Flamenco is a style of music and dance, a part of the culture of Spain. It is an exotic dance, but is actually native to only one region: Andalusia. The term is also applied to the dance style performed to flamenco music.
Andalusian, Gypsy, Sephardic, Moorish and Byzantine influences have been detected in flamenco, often said to have coalesced prior to and after the Reconquista was completed, in the 15th century. The origins of the term are unclear; the word flamenco itself was not recorded until the 18th century.
Flamenco is the music of the Andalusian gypsies and played in their social community. Andalusian people who grew up around gypsies were also accepted as “flamencos” (Paco de Lucía). Other regions, mainly Extremadura and Murcia, have also contributed to the development of flamenco, and many flamenco artists have been born outside Andalusia. Latin American and especially Cuban influences have also contributed, as evidenced in the dances of “Ida y Vuelta”.
Traditional flamenco artists never received any formal training: they learned by listening and watching relatives, friends and neighbours. Some artists are still self-taught, but these days, it is more common for dancers and guitarists (and sometimes even singers) to be professionally trained. Some guitarists can even read music and study others styles like classical guitar or jazz, and many dancers take courses in contemporary dance or Classical Spanish ballet as well as flamenco.
Flamenco occurs in three settings. The first and most traditional is the juerga an informal, spontaneous gypsy gathering (rather like a jazz “jam session”). This can include dancing, singing, palmas (hand clapping), or simply pounding in rhythm on an old orange crate or a table. Flamenco, in this context, is organic and dynamic: it adapts to the local talent, instrumentation, and mood of the audience. One tradition remains firmly in place: the cantaores(singers) are the heart and soul of the performance. A Peña Flamenca is a meeting place or grouping of Flamenco musicians or artists.
The professional concert is more formal. A traditional singing performance has only a singer and one guitar, while a dance concert usually includes two or three guitars, one or more singers (singing in turns, as in traditional flamenco singers always sing solo), and one or more dancers. One of the singers may play the cajon, and all performers will play palmas when not required for other duties. Alternatively, there may be a dedicated cajon player and one or more palmeras. The so-called Nuevo Flamenco New flamenco may include flutes or saxophones, piano or other keyboards, or even the bass guitar and the electric guitar. Camarón de la Isla was one artist who popularized this style.
Finally there is the theatrical presentation of flamenco, which uses flamenco technique and music but is closer in presentation to a ballet performance, with musicians in the orchestra pit, scenery, lighting.
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