| PRESENT AND FUTURE OF FLAMENCO |
| The future of flamenco is a great challenge: what will happen to it in the next
few years? At present, there is already plenty of fusion, cross-breeding,
and new instruments which come from genres such as jazz, salsa,
bossa nova, or from ethnic sounds that have different roots
and regions of origin. In this field, the bands Pata Negra
and Ketama, and later Navajita Plateá, have been the pioneers.
Jazzmen like Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent and Chano Domínguez
have also made a very important contribution. There is a marked
division between the opinions of purists, and those of evolutionists
who favour innovation |
| The guitar |
| Nowadays, the guitar may be acquiring excessive prominence in flamenco. However,
it is this instrument that has had the greatest effect and
has developed the most within this art form, particularly if
one considers that until the mid-twentieth century, the guitar
playing lay in the background. However, at present, it is not
uncommon to witness concerts that only feature guitar playing.
Paco de Lucía started off this innovative period, and he has
been the flamenco musician who has become most popular worldwide.
His personal style has created a tradition, and he has been
followed by other great guitarists like Cañizares, Riqueni,
Tomatito and Vicente Amigo. |
| The dancing |
| Today, the bailaor (flamenco dancer) is more of a ballet dancer than was the
case in the past, and this has been at the expense of depth.
Matilde Coral argues that the technique has eaten up the artistry.
Antonio Canales, Joaquín Cortés, Belén Maya, Israel Galván
and Sara Baras have introduced elements of innovation and research
into their dancing, and they have triumphed on stages at both
a national and an international level. There is also another
generation that keeps up the high quality, orthodox style of
dancing. It includes Javier Barón, El Mistela, Javier LaTorre,
Eva La Yerbabuena, Juan Ramírez, Joselito Fernández, Antonio
El Pipa, Farruquito. |
| The singing |
Some people believe that the eagerness to innovate and excessive orchestration
have made flamenco singing lose authenticity, making it more
commercial. Nonetheless, they have brought younger people
who considered it an obsolete genre closer to flamenco. Camarón
de la Isla and Enrique Morente have been the main innovators
in the last twenty years. The first brought together musical
elements from different milieus such as rock, salsa and pop
music, and he introduced instruments that were very far removed
from flamenco, like the drum kit and bass guitar, into songs
that belong to the traditional palos (forms). In this way,
he managed to attract a sizeable young audience to flamenco.
However, it was Enrique Morente who, at sixty years of age,
led the trend known as “new flamenco” or “young flamenco”.
In his latest offerings, he is returning to flamenco roots.
 Continue reading:
Understanding flamenco
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You
can start dancing straight away
Finding a jersey, skirt, fan, or dance school is easier than you think:
the technique can be learnt, but only you can put the magic into it.
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"Flamencoing"in
Madrid
Madrid is undoubtedly the flamenco capital: schools, tablaos, taverns,
bars and festivals. Everything that you mustn´t miss out on.
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Choose
the best skirt
The skirt
shapes your figure and highlights your movements.
Here you can learn how to pick the one that suits
you best.
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