Flamenco. Battle and Passion

Beats on swarthy shoulders

flock of black butterflies.

white kites of fog

the trail is covered.

She walks a prisoner of rhythm

Which is impossible to reach

With longing in a silver heart,

With a dagger in a silver scabbard.

Where are you taking, sigiriya,

The agony of a singing body?

Which moon did you bequeath

The sadness of oleanders and chalk?

Why can the 15th century be remarkable for us? The collapse of Byzantium and, as a result, the resettlement of gypsies. On the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, many of them remained. The Spanish province of Andalusia - this is the place where the local musical traditions were rethought by the newcomers - and was born.

What is flamenco? A Spaniard wrapped in a manton - a Spanish shawl with very long tassels - and holding a large fan in her hands, or a Spaniard beating a zapateado (Spanish - with heels) under measured clapping of his palms - on the one hand. Guitarist and singer - on the other. To understand flamenco, you need to know its language. Every movement, every sound means something. Do not believe those who believe that flamenco can be learned by everyone and in any conditions. Flamenco has to be felt. Flamenco needs to be understood. Flamenco needs to live.

H no accurate music notation melodies, full description dance: there was no need for gypsies to create such clues. They pass on their experience from master to apprentice. Flamenco cannot be non-gypsy. For flamenco, there are no limits. When the gypsy soul sings in Spanish, then the crowds dance flamenco in the street. The main thing is to feel the rhythm of heels, put on the palm of your hand castanets - and plunge into the Spanish world. Flamenco has no written rules. In dance, you can be anyone, even a partner of Joaquin Cortez - the most popular flamenco dancer today and the Gypsy ambassador to the EU. Even if you don’t have a traditional manton on you. Castanets, a fan and the Spanish soul are more important. The great cantaor Manuel Torres once said to a singer: Duende - this is the invisible force that helps to convey art to the audience” It is difficult to understand, as, indeed, all flamenco. Flamenco can be felt, but impossible to explain.

Duende is the soul. The soul is flamenco."

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF FLAMENCO

F lamenco(flamenco)- a traditional music and dance style originating from Spain. Flamenco as a musical style includes many genres that are song and dance or song forms.

Tili (palos) differ in rhythmic pattern. Many rhythms are one of the characteristic features of flamenco. The most popular palos are tones, solea, fandango and seguiriya (Tona, Solea, Fandango, Seguiriya)- belong to the category cante hondo (cante jondo).T dances and flamenco songs, as a rule, are accompanied by a guitar and percussion: rhythmic clapping of hands (palmas), playing the cajon; sometimes with castanets.

The main elements in flamenco culture are vocal and dance arts. Guitar accompaniment in flamenco until recently played a purely subordinate role. Nowadays flamenco includes poetry, painting, performing arts, customs, jargon, clothing style.

Hurry, hurry quickly! Christ dark-faced from the lilies of native Galilee came for the Spanish carnation. Hurry soon! Spain. In a frosted sky light and empty. tired rivers, dry and resonant clay. Christ sharp-cheeked and swarthy goes past the towers charred strands and his white pupil is terrible. Hurry, hurry for our Lord!

Flamenco arose as a result of five hundred years of interaction between the gypsy and southern Spanish traditions. The main carriers of flamenco are the Andalusian gypsies living small groups in certain quarters of a number of cities, Aflamenco, or rather, its most ancient core, cante hondo, first appeared in Lower Andalusia, to be exact in three cities: Moron de la Frontera, Jerez de la Frontera And Vida.
From these three points, cante jondo began to spread further in four directions:

1. in the direction of the city of Moron Lucena, that is, in the direction of the provinces of Cordoba and Jaén;
2. towards Malaga, Almeria and the coast of the Levant;
3. to Seville and Huelva;
4. to the lands near Seville and Cadiz.

Further, Cante Jondo spread up to the cities of Mancha Castellana, Extremadura de Badajoz, captured a large part of the southern coast of Portugal, and in the middle of the 19th century reached Madrid and Barcelona, ​​which are also currently major centers this music. The main zone of the modern spread of flamenco is Lower Andalusia-, i.e. the province of Cadiz and the southern part of the province of Seville. In this small area, 80% of all genres and forms of flamenco arose, and first of all the most ancient ones - tones, sigiriya, solea, saeta. Kante hondo is preserved there today, retaining all its depth and musical features. There is a wider area around this main flamenco area. "aflamencada" (aflamencada)- strongly influenced by the flamenco style: the provinces of Huelva, Córdoba, Malaga, Granada, Almería, Jaén and Murcia. Here the main genre of flamenco is fandango with its numerous varieties. (Verdiales, Rondenha, Malaguena, Granadina, etc.)

Flamenco, Spanish gypsies, is rapidly transforming into a form of Russian mass culture. Richer people even go to Spain to study it. Poorer - content with lessons in the local dance studios.

What happened, why suddenly the inhabitants and residents of Russian cities - and not some unsettled, but on the contrary, perfectly adapted, with reliable social status and a good income - are they fond of the dance of the Spanish outcasts, vagabonds, outcasts and persecuted?

Didn't Kozma Prutkov even scoff at such a "desire to be a Spaniard" in the century before last?! "Give me Seville, give me a guitar, give Inezil, a pair of castanets ..." And then, they say, there will be real life! .. Sharp! Hot!

Exotic fashion? The one that puts on a par with the love of bored European townspeople to oriental dance belly and diving, to Japanese cuisine in sushi bars and Celtic music? But why, out of all the variety of alien and exotic, does fashion choose this particular one?

Modern amateurs explain their addiction to this dance very simply. It gives them opportunities for self-expression that none of the other forms of current culture available to them can provide. Well, emancipation, of course ... Bank employees and employees of law firms, businessmen and employees law enforcement, chained in everyday life in many disciplinary rules, finally get the opportunity to release, to articulate their inner excess in movement. Anxiety. Anxiety. Longing. Passion. Everything that does not dare to fit into the framework of their boiled and packaged existence. You dance all this - and it's easier ...

Modern man, at least since the time of Freud, has become accustomed to the idea that he is bursting with destructive forces that are inappropriate in our culture and civilization. From infancy, he was taught to suppress, tame them. True, from time to time they break out (war, family scandals and quarrels, nervous breakdowns and mental illness ...) This means that every culture has to constantly re-create and maintain with great effort different techniques protection of man from himself. In some cultures it is a religion. In ours, in my opinion, conversations in the kitchen with friends, diaries and poems written "on the table" ... From the non-verbal - well, except perhaps sports, alcohol with tobacco, walking through the streets ...

Dance is a much more powerful means. At least because it's rhythmic. It differs from the exhaustion of an unsettled soul by wandering the streets, like poetry from prose. In it, the soul is fascinated by the rhythms of its own body. No wonder flamenco is compared with shamanism, with mysticism.

In dance, body and soul, nature and culture forget that they are different: they merge with each other, they are pronounced in each other. In addition to dance, this is possible only in love.

But in its essence and origins - a terrible, "deep" dance. On the verge of life and death. They say that those who have experienced misfortune, loss, collapse can really dance it. Trouble exposes the nerves of life. Flamenco is a dance of naked nerves. And he accompanies him in the Spanish tradition of cante jondo - "deep singing". Shouting out the roots of the soul. " black sound". As if not quite music.

At the same time, flamenco is a dance that is regulated in detail, strict, complete.

Conventional, even ceremonial.

F lamenco - dance of the lonely. Perhaps the only folk dance in which you can do without a partner. violent passion merged in it with the strictest chastity: a flamenco dancer does not even accidentally dare to touch his partner. This rampage, this improvisation requires the greatest training of the bodily and mental muscles, the most precise discipline. Some even believe that flamenco is not erotic at all. He is a dialogue, a dispute, a rivalry between the two principles of life - male and female.

Dance your partner. Dance it to death. Flamenco transforms, turns into art exactly what is set in our culture-civilization as tough, merciless rules of life. Head. Aggression. Rivalry. discipline. Loneliness...

Flamenco arose in Andalusia under the influence of the cultures of the peoples who for centuries coexisted on the same territory - Arabic, Jewish, Christian and Gypsy. Echoes of African culture also reached the south of the Iberian Peninsula, mixing Negro rhythms with Andalusian ones.

On the tower

the wind vane rotates.

Turns around by day

spinning at night

spins forever.

Oh, somewhere lost village

in my Andalusia

tearful...

For the majority of "non-Spaniards", the classical image of Spain is associated precisely with Andalusia. Sombrero with wide brim, colorful dresses with flounces, a bright flower in her hair and passionate dances. But having listened to what is sung in flamenco, we will see that in essence this is gloomy and dramatic music, and the folklore image of the Andalusian dancer is only its external, festive side. The land from which flamenco originated is far from the cheerful Andalusia depicted on postcards from souvenir shops.

Flamenco is the ancient art of burning the dark. In the Andalusian song, nostalgia merges with a lyrical protest against injustice and oppression. The Arabs were expelled from Spain in 1492; Jews, of whom there were about 100 thousand in Spain in the 5th century, were forced to accept the Christian faith in order not to be persecuted; Gypsies, perpetual nomads who were persecuted, along with their simple belongings, carried with them the traditions of singing and dancing. Each of these peoples at a certain point in history lost their empire and was forced to adapt to new conditions of life, accept someone else's faith, forget their favorite traditions, merge with another culture. Their music became a hidden protest against injustice, a complaint against fate, their songs spoke of the gloomy reality of life. Flamenco is more than music. This is a whole worldview, attitude to life. You don't have to be a flamenco artist to belong to this world. Flamenco is, first of all, everything that is colored by strong emotions and emotional experiences.

Dagger

sharp blade

enters the heart

how does the plow enter

in a scorched meadow.

No,

don't pierce my heart

No.

Dagger,

like a ray of sunshine

vibrating wave,

the depth of my soul.

No,

don't pierce my heart

No.

The main categories of the population of Andalusia at that time were the nobility, the clergy, the bourgeoisie, artisans, workers, gypsies, as well as a layer that, in terms of its well-being, was at the lowest social level, consisting mainly of beggars and vagabonds. The villagers actively moved to the city, mainly due to the disastrous state of the villages, crushed by the rich nobility and plunged into poverty. In this atmosphere, flamenco gained strength and began to gain popularity, but until the last third of the 19th century it was not a public property and was not known outside a narrow circle of fans.

Home was the home of flamenco. In traditional Spanish housing, all apartments lined up around a common patio. (patio), which was a kind of center of the whole house. Such a layout implied rather close communication between neighbors, who were often members of one large family or clan. Inside the house, the patio was the place where holidays were celebrated and the secrets of singing were passed on.

All this happened in a limited circle of relatives, so many of the most significant names in flamenco are family dynasties, where the secrets of mastery were passed down from generation to generation. Music was perceived as a dialogue, communication, and this explains its improvisational nature. A dialogue between two cantaors, a cantaor and a guitarist, song and dance.

Gradually, the patio life was more and more transferred to the street, for example, during the celebration of weddings, baptisms and other events. In some gypsy settlements these flamenco fiestas " took on their own form. They passed outside the city, in temporary settlements of gypsies. In addition to members of the same family, they were sometimes open to a wider public, where cantaors gained fame by demonstrating their abilities and their individual style execution. Going beyond the family circle, flamenco begins to penetrate into other areas of Andalusian society. Famous cantaors and bailors begin to take part in domestic fiestas.

IN late XVIII century flamenco has already sounded in the taverns and inns of the Andalusian roads. In Seville and Jerez, festivals dedicated to the patron saint of a city or region were the occasion for a flamenco fiesta, not to mention the fact that in taverns one could always listen to a cantaor or sing a song between two glasses. It was as natural for people to sing as it was to talk. Flamenco was already so widespread that the owners of some establishments began to impose bans on the performance of songs there, in some places one could find a poster "Singing and dancing is prohibited" ). Flamenco becomes a state of the art of the general public with the advent of special artistic cafes in which flamenco performers performed. The first such cafe was opened in Seville in 1842, followed by others, and by the 70s of the 19th century, numerous "cantante cafes" were created in the cities of Seville, Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Puerto de Santa -Maria, Malaga, Granada, Cartagena, La Unión, and in the wake of them and outside of Andalusia - in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Bilbao.

E poha cafe cantante is considered the golden age. Then the greatest creators of flamenco shone. Everything that was created then is a standard, everything that was created later is no longer considered pure. But despite the heyday that flamenco reached in the middle of the 19th century, by the end of the century, cafe cantante began to decline. Gradually, a situation began to emerge in which the cafe, whose customers themselves dictated the repertoire, brought the greatest income. The principle "he who pays orders the music" began to operate, and in the end the repertoire of the cafe cantante began to be limited. The themes of the songs began to be reduced to the most popular among cafe visitors - about love and death. The aesthetic content of cante jondo songs began to decline, sometimes descending to outright vulgarity. Kante hondo ceases to be the voice of the soul, and begins to depend on the interests of the one who pays. The time is passing when the cantaor owed only to himself and his heart, now his repertoire is subordinated to the profession. Flamenco song lyrics turn into a solid melodrama about unhappy love. Cantaors learn to put on a mask and imitate their passion and pain. But still, these big city cafes were neither the best nor the only ones. still keptplaces where the true tradition of cante jondo continued to sound. Many performers sought to maintain the purity of style. They were not professionals and kept their skills only for themselves and a narrow circle of connoisseurs. These were the people who believed that the cante jondo could not exist in a cafe or on a tablao. Many professionals aspired to attend such small evenings in order to learn the secrets from these humble maestros. A real flamenco fiesta, where no outside audience was present, usually took place in some tavern, where participants gathered, drank wine, sang and danced. Even if there was no guitar at hand, the cantaors sang to the beat of heels and clapping their hands. In such places and in this atmosphere, a real cante jondo was preserved, and its strength lay in the ability of the cantaor to enjoy his singing himself and convey all its depth to the listeners, while giving a part of himself. Thanks to such cantaors, the cante jondo has been preserved in its original, "primitive" form to this day.

They began to talk about the revival of flamenco in 1922, when, on the initiative of the composer Manuel de Falla and Federico Garcia Lorca, a cante jondo festival was organized in Granada. The purpose of the festival was to collect authentic cante jondo tunes, discover new talents and revive interest in this ancient art. Professionals were not allowed to participate, since the main thing was to find examples of truly folk art, to show the public the true spirit of flamenco, and not a perfect performance.
The Spaniards were urged not to confuse the greatest treasure of the cante jondo with tavern singing and revelry, to think about its fate and make every effort to save it, since there is nothing equal to these songs in Spain in terms of feeling, richness, or tone.

DUENDE FLAMENCO

Dancing in Seville Carmen

at the walls blue from chalk,

and frying the pupils of Carmen,

and her hair is snow white.

Girls close the shutters

don't look.

The snake in the hair turns yellow,

and as if from far away

dancing, the former rises

and raves about old love.

Girls close the shutters

don't look.

Deserted courtyards of Seville,

and in their depths of the evening

Andalusian hearts dream

Traces of forgotten thorns.

Girls close the shutters

Don't look.

D wende is the soul of flamenco performance, without which this art becomes impossible. This word is of Spanish origin, literally it translates as "spirit", "invisible", "brownie", but in relation to art it has acquired a different meaning, and could be translated rather as "feeling", "fire" or "magic" . We say "There is no fire in it", in Spain "No tiene duende". Flamenco artists are well aware that their art will not reach the soul if it does not have this fire in it. Anyone who has seen true flamenco will never confuse it with a fake. The performer must be inspired, must have a special state of mind, from his emotional state depends on whether the song reaches the soul of the listeners. In addition, flamenco is an improvisational genre, and improvisation is impossible without inspiration. That is why many recordings made in the studio lose this "feeling" because it cannot be repeated or imitated. One cantaor flamenco Jose de los Reyes El Negro talked about the need to feel the moment when it will be possible to sing in the best way, giving back to the song the best part myself. He once admitted that being in the studio during the recording of his album, he could not "get into the situation" in any way, which means he could not sing "at his pleasure" just because he was warned: "When the red light comes on, start singing!" Another outstanding cantaor of the "old school" Antonio Mairena, said that his "no valen na" recordings are worth nothing, because they are "morning recordings", and special inspiration came to him only at night.

If flamenco cante is an expression of what can be felt but impossible to explain, then duende is the force that helps bring this art to the listeners. This concept can apply not only to flamenco, but also to any other art. Goethe defined the duende thus, speaking of Paganini: "A mysterious power that everyone feels and no philosopher can explain." The Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca creates a whole theory of the duende, personifying it and endowing it with demonic features. He says duende is possible in any art, but "he has more space in music, dance and oral poetry, which need to be embodied in a living human body."

The concept of "duende" has long existed in Spain. Duende is a demon who turns song into magic and dance into shamanism. This is the soul of flamenco, without which it does not exist. Lorca says that by Spanish art "Initially, the tart duende rules, unbridled and lonely."

"One day, the Andalusian singer Pastora Pavón, the Girl with the 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. Silence all around...
... Only a malicious 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. We need something else." 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 from 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 the Negroes of Antilles tear them in a trance in front of the image of St. Barbara.

Lorca distinguishes three principles in art, personifying them in the images of "angel", "muse" and "duende". An angel illuminates, overshadows with grace, and a person creates without effort. Muse dictates, inspires. Duende is not just an inspiration, it is a force - with which one must fight. The muse and the angel descend, the duende must be awakened by himself. "The approach of duende marks the breaking of the canon and an unprecedented, unthinkable freshness - it is like a blossoming rose, like a miracle and awakens almost religious delight. Duende sweeps away cozy, hardened geometry, breaks style; it was he who made Goya, the master of silver, gray and pink modulations of the English school , with knees and fists to rub black var into canvases ... " Comparing flamenco with ballet, the Spanish dancer Susana said that, unlike ballet, no one finishes dancing early in flamenco, there is no age limit in this art. And people dance in flamenco not because the curtain has been raised or a number has been announced, but because "I want it now!", because an inner need arises.

D wende turns the dance more into shamanism, into magic, there is something primitive in this, coming from ancient ritual dances. “Once at a dance competition in Jerez de la Frontera, the first prize for young beauties with a body seething like water was pulled out by an eighty-year-old old woman - just by the way she raised her arms, threw her head and beat her heel on the stage. But all these muses and the 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."

"Only one duende is not capable - to repeat.

Duende does not repeat itself, like the appearance of a stormy sea."

Begins

Crying guitar.

breaks down

Morning cup.

Begins

Crying guitar.

Oh don't wait on her

Silence

Don't ask her

Silence!

relentlessly

The guitar is crying

Like water through the channels - crying.

Like the wind over 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.

Oh guitar

poor victim

Five nimble daggers!

Solea

Dressed in a black dress the whole world seems small to her, and the heart is huge. Dressed in a black dress. She thinks bitter moans and gentle passionate sighs drown in the current of the wind. Dressed in a black dress. The balcony was open and through the balcony railing - dawn spilled across the sky. Ai-yay-yay-yay-yay, wearing a black dress!

Peteneres in the garden

In the garden night whitewashed with chalk, dancing six gypsies in white. In the night of the garden... Rosans and poppies in their wreaths of dyed paper. In the night of the garden... Like a candle flame dusk is scorched pearl teeth. In the garden night For one another shadows rise, the sky reaching.

Used verses from a collection of Spanish poetry:

Gabriel Garcia Lorca

POEMS ABOUT KANT HONDO:

Poem about the Gypsy Sigiriya

Solea Poem

Poem about saet

Petenera silhouette

Having captured once, flamenco does not let go. And the duende, the spirit of flamenco, probably moved into me, sometimes forcing me to make a characteristic gesture with my hand, knock out with claps dance rhythm and constantly insert descriptions Spanish flamenco in everything I write. Here are some excerpts from works written at different times.

Two episodes from the novel Shakti"

Part one Mother and son. Gypsy destiny. (fragments)

« One of her acquaintances arranged for her to work in the famous Malagenya cafe, for a start, as a simple cleaning lady. Pilar walked between the tables with a cart, on which she collected dirty plates and glasses. She wore a red apron over a black pleated skirt, her most elegant, and tied a white cambric kerchief with lace around her head, tying a knot at the back under the braids. Her braids were thick and ended at her knees. She looked with envy at the girls who came to the cafe accompanied by men in good suits. They had fashionable hairstyles of short curly hair, bright dresses with short sleeves and lace collars, and elegant high-heeled shoes on their feet. The men accompanying them were artists, and more often musicians, and came to listen to the famous Andalusian songs sung by Manuel Retana, better known as Manolo. Flamenco dancers performed after his songs. When visitors, forgetting about food and full glasses of wine, began enthusiastically beating the rhythm with their palms, cheering the dancers with cries of "Ole!", Pilar could not help but also beat the rhythm with the heels of coarse leather shoes.

Once the music suddenly stopped, she finished an intricate fraction in complete silence and was embarrassed by the general attention. "Hey, let the girl dance!" - the tipsy visitor shouted, and he was supported from other tables. "Go!" - pushed her owner, reasoning that if she fails, she will simply amuse the audience. Pilar took off her kerchief and, shaking her braids, went out onto the platform, putting on her castanets as she went. "What do you want to play?" the guitarist asked, and she shrugged, "Whatever you want!" The guitarists played the then popular Malagenya. Pilar danced the way her grandmother had taught her, holding her back straight and turning her head proudly. She danced without urban frills, like a real Andalusian gypsy. Gradually, the hall froze, carried away. Then a short, strong man unexpectedly jumped out onto the dais and began to dance with her the way peasants dance in the small villages of Andalusia, simply, without fanfare, chastely and passionately. Pilar's heels echoed the castanets, her hands flew up smoothly like wings, her fingers opened like a magic flower, her face was almost stern, and when they finished dancing, there was silence in the hall for a while, and then applause was heard.

The man grabbed her hand and asked without any preamble: "Will you go with my theater around the country?" She looked at him in surprise and shook her head. But she did not forget this dance with the famous poet, remembering for the rest of her life his cheerful eyes and round smiling face, his strong body of an Andalusian peasant and graceful hands. Later, Pilar found out who he was and what his name was, read his poems and wept with delight and regret about pipe dreams. And looking at his plays in the theater, she dreamed of how she herself would play in them and dance flamenco. Meanwhile, she continued to work in the same cafe, collecting dirty dishes, then she was transferred to the waitress. But sometimes, when connoisseurs gathered in a cafe, she was asked to dance, and she danced to the measured clapping of her palms.

part four. Witch dreams. (fragment)

“... - Tomorrow I will tell you the story of how I found my lost family, and now let's celebrate my return to my father's house after so many years! Over the years, generations have died and been born, our parents, Pablo and Maria, are gone, my beloved grandmother Pilar is gone, but our children and grandchildren delight us with the fact that our family continues and will never run out! Tomorrow we will all go to the cathedral to pray for this Virgin Mary.

You said well, old woman of the family! Fernando said.

And what, Fernando, are you still the best flamenco dancer? - asked the grandmother, smiling slyly.

Bring the guitars, - he grinned smugly in response, - Maria, granddaughter, come here, sing us a song about the death of a dove.

Pilar frowned, but when Maria sang a gypsy ballad in a clear low, slightly guttural voice, she closed her eyes and immersed herself in the melody familiar from childhood. Pilar, fifteen years old, José's granddaughter, stepped out into the middle of the terrace to the sound of guitars and began to dance, following the rhythm with concentration and waving the hem of a short skirt not quite adapted for this. She was replaced by old Fernando, and Inga suddenly realized that he was very young at seventy-five. The lithe body turned gracefully in place, curving like a toreador letting a bull through with a wave of a red muleta. A click of his heels on the stone tiles of the floor - and again a smooth turn, bending a little, it seems so - a centimeter from the deadly horns. Inga looked, leaning forward, and heard Ilya's enthusiastic breathing behind her back. Fernando made an imperceptible movement with his hand and, obeying him, Grandma Pilar got up from her seat. Keeping her back even straighter than ever, she walked towards Fernando, gently swaying her hips and clapping her handsleft ear. And suddenly her hands, like the wings of a flying bird, made a wide wave and joined above her head, and then opened like a bizarre magic flower. Now everyone was clapping, bringing out a whimsical rhythm, the guitars wove their own ligature into it, and the heels of my grandmother's expensive model sandals loudly knocked out another melody. All this hypnotized Inga, as a dull and measured drumbeat can hypnotize. Everything inside her boiled, and the blood in her temples echoed the rhythmic pops. When Pilar sat down on a chair, not at all out of breath, young Paco stepped into the circle. Here Inga's heart pounded like a hammer, the spectacle was amazing. His body seemed tense, like a string, and relaxed at the same time, it flowed and shimmered in motion, remaining restrained, even by the stern body of a Spanish man. It was almost unbearable perfection. Inga held her breath. Paco caught the look of her widened eyes and, not looking up from him, danced on only for Inga. It was so beautiful that she gasped in excitement and did not feel Ilya's hand squeeze her elbow. She came to her senses when old Jose sang in a slightly cracked voice a drawn-out song with a complex rhythm and recitatives. Inga noticed that she continued to look straight into Paco's eyes, became embarrassed and, smiling, looked away. An unfamiliar elderly woman called the girls to her with a nod, and now they put refreshments on the table, filled the mugs with wine again.

"Let's dance, Betsy, let's dance!" ( fragment)

“Our film is shown successfully in Europe. At the end of April, Vittorio, Francesco and Giancarlo Fiori, who played the male lead, are flying to Spain. While the competition screenings are going on, Francesco and I are going to Granada for a few days. He had long dreamed of seeing real flamenco dances. Francesco was expected in early May in Paris, where I arranged an internship for him. These days before parting are beautiful. Granada is a fantastic city and we admire it all free time, but there isn't much of it.

We spend whole days in studios where flamenco is taught and in taverns where amateur dancers gather. This is insanely interesting, I sit with my mouth open, watching how the Spaniards effortlessly beat out one rhythm with castanets, another with the heels of leather shoes, and their legs and bodies obey the mysterious ancient canons, which in total gives a surprisingly harmonious, restrained and fiery dance at the same time, more beautiful which I have not seen. Francesco is immediately taken for his own, respectfully patting on the shoulder when he repeats after them the most complex rhythmic movements. These dances are such a wonderful spectacle that I sit meekly for hours with a cup of coffee and a mug of red and thick wine with a tart and exciting aroma, watching the dancers. Nothing more beautiful than dancing spanish man, I did not see. Their grace of a wild animal and restrained masculinity, exploding suddenly with an indomitable temperament, catch the eye and make some kind of string tremble in the depths of the chest. All this impresses us with sensuality and Spanish madness and gives a special touch to our nights. Either having learned courageous perseverance in dancing, or realizing the inevitability of parting, Francesco suddenly turns into an extraordinary lover.

People at all times were attracted by dance, and to this day it remains one of the secrets of nature. When the music is in tune with the mood, as if the soul begins to sing. The head sways to the beat of the music, the body begins to slowly sway by itself, with provocative rhythms you want to beat the beat with your feet, wave your arms and be carried along with the music into a world where feelings and experiences can pour out in gesture, movement, look. Flamenco is one of the special dances that exists as an original form of storytelling about life.

Where does flamenco come from?

Flamenco is the art of not only dancing, but also singing, instrumental music. Flamenco comes from Andalusia, the southernmost region of Spain, which was named after the Moors. They called the region Al-Andaluz - the land of the world. The inhabitants of this region are distinguished by pride and a very passionate temperament.

How flamenco appeared

There are many versions of this. It is generally accepted that this art dates back to the time of the cult of fire. According to another version, flamenco was brought to Spain by gypsies who were expelled from India in the fifteenth century.

The main directions of flamenco

There are two main styles of flamenco dance. In the first case, passion, fire, pride, deep inner tension, grief prevail. This kind of dance is called the word "hondo" ("deep"). In another manifestation of flamenco, another Andalusia comes to the fore - more refined, civilized, urban. The dance becomes different: sly, mischievous, full of ingenuity, which is called the traditional flamenco dance.

The features of flamenco dance include the fact that, unlike other folk dances, it can be performed not only in a team, in a pair, but also by one dancer. In the flamenco dance, you can feel the militancy, the reflection of ancient rituals, burning love passion. And the dancer carries all this within himself. Flamenco dance does not require wide stage space, here the inner space, the space of the soul of the dancer, is more in demand.

How to master the technique

The flamenco technique is considered very difficult - mainly due to complex rhythm, which is not found in any other dance. Therefore, when mastering flamenco, a beginner dancer should not rely only on his talent, he needs a strict discipline of constant mental (for memorization) and physical training.

One of the most important details when performing a dance, there is a posture of a dancer. This is more important than clearly tapping the rhythm with your heels. It is important for a dancer to captivate his viewer, and himself, into the world of passionate experiences, which means it is not permissible to relax, forget about how to behave in dance.

Of particular importance in flamenco dance is given to the movements of the hands. Hands become the language of this art, give the dance its originality.

The essentials of flamenco

Flamenco is more than music and more than dance. This is an attitude to life, a certain worldview. In an hour of sadness, discouragement or anguish, allow yourself to become a flamenco dancer: straighten your shoulders, tilt your head back, lower your chin, be yourself and dance. As long as you are with flamenco, this world is yours.

Today, many women and even men want not just to do fitness, but to do it beautifully, not only to lose weight and strengthen muscles, but also to develop grace and plasticity. That is why dances have become so popular: latin, tango, breakdance, hustle, salsa and, finally, flamenco, the hit of the season.

Many have heard about flamenco, some have seen it, but few of the uninitiated know how and where to dance it.

Why dance

Flamenco is a special combination of dance ( baile), accompaniment ( current) and vocals ( cante), which originated in southwestern Spain, in Andalusia. This is not just an art form, but a whole culture, the main motive of which is sensuality.

Today, flamenco is not only created, but also studied. In 1955, Gonzalez Clement wrote a book called Flamencology, which marked the beginning of the eponymous field of art history.

And in 1958, the first department of flamencology was opened in Jerez de la Frontera. Its employees study the origin of flamenco, its original style, traditions and evolution.

Leaving aside singing and playing musical instruments, as well as deeper spiritual aspects, let's take a closer look at the choreographic component. First of all, flamenco is very beautiful dance. The sound of heels, sharp and at the same time elegant movements, fluttering skirt - all this creates a special emotional mood. Flamenco allows you to show your mood and sexuality in dance. In addition, flamenco classes develop coordination and improve posture. Finally, it's just one of the ways to keep fit.

Who is dancing

In flamenco, there are no restrictions on gender, age and build. You can come with or without a partner: one person, a couple or a group can dance flamenco, there are no special canons here. This does not mean that flamenco is a sexless dance, it just has both male and female elements, and they can be combined in different ways. A characteristic male dance is the tapping of rhythms with their feet, and the female dance is sometimes graceful, sometimes smooth, sometimes unexpectedly. jerky movements corps.

Flamenco does not require a thorough physical preparation or the ability to sit on a twine. It is more important to feel the music and rhythm, however, to have musical education also not required. It is worth remembering that many flamenco masters were not professional musicians, and melodies were passed from teacher to student without any musical notation.

In general, almost anyone can do flamenco. The main thing is that there are no contraindications for health reasons. During the dance, the increased load falls on the legs, spine, neck. Therefore, people with diseases of the musculoskeletal system should first consult a doctor before going to a dance class.

How are the classes

In most schools, beginners dance twice a week for 1–1.5 hours. Most likely, you will be offered several types of classes: in addition to the dances themselves, there are special classes by rhythms (comp. A c) that form the basis of flamenco. In some schools, dances are accompanied by live music, but most often they use recordings.

What to dance

To dance flamenco you need a special outfit. According to the classical canons, the dancer wears a traditional dress with frills and frills, and her partner wears dark trousers, a wide belt and a white shirt with wide sleeves. And of course, both of them absolutely need ringing heels to beat out clear rhythms.

If you are not going, at least at first, to participate in performances, you can approach the choice of clothing in a simpler way: any comfortable sports suit. The most important thing is shoes. You need to buy shoes (well-fitting on the foot) or boots with a stable wide heel (4-7 cm) with round toes. There are also special shoes for flamenco, which are sold in specialized dance stores. In the future, women will need a skirt that fits the hips and flares down - it can be sewn to order.

Where to dance

Flamenco can be studied at many multidisciplinary dance schools, but there are also narrowly focused institutions. Here are just some of the Moscow flamenco schools.

1. School of flamenco dance "Pasion Flamenco" - tel. (495) 649–90–24

The school is organized in partnership with the Spanish center, so the emphasis here is on the transmission of primordial traditions. In this large-scale school, children and adults are taught in several halls at Kuznetsky Most, Pushkinskaya, Smolenskaya and Akademicheskaya, including on an individual schedule. The cost of eight classes is 3000 rubles.

2. School of dance and music "Territory of Flamenco" - tel. +7(909) 973–95–93, +7(926) 524–17–60

In addition to dancing and rhythm classes, there is a vocal and guitar class. Groups of beginners are recruited regularly. Classes are held near the metro station "Serpukhovskaya" (ICC Moskvorechye).

3. School of flamenco dancing by Alena Shulgina - tel. 8 (926)-878-78-76

Classes in the evenings twice a week, multi-level groups. The cost of a one-time lesson is 350-450 rubles. Subscription for eight classes 2200-2500 rubles. Classes are held near the Kitai-Gorod and Chekhovskaya metro stations.

4. Dance school of Lilia Safina— tel. 962-04-27, 165-02-48, 518-69-18

Setting the body, hand movements, fractions, working with a skirt, learning rhythm. Flamenco class - 2200 rubles per month for 8 lessons of 1.5 hours, 2400 rubles for 9 lessons. Classes are held near the metro station "Ulitsa Podbelskogo".

For those who are already involved in flamenco and want to improve their skills, master classes are regularly held by artists. The best school Flamenco remains Spanish, so it can be useful to learn from Spanish masters who come to Russia.

If you want not only to dance yourself, but also to see how the masters do it - no problem. Moscow regularly, almost every week, hosts concerts, evenings and even flamenco festivals. The next major event is the ballet of Antonio Gades on March 16–19 at the Variety Theatre.

Olga Dobrushina

Anastasia Volchek tells how to awaken a hot and strong nature in yourself with the help of flamenco dance, even in a sundress and slippers.

Details

• Hairstyle

Hair is pulled back into a bun to keep the heat out. Gypsies have hair as hard as wire. In the flamenco dance, they were knocked out of their hair, and naughty curls from moisture and sweat stuck to their faces. The "curl of passion" has become a trademark of flamenco: it is made on purpose and fixed with varnish.

The bundle is fixed with a large comb - a pinette. Previously, they were carved from tortoise shells, so they were heavy. Modern pinets are plastic and light.

Flowers. Spanish flamenco dancers love to decorate their heads with flowers. Today, fresh flowers are not used: artificial ones are lighter, more convenient and last longer. Sometimes a lace mantilla is worn under a large pinette. self made- an ancient sign of a noble person. Even today it is an expensive accessory and is not available to everyone.

• Manton

This is a huge shawl with a long and heavy fringe. Manton is thrown over the shoulders so as not to freeze in the evening. This is also a status item in the dance: it is made of noble materials, such as silk, and decorated with hand embroidery. The price reaches several thousand euros.

The young girl never picked up a red fan. This color was intended only for mature women. Black is for mourning, white is for weddings. If the girl was not rich, the fan was the same: polka-dotted from the cheapest chintz. The older she became, the smaller the peas. Fans are still made by hand - from ivory, gold and lace. They are bought as art objects and are always taken to traditional weddings.

• Castanets

Needed to create a flamenco rhythm. Castanets were brought from Cuba and Brazil, where they were traditionally made from seashells. In Spain, castanets became wooden - beech circles tied with a cord. Now they are made from modern materials: fiberglass and metal.

• Dress with flounces

The girl from poor family often there was only one skirt. As they grew older, another piece of fabric was sewn to the skirt. Then another one. Then more. This is how multi-colored fluffy skirts with flounces were obtained. Few people then thought about beauty: they sewed from what was. Only when flamenco began to be danced at the royal court did skirts take on an artistic look.

• Shoes

An item of absolute luxury. The poor were supposed to run barefoot on the outskirts, and the rich put on shoes to walk on the stone pavement in the city center. They were made from soft skin, with a heel made of beech and a thick sole, which was also upholstered with studs to make the shoes last longer. Flamenco shoes are a complete musical instrument.

Where did flamenco come from

This dance was invented by the gypsies in those ancient times, when oriental spices were worth their weight in gold. Spanish merchant ships sailed to port cities. Merchants came out of them, with expensive bags of spices hung on their belts so that they were always in sight. Then the gypsies appeared on the pier. They surrounded the merchants in a round dance and began wild dances. The dance was supposed to be so downhole that the audience lost all vigilance. All these movements with fingers are magical passes that diverted attention, hypnotized, enchanted. Gypsies deftly removed bags of spices from merchants, while their children cleaned the pockets of street onlookers.

Photo: renette1.rssing.com

It turns out that flamenco, which is shrouded in a romantic veil, is not a culture, but an anti-culture. The north of Spain does not recognize this dance. I used to think that if a person is a Spaniard, he will certainly dance flamenco. No, they dance it only in the south, in Andalusia. Once in Minsk I met a Spanish student. I say: "You will teach me to dance!" And he: “No, you will teach me!”

Flamenco is not a dance pure form, but the synthesis of three cultures: hysterical throat singing cante jondo, guitar music and then dance. After all, as it was before: people gather at the table, the singer sings, the musician accompanies him, and then the dancer, out of excess of feelings, gets up from the table and starts dancing. After all, until now the main ones are singers, and we think that dancers.

How to start dancing flamenco

There are many directions of this dance - more than fifty, but most often the simplest of them are taught in amateur schools. Despite this, mastering flamenco is not easy. Spaniards develop a sense of rhythm from childhood. There is no problem for them: I heard the rhythm - I repeated it. And our people do not cope with complex rhythmic patterns. Therefore, in flamenco classes, we take a simple rhythmic structure.

First, we study our body for its capabilities. Separately, we learn the movements of the fingers. “The dancer speaks with her hands,” Maya Plisetskaya used to say. Hands, soft hand and fingers - this is femininity in dance.

Then we learn the movements of the legs and connect. Flamenco dance is both a dance itself and an accompaniment to oneself with one's feet. Emotions need to be connected later, somewhere in a year regular workouts. When the arms and legs are already obeying, you can think about "sensación" - feelings.

It takes six years to become a good flamenco dancer. Not everyone can stand it, people have their own limit. Some come with a spontaneous desire: "I sewed a red skirt, make me a dance as soon as possible." Others need to perform at a corporate party or a beauty contest. And there are people who care not about the result, but the process itself. A woman has been visiting us for a long time, she always wears slippers and a sundress. I tell her that it's time to buy a skirt and shoes. And she: "Yes, you do not pay attention, I go to see you all." There are people who simply have nowhere to go, flamenco classes are a channel of communication for them.

How to relieve muscle tension and develop grace

What is happening to us women? While we are studying at school, institute, we are still dancing. They got married, had a baby - and that's it, they stopped dancing. Spaniards don't. They dance, move every day, for them it is a necessary part of life. Spaniards love themselves very much. In our culture, women are always in the background. Among the Spanish flamenco dancers there are many short ones, their legs immediately from the hip - and into the shoe. And with our long legs try to knock out all these fractions. It's difficult: the muscles are long. And yet, it seems to me that our women just need to move regularly, turn on music and dance. Feel in motion.

After all, there is no goal to hit everyone. The task is for you to dance, move in your body, rejoice in it.

Who goes to class

Accountants, doctors, housewives of many years, students, ladies who are looking for an outlet for their feminine energy. They are brave, and I already thank them in advance for this courage. We have a stereotype in our country: if you dance flamenco, then you are a bitch, an evil, inaccessible Carmen. Especially husbands react cautiously and with distrust. Maybe because the flamenco dance wakes up the feminine nature and does not allow you to feel weak and unhappy? This dance is changing. A woman learns to be confident, to love herself, to present herself with pride, and not just “excuse me, can I dance?”. In others, this causes one reaction: “Insolent!”

Even the audience at concerts is different. Flamenco does not look in silence, there must be a reaction from the audience. The Spaniards can shout to the whole hall: "Ole, Maria!" She comes out - and is no longer alone in this black hall, a family is sitting here. I just make my students scream “Ole!”. This is very hard to do, they are too tight. But the voice reflects temperament. This energy of flamenco can scare. It happens that a woman comes as a shy doe. Hip movements are indecent for her! And for southern women, twisting their hips, spreading their legs wide is natural. There is no vulgarity in this!

Contraindications

There are no such contraindications not to dance flamenco. I had a pregnant girl in class who came on the recommendation of a doctor. The doctor told her that only two kinds of dancing are allowed for pregnant women, and one of them is flamenco. People with arthritis come, but everything depends on the intensity of the load. You have to do what your body allows. Another thing is that you can’t knock your heels hard and for a long time, and even in the wrong shoes. Doctors, of course, will forbid it. But not moving is even worse.

What is the price

In the first year of studying flamenco dance, there are no costs for costumes. But usually girls can't wait to buy a long skirt and dance shoes. I order my shoes only in Spain. I like sites deflamenco.com, flamencoexport.com, flamencoshop.com. I recommend choosing Spanish production: the difference with Chinese goods colossal. But dresses are better to sew on your figure. With us, this can be done in an atelier or with a private master, the main difficulty is finding the right fabric and color.

In Minsk, the cost of 8 flamenco lessons per month varies between 50-70 rubles.

More about flamenco:

Photo: agendacultural.buenosaires.gob.ar, votpusk.ru, dancing.ru, shutterstock.com

The Dance.Firmika.ru portal contains information about where you can sign up for flamenco classes in Moscow: addresses and telephone numbers of dance schools and dance studios, prices for the most popular destinations, student reviews. For greater convenience in using the portal and searching for a dance school, we suggest using a convenient filter by districts and metro stations. Visual tables will help you compare the cost of classes and trainings in different dance studios in the city, choosing the best option for the price.

Flamenco is very young dance direction originated about two centuries ago. The constant development of flamenco is directly related to the use of the guitar in music, which saturates its sound. At its core, flamenco is a product of absorption and absorption. different cultures, which are harmoniously combined in one dance.

Flamenco dances - features and characteristic differences

Professional dancers fascinate with their movements and energy. Clear rhythm, bright and expressive elements- it is simply impossible not to fall in love with flamenco dance. The characteristic features of the direction include beating the rhythm with heels, in which a clear drum sound of hitting the sole of the boot and the heel on the floor is born - the Zapateado technique. It requires a lot of energy, so for a long time she was associated with male dancers. Women's movements are characterized by great softness and smoothness.

However, flamenco dance today is not so clearly divided between men and women. Unless the movements of the dancers are distinguished by undulations and sensuality. Soft lines of the arms that do not break the shoulders or elbows with their sharpness. Flamenco lessons in dance schools learn to move smoothly. For example, women's movable hands in the dance are like closing and opening fans, bewitching with their showiness. Men are characterized by more strict and restrained movements of the hands, which are more like swords cutting the air.

Flamenco lessons for beginners will also help you master such elements as "Pitos" - snapping fingers, "Palmas" - rhythmic clapping with crossed palms. They often sound in rhythm, bringing a special charm to it. Traditional flamenco does not use additional items, hands remain during movements. Despite the fact that castanets are considered a classic element of dance, they were originally used only in spanish style. However, they quickly fell in love with the audience, becoming an integral attribute of any performance.

Is it difficult to learn how to dance flamenco?

An experienced teacher will help you feel the rhythm and melody and teach you how to perfectly reflect them in the dance. Basic movements are not as difficult as they might seem - in the first lessons it will not be difficult to cope with them. Gradually, as the basic elements are mastered, the flamenco teacher complicates the learning process, sets more complex movements. Improving skills and developing techniques takes a lot of time, however final result will make even the pickiest of viewers freeze in admiration!

Flamenco training in Moscow