The Key to Dancing Well With the Cante in Flamenco | The Weekly Letra
Looking for bulerías music to practice your ‘dancing with the cante’ skills with?
I’ve got you covered!
The video below offers you over eight minutes of bulerías music, including several letras, to practice to.
Wondering how to dance to the cante?
I have some ideas for you.
In today’s post I share the key to dancing well with the cante along with an activity you can do from home to strengthen your ability to do so,
But before we get to that,
Here is one of the many letras you’ll hear José Mercé sing in the video:
Bulerías*
Por allí vienen los tres
La Paquera, Terremoto,
y el Sordera de Jerez
Here come the three of them
La Paquera, Terremoto,
and el Sordera de Jerez
La Paquera, Terremoto, and el Sordera de Jerez were three very influential and iconic singers from Jerez.
Listen to Jose Mercé sing the letra at about 7:45 in the video below:
Dancing bulerías…
In order to really dance bulerías well,
We need to understand the cante.
I don’t mean understand the meaning of the words of the letras;
I mean understand the structure of a letra and what the melody has to say.
We need to be able to identify certain components,
most importantly,
The caida,
the resolve of the letra or the line.
Hearing and responding to the caida is an advanced skill and the key to dancing well with the cante.
So, how do we get there?
Step One:
Identify the caida.
If you’re unsure of how to do so, this post will help.
The caída happens at the end of a phase when the singer resolves.
Normally the melody goes down here.
To learn to identify the caida,
Listen (and re-listen) to a lot of letras!
What does it sound like when the singer finishes a line?
Can you tell when they come to the end of a line?
Step Two:
Respond to the caida.
When you hear the singer resolve,
Do an enganche or a remate*.
This shows that you’re listening and paying attention.
This is part of “conversing” with the singer.
(*Note: You don’t have to respond every time you hear a caida.)
Let’s practice…
An Activity for You:
Here’s an activity you can do from home to practice listening for and responding to the caida.
Play the video above.
Dance by doing whatever marcajes (marking steps) you feel.
When you hear José Mercé resolve, respond with an enganche or a remate.
Continue marking and responding for the rest of the video.
This is one of my favorite exercises to get better at responding to the singing and improvising.
Even if you do only one type of marcaje and one enganche throughout, you will benefit.
Even if you miss every caida or don’t quite know what the caida is yet, you will benefit.
Trust me.
Want to Go Deeper?
If you want to go deeper or would like more support, join me for an online class.
*A note on today’s letra:
I believe this is a traditional verse, but I’m not sure. If you know, please comment below!