'Moors and Turks Dancing': A Italian painter depicts the
north African style of dance from which fandangos
and verdiales are descended.
Jackie Cornwall
We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
But the crowd called out for more
(Procul Harum: A Whiter Shade of Pale)
We know about fandangos from the song above or Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody; 'Scaramouche, can you do the fandango?' but the origin of the word is not clear.
Most people, however, believe that flamenco palos which end in 'ngo' - tangos, milongas, zorongos and fandangos, are of African origin, strongly influenced by the slaves who arrived in Spain from Portugal and the Spanish colonies.
In both English and Spanish, a 'fandango' can also be an unnecessarily drawn out and elaborate process, a tribute to complexity of the dance.
Fandangos are the most universal of flamenco palos, and also the most romantic. 'The fandango carries with it all the arousals of voluptuousness,' Casanova wrote in 1768.
Verdiales
 |
Verdiales player with his traditional hat.
Verdiales, folkloric music and dances native to Malaga province, have an ancient history and a long legacy. Their history can be traced back to the Romans and before.
Dancing with hats and tambourines - a Roman link to verdiales.
Verdiales are danced with abandon, wearing extravagant floral hats which recall the style's roots in old ceremonies of rebirth and regeneration and the vegetation cults which once flourished throughout Europe.(verde = 'green' in Spanish.)
A British Morris dancer with his verdiales-style hat.
The present form originated with the Moorish occupation of Andalucía in the 8th century. British crusaders saw the same dances a couple of hundred years later and brought them back to England where they became Morris (Moorish) dances, sharing the same tambourines, floral hats, staves, flourishes and many of the steps.
 |
The Welsh/ English border Morris dances are closely related to the
verdiales style. The dancers' blackened faces reveal the
dance's African origins. |
Verdiales are also related to other ritual folk dances elsewhere in the world such as santiagos, moriscas, and matachinas of the Mediterranean and Latin America, and the calusari of Romania.
Verdiales are celebrated on December the 28th, just after the winter solstice. The tambourine is the oldest and most important instrument in the traditional verdiales ensemble, which is called a 'panda'.
Verdiales can be seen and heard here:
Fandangos
Adrián Brenes
 |
Fandangos of the 18th century
Fandangos developed during the seventeenth and eighteenth century as folkloric dances with an African influence and spread rapidly over the Spanish speaking world.
|
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, verdiales took influences from Gypsy and African musical styles and a new palo emerged - fandangos.
 |
Fandangos from the Basque country, depicted in the 1950s
Fandangos quickly became popular and there are fandango styles all over the Spanish-speaking world. Most of these are folkloric styles, but a flamenco fandangos also emerged as the flamenco genre gained popularity.
Jarocho fandangos from Mexico
Fandangos are tuneful and lyrical, a good test of a cantaor's style. They often have a free rhythm and many flamenco fandangos are sung but not danced.
 |
Cantaor Arcángel is well-known for his fandangos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeJcylN9Ey4
However, the fandangos of Huelva has a constant 12-beat rhythm, which is common in flamenco and easy to follow. If you've ever danced bulerías, alegrías and/or soleá and you know the song, this palo is a piece of cake. Another danceable fandango is the rondeña, from the town of Ronda.
A rondeña performed by the Compañia Ventura. Photo by Kelly Lawlor
Fandangos are often danced in a couple or in a group, but I remember that when I was a child, we danced in a semicircle, sometimes dancing together and then each of us taking solos.
 |
Fandangos festival at Almonaster la Real, Malaga province.
Fandangos is regarded as one of the minor flamenco palos, though naturally the people of Malaga and Huelva contest this classification.
 |
| Fandangos danced in Cuba |
The words I associate with fandangos are: tuneful, swinging, connected, harmonious and majestic. There’s no doubt than well-executed fandangos can delight an audience. Cristina Zájara and I included a rondeña in our production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and got a great reception.
Dancing in a Midsummer Night's Dream
Curiously though, fandangos are not as much in demand here in Cadiz as in other parts of Andalucía. I guess we just prefer our own alegrías and bulerías, but the Fandango is undoubtedly one of our great and international dance styles.
Folkloric fandangos on the island of Ibiza
La Lupi dances fandangos here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzkuKoG0KK4 |
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment