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- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Basque dances.They’ve got over 400, but the best-known dances from the
Basque lands feature blokes dressed in white with red berets and
cummerbunds. Sometimes they wield swords or sticks and, more often
than not, are pulling off spectacularly high kicks. Each part of the Basque
lands has its own variants.
Seguidilla. Apparently it began in La Mancha, but today, this triple-time
dance for pairs has versions throughout much of Spain.The feet tend to
go crazy but the upper body remains fairly unmoved.
El Corri-Corri. One of many Asturian folk dances, this one comes from the
east of the region. One man is approached by six or more women bearing
laurel branches, and, as he might, leaps about in the air.The ladies then
respond by forming small circles on either side of him.
Flamencodancing
Purists might bang on about the music and song, but you can’t deny
flamenco’smost visual attribute is dance. Like the music (see section
4.1.2. for more), the dance probably has Indian origins, brought west by
migrant gypsies. Led by the differentpalosof the music, it has countless
derivations, most feeding off other folksy dances.Thefandangois typical;
today it’s often considered a form offlamenco, but dig a bit deeper and you
find its origins in thejota. If you wander into the right kind of tourist bar in
Cadiz or see some troupe dancing what looks likeflamencooutside the
station in Barcelona, you’ve probably found another amalgam, thesevillana,
a more accessible cousin of the original.The basic, soloflamencodance,
el baile flamencoas it’s known, has certain fundamental characteristics. For
starters, it’s not choreographed but improvised along to thepalosof choice.
Arms are swept around the head, the body twirls and, most significantly,
the feet (balls and heels please) stamp out a rhythm on the floor. When
done properly thebaileis spirited but also unexpectedly restrained, born of
grace not – despite the facial contortions – tortured angst.
