Seguiriya

Why is it used?

This style is performed by artists when they want to transmit a feeling of sorrow through dance, singing or guitar playing. As it is a palo ( style) that reflects pain, it has a cathartic function in the structure of the flamenco show.

Thematic

This style is characterised by its identification with specific feelings such as mourning, grief or loss due to death. Through the dance these feelings are translated and exalted, which are inspired by the singing.

Costumes

The colours will be dark and sober, imitating the mourning we want to represent. We can observe in the female costumesthe use of dresses or trousers, depending on the performer.

Normally this dance is performed without accessories although, if we want to add majesty, we can use a bata de cola or castanets.

How is it performed?

In this dance we will observe a predominance in the use of the zapateado (or footwork) in harmony with the smooth movement of the arms and the heartbreaking interpretation in the dancer’s gestures.

A little bit of history

The origins of this cante can be traced back to the first half of the 19th century, when it was known as playeras. The most widespread theory explains that this name comes from the plañideras; women (mostly gypsies) who were hired to attend a funeral and mourn or sing at it.

However, we cannot speak of seguiriyas as a flamenco style until the second half of the 19th century, when they were adapted to flamenco musical codes through contact with other so-called “gypsy” songs. Regarding the dance, we can affirm that it is a recent style, since it was attributed to Vicente Escudero in 1939.

Event location

• Cardamomo Tablao Flamenco
• Calle Echegaray, 15
• 28014 Madrid
• +34 918 05 10 38
• reservas@cardamomo.com