenco was experiencing another decline. As a business product, it had to undergo certain changes, but as a deep art, it had to wait for new researchers and followers. original meaning. Business brought an imitation of feelings to flamenco, which made it close only to those who welcomed outwardly understandable forms and were guided by consumer attitudes.

In the homeland of flamenco, in Spain, this dance is not danced everywhere. Rather, they dance everywhere, but they probably live only where traditions are still strong. In any village in the south of Spain, no special occasion is needed for a holiday - day or night, morning or evening, alone or in the middle of central square, under good mood just put on costumes and dance. A woman dancing flamenco is beautiful and graceful, temperamental and seductive, coquettish and impregnable, proud and self-confident.

This dance is deeply individual, sometimes its character borders on irresistible loneliness, a state that actually determines a person's personality, his inner wealth. Flamenco turns to some invisible source and expresses itself emotionally very freely, directly - from crying and screaming to love and some kind of special joy of its own. Flamenco teaches a person to communicate with himself. This experience is not for the sake of external effect. It is feelings that generate that vibration inside the body, which is then reproduced outside.

Judging by the emerging trends, flamenco expects some kind of aesthetic future, a successful external development. But any new external styles will not replace the true experience of ancient flamenco, rooted in the treasure trove of traditions of many peoples and cultures.

In order not only to learn to dance, but know any dance, be it flamenco, Arabic belly dance or hopak, you need to understand its roots, trace its history and rely not on external effects, but on your inner sense of rhythm. And then modern dance will open his ancient secret, communicating knowledge about our inner essence, about the real us. ancient art kante jondo expressed the deep feelings of a person and at the same time was a means of maintaining a connection with this depth. This makes flamenco even more valuable, because finding a connection with your inner, real world is especially important today.

The article cites the poems of F.G. Lorca translated by M. Tsvetaeva and A. Geleskul.

Questions and answers

Is Duende a unique spirit or are there situations where a person, say, is forced to manifest this spirit? Is every human action a consequence of an experienced feeling? A. Melnik

Duende is the experience of rhythm; this is the essence, the idea of ​​flamenco, when the dancer goes deep into his nature. Of course, every action of a person is not an experience of feeling, since his consciousness is not taught to control and guide the action. Here you need to look at what level you can operate with your condition. In general, they are divided into rude, low, high and human. In doing so, they create different groups and schemes. Well, in order to manifest a higher experience, you need to learn and develop this. Although, of course, a situation is possible when some action, situation or place reveals us. But all the same, it becomes fleeting, because you still need to be able to operate with it.

Do you know Scientific research. works about the sacred essence of flamenco? I would like to know more about this topic. However, the Internet is replete with only invitations to various dance schools and I did not find a more sensible answer to my question than your publication.

Flamenco has a lot of oral tradition. I didn't specifically study flamenco. I just study ancient cultures, which allowed me to form my own view of this dance and my understanding of it. I haven't seen any serious studies and I don't think there will be, because there are few reasonable people in flamenco who can analyze, there are too many emotions.

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Origin

The origins of flamenco can be found in Mauritanian musical culture. Gypsy music also significantly influenced this style - many consider the Spanish gypsies to be the main, true bearers of the style. In the 15th century, gypsies arrived in Spain from the crumbling Byzantium and settled along the southern coast of the country in the province of Andalusia; according to their custom, they began to adopt and rethink local musical traditions, such as Moorish, Jewish and Spanish proper; and from this fusion of musical traditions, rethought first by the gypsies and then by the Spaniards, flamenco was born.

For a long time, flamenco was considered a "closed art", as the gypsies lived as an isolated group; flamenco was formed in narrow circles. But at the end of the 18th century, the persecution of the gypsies stopped, and flamenco came to the stage of taverns and cantante cafes, gained freedom.

In Russia

International Flamenco Festival "¡VIVA ESPAÑA!". Most major festival flamenco in Russia, held in Moscow (since 2001).

1- Russian Festival Flamenco " in Moscow""- is held for the first time in 2011. The festival will bring together only the world's outstanding flamenco stars.

Petersburg is taking place annual festival called "Northern Flamenco".

In the world of modern guitar music in Kaluga, since 1997, the annual festival "Guitar World" has been operating, the participants of which are various flamenco groups from Russia and Spain, and many bright names of foreign guitarists, from world famous ones, such as Al di Meola (2004), Ivan Smirnov ("talisman" of the festival), Vicente Amigo (2006), Paco de Lucia (2007) and others.

In other countries

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See what "Flamenco" is in other dictionaries:

FLAMENCO, same as Kante flamenco... Modern Encyclopedia

- (Spanish flamenco) in music, see Cante flamenco ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- [sp. flamenco] music. Spanish performing style, as well as music, songs, dances associated with southern Spanish art. Dictionary foreign words. Komlev N.G., 2006. flamenco (Spanish flamenco ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Exist., number of synonyms: 2 style (95) dance (264) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

flamenco- flamenco. Pronounced [flamenco] ... Dictionary of pronunciation and stress difficulties in modern Russian

FLAMENCO- Southern Spanish musical, song and dance style gypsy origin. Formed in Andalusia in the Middle Ages. Singing and dancing solo, accompanied by playing the guitar, castanets, snapping fingers. From the middle of the 19th century distributed by … Ethnographic dictionary

Spain, Flamenco. What kind of dance style is this, which is known far beyond the borders of its homeland and does not leave anyone indifferent ... Originating in the south of Spain, in Andalusia, combining emotional dance, guitar, percussion and singing, flamenco won the souls of many ... Read more about the history of flamenco read this article...

Flamenco is represented by many varieties, it is dance, musical accompaniment in the form of a guitar and percussion (kijon, castanets and rhythmic clapping of hands) and emotional singing. Since 2010 this dance has the status World Heritage(UNESCO).

The flamenco dancer is called bailaora, and the traditional dress in which she dances is bata de cola (bata de cola), the length of which reaches the floor, with frills and flounces, which resembles the attire of gypsies. The hem of the dress is gracefully used during the dance, as is the shawl with long tassels, which is an important part of the female flamenco dance. Bailaor is a flamenco dancer wearing a white shirt with a wide belt and dark trousers.

History of flamenco

The roots of flamenco go back to the distant past - during the reign of the Moors and the appearance of gypsies in Spain, however, it is difficult to say the exact date of the emergence of flamenco. It is also believed that the emergence of flamenco in its classical form Jewish and Christian cultures, gypsy and Spanish played. Each culture has brought something of its own to this emotional dance. And in the 20th century, flamenco absorbed Cuban melodies, jazz motifs, and some elements of classical ballet appeared in the dance.

There are two main categories of flamenco:

1. Cante jondo (Kante hondo) is the oldest branch of flamenco. It includes the following forms of flamenco (palos) - Toná, Soleá, Seguiriya, Fandango.
2. Cante flamenco (Cante flamenco), which includes alegrías, bulerías, farruca.

In both categories, there are 3 types - singing, guitar and dance, however, in the ancient types of flamenco there is practically no musical accompaniment. In modern types of dance, one can often find a variety of musical instruments - from the violin to exotic instruments of Latin America, such as Cajon, Darbuca, Bongo.

Flamenco festivals.

Once every 2 years, in Seville, you can visit the most significant flamenco festival - Bienal de Flamenco, which began to be held in 1980. However, other flamenco and guitar festivals take place throughout Spain every year. The main host cities are Cadiz,

There are many dances in the world. Each nation has its own rhythms and music. But in the modern world there is hardly a person who has never heard of Spanish flamenco.

Woman dancing flamenco

Perhaps the most famous performer in the world, whose name is associated with flamenco, was the famous Carmen. A burning beauty with a bright rose in long black hair. Her image has become a symbol of dance for all time.

A woman is dancing to the enchanting sounds of a guitar, accompanied by soulful singing. Her fluffy skirts flutter in time with her movements. Her arms writhe like the wings of a fairy bird. Her eyes are full of passion and fire. Her sexuality attracts men, like the light of a lantern of moths in the darkness of the night. She knows how beautiful she is and is proud of it. But this woman is not cheap, she knows her worth, and only the best can win her heart.

Flamenco - passion, fire, expression of feelings and emotions. There is nothing fictional or fictional in it. He is life itself. It is impossible to perform it without inspiration. The best performers are those who put their soul, passion and awe of the body into flamenco.

Directions of dance

Since ancient times, there have been two directions of flamenco, which differ from each other in style. The ancient cante hondo (translated as deep) is a historically established cult dance. It expresses the sacred essence of the rushing soul.

The second direction is cante chico (lightweight). This is modern flamenco, which has lost its spiritual component and has become a dance for everyone. In both classes, more than 50 varieties are distinguished, the differences between which can only be understood by an experienced specialist.

Origins of dance

Flamenco is a dance that originated in ancient times. Its origins originate in Moorish culture. In the 15th century, refugees from Byzantium poured into Andalusia. Among them were gypsies, Jews, blacks and other peoples. They all lived as outcasts, people of the lowest class. All the pain of the people splashed out in soul-tearing music, songs and passionate dances. Each nation has contributed to flamenco a part of its cultural heritage, a part of its soul.

In the XVIII century, the situation improved, the persecution of the gypsies stopped, the dancers took to the squares and performed in taverns. Art, which had been considered sacred and forbidden for so many centuries, was released and gained popularity. Spanish flamenco has become a symbol of newfound freedom.

Already in the 20th century, Cuban melodies and jazz melodies organically intertwined with traditional Spanish and gypsy elements. The dance was supplemented with elements of classical ballet.

Merging genres

Spanish flamenco dance, in fact, is not only the incendiary movements of a dancer or dancer. This is a symbiosis of the musical accompaniment of the toke, traditionally performed on the guitar, soulful singing of the cante and the actual dance of the bail.

Flamenco is bailora, cantaora and toraora. In the traditional performance, each of them can start their own part. The rest are supportive. Any of the trio can come out first and set the topic. And the rest will pick up her musical, dance or song improvisation. When one of the performers comes to the fore, the rest stay in the background to give the speaker a chance to express their emotions. But during the performance, the roles change. And only at the end they unite in the apogee of the dance, united by a common fire.

Complex rhythms

The musical rhythm of flamenco is difficult to adopt or put into notes. Each time during the performance, the same melody can be played faster and slower, transitions and modulations are added. The true art of dance (Spain) flamenco is passed down from teacher to student.

Performers

Flamenco made famous all over the world famous performers. As soon as the persecution of the gypsies was canceled and the Spaniards learned the beauty of the life-affirming dance, it became extremely popular. Already in 1842, the first flamenco school was opened in Seville. It was from that time that dance became an industry, it lost its sacredness and mystery.

At the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, the performer Silverio Fronconetti was known, who brought this ancient art to the masses. His performances were always full of passion and fire. But numerous followers turned flamenco from a sacred dance into a sports one, where the performance technique stood above spiritual depth. It is this option that has become generally accepted throughout the world.

But at home, in Spain, true connoisseurs remained. There, the phrase "There is no fire in him!" Said about a flamenco performer is a "death sentence" for a dancer. There is a known case when at one of the dance competitions Grand Prize received by an 80-year-old woman. She plugged the young performers into the belt with her inner fire and passion, reflected in the dance. After all, as the Spaniards say, you need to dance as if death itself is holding you by the shoulder.

Learning process

Flamenco is a very popular dance. There are schools in almost every city where they teach it. The flow of those wishing to learn the secrets of mastery does not dry out. And this is not surprising, because it is flamenco that reveals the feminine essence. You can’t be modest in life and perform movements on stage with fervor. Having started training, a woman changes internally, she is freed from complexes, knows herself, opens like a bud. You can start training at least at the age of 6, at least at 86. There are no restrictions.

In Spain, everyone is invited to go basic course flamenco for beginners, consisting of 10 classes, which are held 2 times a week. You can learn the basics of dance in less than a month, but it will take years of work to become a professional.

A good teacher, first of all, will make a woman fall in love with herself. After all, only a woman who is proud of her beauty can adequately present herself in dance.

The main posture is the posture of complete self-satisfaction. The proud beauty does not know complexes, does not see flaws in herself, and certainly will not tell others about them. After that, feminine gestures, steps, turns are worked out. The dancer is a queen, and the audience, looking at her with admiration, sees in her an unearthly woman.

Why you should learn flamenco

Every girl, regardless of the date of birth, standing in the passport, should try herself in flamenco. Learning this dance reveals hidden reserves in a woman. After a few months of classes, she will understand that in life there is no place for pretense and fears. A woman is strong and beautiful, she cannot be broken by everyday difficulties. She loves and is loved.

In addition, regular training significantly improves the figure. The main requirement for all dancers is a straight back as a symbol of an unbending character. You can forget about scoliosis and stoop after the first classes.

An important element of the dance is the beating of shots with the feet. Honing these exercises makes the muscles of the legs toned and elastic, and the legs are slender and beautiful.

The dancer's arms should flutter like wings. Masters teach to bend them beautifully and gracefully.

Regular exercises will inevitably lead to an improvement in the figure, pulling up all the muscles, and improving their relief. Beautiful posture is another important plus from classes. Well, self-confidence and getting rid of an inferiority complex will be a nice bonus.

Flamenco treats problems of this kind better than any psychologists.

Dancewear

Flamenco is a dance with gypsy roots. The dress for the dancer resembles the traditional dress of the representative nomadic people. Skirt to the floor is made of multi-colored fabric. It can be layered or decorated with frills and flounces. During the movement, the dancer seems to be embraced by the waves of her own dress. An integral part of the dance is playing with the hem, which sometimes resembles unrestrained sea waves, sometimes tongues of scorching flames. This dress is necessarily bright, catchy - no pastel colors!

A shawl with long tassels is another element of women's costume. It can be tied around the waist, emphasizing the slimness of the silhouette, or thrown over the shoulders. In this case, it forms the silhouette of a soaring bird in motion.

Often dancers perform with a fan, literally hypnotizing the audience and keeping them in suspense until the last moment. Each attribute, while moving to the music, seems to come to life, making its own additions to the story of the performer.

An important detail of the costume is shoes with heels, with which the performer taps out the rhythm. Castanets can be in the hands, which make clicks and set the pace for movements and music.

Men performing flamenco (photo in the article) dress in dark trousers with a wide belt and a snow-white shirt. You can complement the outfit with a short vest. The image of the performer is concise and strict. This is the very embodiment of masculinity and stature.

Important elements

During the performance of flamenco, the dancer does not soar above the ground, on the contrary, he stands confidently, as if taking a firm, life-affirming position. It is a symbol of safety and security. He took his place, it belongs to him by right, at least for the duration of the dance.

In the movements of each part of the body, a story about life is revealed, a story about what excites each individually and all together. Experiences, resentment, love and sadness come from the chest. The dancer's shoulders speak of the burden of responsibility and age-old oppression. Brushes talk about feelings, this is the most expressive part of the performer's body. Widely spaced elbows seem to allow him to take a firm life position, release for yourself a piece under the sky. The spine is the basis of the dance. It symbolizes inflexibility of character, fortitude and perseverance.

The movements in flamenco are simple, there are not so many of them. But each one is filled deep meaning, conceals the wisdom of the ages. Knowing the language dance can tell the world its story, make all spectators empathize. This is the path that leads to inner liberation and joy, although outwardly it is filled with sadness and pain.

New forms

Throughout history, flamenco has changed, experienced ups and downs. And let today connoisseurs say that this art form is dead, but interest in it has not faded. On the contrary, new types and trends appear, based on the traditional performance and supplemented modern forms. This is how flamenco pop, flamenco rock, flamenco jazz and gypsy rumba appeared. Each of them has the right to life and finds fans and followers. But still a favorite!

It is difficult for a beginner to understand these currents. But everyone can find what he really likes. The main thing is to understand the spirit of the dance, comprehend the deep meaning of the movements and put feelings into the performance of each step.

When you see an ad for a flamenco school, you should not pass by. Perhaps it is fate itself that gives a sign that it is time to change your life, open up and fly. And dance is the best way to do it beautifully and with dignity.