Flamenco dance. Characteristics, resources and reflections on its evolution

Abstract

Flamenco is a way of life which is born from the necessity of a population to express itself. Due to the great impact which flamenco dance has had in recent years, it has become widely known and practised around the word. In 2010 flamenco reached a status that was never thought possible when it was named as a World Heritage Treasure. Because of this and the huge impact of flamenco in our time, the need to research this art is clearly justified. All types of dance truthfully reflect culture and society. Flamenco is no exception. The aim of this article is to clarify the most usual gestures and technical abilities of flamenco dance which preserve its essence as well as to favour an autonomous learning of flamenco. For this purpose an analysis of both the origins of flamenco and its main features and terminology has been developed. Subsequently, sources available for the improvement, development and learning of flamenco have been established, with a particular focus on technological sources. Finally, this article develops some final thoughts and reflections about the situation of flamenco and the problems it faces in different fields, the factors contributing to it and some proposals for its development.