Besides structure of flamenco, you need to know THIS

I talk about structure, structure, structure of flamenco all the time. That’s understanding the flow of most dances, the ones that are danced as solos. These include Alegrías, Solea, Guajiras, Tientos, etc, but not to “festive” palos like Sevillanas, Bulerías, Tangos and Fandangos de Huelva.

Once you understand the structure, then learning a choreography and remembering it become much easier. Also this opens you up to the whole world of improvisation!

BUT the next thing you need to understand is the structure of the actual letra of the palo that you are dancing. This takes a little more study or at least repetitive listening.

Remember, each palo is identified by its own melody and chords. Think of your favorite song like “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes. No matter who else does a cover it, whether it’s Ben L’Oncle or SKÁLD, you would recognize that it IS “Seven Nation Army”.

The same is true for all palos of flamenco! Once you hear the first few strums of the guitar, you could identify that it’s an Alegrías by the chords they play. Then, hopefully, as a dancer, you could follow along with the cante and improvise a dance because you know what’s going to happen! Just like you would if you were listening to “Seven Nation Army.”

So how do you begin to do this with the palos of flamenco?

Ideally, you would learn to actually sing a letra. But the next best thing is to be able to at least hum the letra—- just like you can hum your favorite song!!! This is TOTALLY doable but it takes a little more effort. But I can guarantee your dancing ability will SKYROCKET if you can hum/sing an actual letra of the palo you’re dancing. Even if you sound horrible, it’ll be helpful!!!

This is something that is very doable with palo like Alegrias, Solea por Bulerias, Tientos, Guajiras. More challenging with Solea, Seguirillas and Tarantos. Just start with ONE!

Let’s with Solea por Bulerías. The letras are very standard with very little variation. It’s very easy to explain the structure of the letra by comparing it lines of poetry in that the lyrics follow a format of A B A C D C D:

• 1st compás: A – first line of lyric (sometimes this is sung over 2 compases)
• 2nd compás: B – “respiro” or “remate” one compás break where there is no singing and the dancer can do something accented
• 3rd compás: A – repeats the first line of lyric (sometimes this is sung over 2 compases)
• 4th compás: C – “primer cambio” or first transition
• 5th compás: D – “la caída”, or where the singer “resolves” so the dancer can place an accent or “rematar”
• 6th compás: C- “segundo cambio” or second transition. same lyrics from 4th compás
• 7th compás: D- “la caída”, or where the singer “resolves” so the dancer can place an accent or “rematar”. same lyrics from 5th compás

Now you “see” the structure of the letra, listen to these recordings to “hear” it and learn that melody so you can HUM along!

• Solea por Bulerias, Escuela de Flamenco (first letra starts at 1:28)
• Solea por Bulerias, El Baile Flamenco (first letra starts at 1:04)
• Solea pr Bulerias, Paula Carmona (first letra starts at 1:09)

ENJOY!

❤️ Rina

P.S. Join me inside the Online Flamenco Studio where I break down letras like Solea por Bulerias, Alegrias, Solea, Guajiras and more in Flamenco Theory Lectures. There’s also dozens and dozens of choreographies and technique inside the membership and a thriving community of flamencas just like you! 💃🏻