Thursday, January 11, 2007

A Spanish Scene - Part Three.. Flamenco

Having escaped injury in the bull run, and watched a bull fought artistically while eating sugar coated almonds, what better than a quick drive into the heart of Andalucia for some paella, bread and alioli, and traditional southern Spanish song and dance.

Flamenco has changed over the years, picking up from Latin American and other influences along the way. The dance starts slowly, and speeds up as the dancer injects more feeling. The moves are many and follow a strict pattern, all artistic in their way.
Modern flamenco dancers still adhere to the artistic, but now inject their own temperament into the dance, which makes for a more fluid and fast performance.

Music for the dance is provided by one or more Flamenco guitars and, very often, words accompany the music. There is a considerable amount of Moorish culture in Spain, and I say this now because the songs are nothing like what is heard across the rest of Western Europe. One can hear the Eastern influence quite clearly.

2 comments:

Anamika said...

as i have said before.. this blog is fantastic.. your life seems so rich and full.. how do you go about it?

said...

There are people who will tell you that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. The statement holds true in many cases, and sometimes you may find that there is no grass at all.

However, every turn you make, every hill and mountain climbed, every river and ocean crossed, will reveal a new and fresh experience. Close your eyes, ears and mind to the experiences at your peril.