The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2022 - Issue 31

bitenightout A fter three long pent-up years, the hugely pop- ular Flamenco Festival London returned to Sadler’s Wells Theatre in Lon- don’s Islington. In addition to celebrating its legends such as Ana Morales, Estrella Morente, Tomatito and María Pagés, they broke ground with performanc- es that stretched the traditional bounds of the genre. Flamenco is a Spanish dance based on var- ious folkloric music traditions of southern Spain and was initially performed by women. Flamenco is said to have begun in the Roma migration from Rajasthan, northwest India, to Spain between the 9th and 14th centuries. The migrants trav- elled with musical instruments such as tambourines, bells, and wooden castanets with an ex- tensive repertoire of songs and dances. Whilst in Spain, they en- countered the rich cultures of the Sephardic Jews and the Moors, which, thanks to their centu- ries-long cultural intermingling, produced this unique art form. Its song categories are cante jon- do (profound song), cante inter- medio (intermediate song) and cante chico (light song). The first type is the oldest form based on a complex 12-beat rhythm char- acterised by profound emotion, dealing with death, anguish, despair or religious doubt. The second incorporates elements of Spanish music styles such as the fandango, a lively Spanish dance for two people accompanied by castanets or a tambourine. The third is more straightforward in rhythm, dealing with humour, love, the countryside and delight but requires considerable techni- cal skill. While the singer relates the leg- ends and stories of daily life that reflect the experiences of an out- cast subculture within Christian Spain, the dancer responds to the narrative and its interpretation. Flamenco dancers traditionally wear elaborately ruffled dresses. They perform dance movements such as baile, a sensual display of fluid motion with the arms, up- per torso, hand and finger move- ment, footwork and heel work. At the same time, the guitarist keeps the rhythm to their unique rhythmic cadences. It is said after a 15 or 20-minute sequence, the dancer falls into an intensely focused, trancelike state of transcendent emotion, described by Spanish poet, play- wright and theatre director Fed- erico García Lorca in 1933 as ‘dark sounds’ invading the per- former’s body. It is enhanced by rhythmic hand-clapping and en- couraging interjections from the audience and fellow performers. The arm, hand and foot move- ments closely resemble those of