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Soleá
Why is it used?
It is a serious style, which seeks the catharsis of the artist and the public by alluding to memories that generate grief or internal conflict.
Thematic
It is a style whose name reflects the feeling of loneliness and introspection that it imprints. The lyrics used in this cante usually refer to the grief caused by loss -not necessarily referring to death-.
Costumes
The costumes used are dark and sober, helping to introduce us into the atmosphere generated by the soleá. In general, we will find few accessories in this dance.
How is it performed?
Like most flamenco dances, the soleá is divided into two parts. A first part that introduces the style and a second part that serves to end the dance -in this case, the bulerías or jaleos-.
We are going to witness a very solemn and stopped dance in which the feeling instilled by the soleá is going to be present in every gesture and movement of the performer.
A little bit of history
The soleá is one of the most characteristic dances of the flamenco genre as it brings together all the essential elements of its aesthetics. However, this does not make it the oldest dance of this genre. The latest theories argue that these elements of the soleá were taken from another, older dance; the alegrías.
As a palo (style), we can justify its existence as a process of “gitanisation” of popular tunes during the early 19th century. This process became a fashion at the time, laying the aesthetic-musical foundations for the melodies of this and other styles such as the caña or the seguiyiras.
On the other hand, the dance has its antecedents in the “boleras de jaleo ” which at the beginning of the 19th century presented steps and elements that we can associate with the pre-flamenco stage. From these “jaleos” will derive the dance we know today, which, historically speaking, is recent. It was standardised by the dancer Rosario ‘La Mejorana’ at the end of the 19th century.
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