Yes, take a look at this amazing flamenco dancer in Barcelona, it's what is called "Zapateado" a special type of flamenco footwork, which requires great skill, concentration and a lot of stamina to perform, and is not just a guy stamping his feet on a wooden board for the fun of it either, there is purpose & meaning to the movements of this particular "Palo" (flamenco form) and is a very old and extremely culturally traditional practice amongst tight-knit Andalusian families & communities, more or less in the same way that Tap dancing (or Hoofing) became incredibly popular in certain places in the United states in the 20's & 30's. But this style of baile flamenco (Zapateado) is one of the most traditional things that you will ever learn about in Spain, if you're into studying the history of Spanish cultural traditions.
This guy is really good at it, I've seen guys like him doing this in La Rambla, in Barcelona, for years, and have always been highly impressed by the great skill & passion with which they perform. Juaquin Cortes is good, but he's not the only one who can do what he does, I've seen plenty of others who just have not been fortunate enough to have been in the right place, at the right time, to be spotted.
Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this performance, I just wish that he had dressed more appropriately for it though, I know it gets very hot & sweaty in Barcelona, humidity is a big problem, but even so, at least a plain white shirt would have been better, but still, it did not prevent anyone from noticing that this guy is bloody good, sweaty or not.
We just saw this very same dancer (this time with shirt on, not as interesting as without) and he was quite breathtaking in his performance. Juliette, being the DJ, was amazed at how held to an incredible precision the flurry of beats slammed down with his "tacones" with his fellow drummer.
He was performing on the Rambla and had quite a crowd. The drummer was pretty remarkable too and what the video doesn't convey was the deeply resonant drum he was sitting on and playing. The two together were quite the show.
- Roland
Posts: 289 | Location: Madrid via DC via Mexico via ... | Registered: 01 August 2003
Hey that's right, yes, now you mention it, I neglected to mention the guy playing the on the Cajon, and indeed he is a skilled percussionist, who has to work quite hard as well, to keep in sync with the dancer, and the only way to get the full impact of the combination of the two of them, is by standing right there, feeling every beat of both drum and shoe, it really impacts on the senses.
In September of 2004, while in Barcelona, I going to take the Metro from Placa Catalunya, and went down in to the station and heard this really amazing Bass guitar player, and another Cajon drum being played, I decided to miss the train and ended up standing there with them for over an hour talking about his latest album. He was a guy from Venezuela, with a girlfriend who plays drums etc. I was attending the 2004 Forum in Barcelona, and they had a group doing some drum & Bass stuff, the guy on the guitar at that event was pretty good, but I thought (and still do to this day) that the guy in the Metro station was better than him, and I kept in touch with him for a while, and am glad to say that he has had more than several gigs of his own since, and I'm still enjoying playing one of his first albums, and it has always made me think, that there are a lot of really good entertainers out there, playing in the street, and down in the Metro, waiting for a break, and that's one of the things that I like about places in Spain, like Barcelona, you can go & perform, get an audience together, get noticed, perhaps get a few offers of local work, maybe a big break even, the chance is there, the opportunity exists, unlike in many other places where you can't perform. Well I'm pretty sure of one thing, this guy doing the footwork (Zapateado) is without doubt going to getting lots of offers of work, the talent scouts are out there, and they won't miss him, or the drummer.
Here's another great example of fantastic flamenco dancing, footwork "Zapateado" (pronounced Thappateaaadoh in the north & Sappateaaadoh in the south. This 'Lady' Carmen Amaya, is one of the best, and if you have never seen her really giving it some stick on stage, then this is something that you should take a good look at, it's a fairly short dance, not long winded and tiresome, but man she packs a whole lot of guts & energy into this Palo, and for me it was quite staggering when I first found it, and felt that I just had to share it with all of you who are interested in Spanish culture(s).
It's a little dated now, but still impressive, not fast paced like the other one, but very skillful indeed, and quite entertaining. Not all Flamenco dancing is about the thunder & lightening that we see coming from many flamenco dancers, some dances are more intricate, and require a more graceful style of movement(s) e.g. slower & more deliberate, it all depends of the particular 'Palo' or type/style of dance, and of course there are variations in the kind of delivery between the many dancers, as with the singing of many seguiriyas for example, some will deliver it with all the passion and emotion, (and sometimes, morbidity) that the song often deserves, such as with the 'Saeta' whereas others will just rattle off some Cante Jondo (puro)with no real conviction in their voice, because it is supposed to stir-up the emotions, deep feelings, sadness, Joy, controversy even, some of the stuff is quite stirring indeed.
Well anyway, enough of that flamenco lecture, just take a look at this Lady, and appreciate her skill, and enjoy the artistry with which she performs this neat palo.
Feliz Año Nuevo.
Angelo. (Aficionado del flamenco)
ps: I'm just listening to (yet again) one of El Lebrijanos albums from 1976 called 'PERSECUCION' if you're at all interested in that kind of stuff, do try to get it and take a good listen to the narration between the tracks, you will learn something from it, as well as the actual canciones themselves, also try out 'Lagrimas de Cera' for similar reasons, as if you are not familar with the Saeta of the south, and what semana santa really means to the southerners, then this will perhaps give you a little better idea of what is going on inside their heads during that partucular fiesta, and belive me, it's really not put on for the tourists, it's much, much deeper than that, and completely religious in nature. If you'd like to know more about all of that, you'll need to do a little research & study on the www, but it's well worth the effort. ------------------------------------------------------------- "Even the cleverest formulas are worthless without the animating spark of genius, a quality for which there is no formula, only Serendipity."
I was thinking that it would be a good idea to add a couple links to some info on Carmen Amaya, for those who might be more interested to know a little more about this excellent Bailaora/Cantaora (performer of Flamenco style signing & dancing).
Another great dancer from Granada, is the lovely Eva "La Yerbabuena". If you ever get the chance to go to one of her shows in Madrid, you should, it's worth seeing her in action.
"I have always said that in flamenco, everything has already been discovered. The greatest possible innovation is to be oneself, to make it as personal as possible".
Not sure if this is the right place to post, but I am off tonight to see Sara Baras here in Arrecife. Nice to realise that the Cabildo are starting to bring in well known artists.
________________________________________ Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional
Excellent, that's really good news, and you're gonna love it, she gives some of the very best entertainment that there is in the world of flamenco, along with whoever will be supporting her in the show, I know it is going be really great stuff, worth every penny of whatever they are charging to get in.
Many of these flamenco shows are very good value for money, as often you get some surprise singers suddenly coming out on to the stage, big names etc, to lend support to the Bailoara, and often join in with a little Zapateado of their own, who knows, Cortes might even be in there somewhere tonight.
Lets hope so, eh!!
Hope you love it all, and do post back later tonight & let us know who else you saw.
Well what can I say!! I was a complete flamenco virgin, and I saw the most amazing spectacular last night. The show was 2 hours long and was just pure energy The costumes were fantastic, the dancers even more so!! I have no idea who anyone was, as there were no programmes or information given out. I have to admit I am not a lover of flamenco music but the whole experience was magical
________________________________________ Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional
Hey that's really good news, I'm glad to hear that the show has entertained you to the degree that it seems to have, even though it may have been your fist really big flamenco show, I think you will find in time to come, when or if you go to see another, it will be the same every time, and the more big names they have taking part, the bigger the venue, the greater the experience & enjoyment, many of those flamenco shows are fantastic, full of singing & dancing, colorful costumes, a great atmosphere, lots of very nice people to meet too.
It's good to hear that you have given flamenco a chance to show you what it is like in the flesh, and on stage right in front of you, and I hope many other expats, and members on multimadrid will follow your example by looking around for the big shows, and will go along and have a great night out.
Of course it has to be said, that the really deep sounding Cante Jondo type of stuff is not for everyone, and so it is probably safer to stick with the dancing spectaculars, where it is all about the dancing side of Flamenco, the singing side of things can often be too much for anyone other than the hardiest of flamenco nuts, (like me) unless of course you might like the very light hearted type of "New Flamenco" such as done by the likes of OTTMAR LIEBERT, in which case there is plenty of that out there, in fact I can thoroughly reccomend Ottmar Liebert's music as an alternative to the hard-core hand-clapping, foot-stamping type of flamenco, if that's not you're cuppa Tea, try Ottmar's music and see how you get on with that, I'm sue you will feel much more comfortable with that.
Cheers, and look forward to the next flamenco dancing show.
Hope you don't mind my sticking my two cents in on your conversation. I have only recently come to "discover" Flamenco. Musically, I started from the outside, with Ottmar Liebert (in whose sound I now realize there is very little Flamenco, but a tremendous amount of new-age jazzy stuff instead), I then moved on to Rafa el Tachuela and Gerardo Nunez...better but not quite there yet...then Carlos Montoya (who I now believe was far too heavy-handed for my taste) and finally Sabicas and Paco Pena. That was my introduction to Flamenco guitar. I am still learning to differentiate between who is who, and deciding who it is that I prefer. As it turned out, both of the Sabicas cd's that I purchased had a bit of cante on them. That was the hook that got my attention and stirred in me an even deeper interest in the music. As for the baile, and even still with some of the cante and guitar, I find that I am divided in my appreciation. I enjoy both the Gypsy-style, as well as some of the classically influenced Andalusian styles and off-shoots, my preference generally leaning, however, towards the less ornate. All that being said, here is my contribution to the collection of videos which have been suggested here thus far, plus the name and address of an internet site which I have found to be both indispensable and addictive.
