Joy of Dancing

As a classical dancer I am always keen to read about different types of dances. Recently, I read about Flamenco and found many interesting facts about this dance form which I thought to share with you all. Flamenco is a highly expressive Spanish dance form.   It is associated with Andalusian Roma [gypsies]. These nomads are supposed to have travelled from Rajasthan (a State in India) through Romania, Hungary and Central Europe and finally landed in Andalusia. In Spain they encountered the rich cultures of the Sephardic Jews and the Moors. Their centuries long cultural intermingling produced the unique art form known as Flamenco. Flamenco dance is made up of four elements. They are: ‘Cante’-voice, ‘Baile’-dance, ‘Toque’-guitar and ‘Jaleo’-which roughly translated means ‘hell-raising’ and involves the handclapping, foot stomping and shouts of encouragement. Flamenco dancers, known as “Bailaores” [male] and “Bailaoras” [female], are passionate and serious. Typically in Fl