Ricardo -> RE: Flamenco Puro & the trinity balance... (May 13 2006 7:39:43)
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Flamenco is most powerful with all three elements. But it can certainly stand on the "leg" of any of the 3. Solo cante, solo baile, solo guitar. For the general audience of the world, an hour and a half of solo guitar is acceptable, but an hour of ONLY cante or ONLY baile?. But for the die hard flamenco, ONLY cante is fine, even all night. Many cante aficionados get bored easily with solo guitar. Dancing without music/cante for anything more than a single number or improvised footwork, is kind of strange. But the idea that all 3 elements have strength on their own, makes the group as a whole very special. In Andalucia it is always voice and guitar, and that is it most of the time interms of flamenco perfomance. Maybe one cameo dance segment. Almost no guitar solo concerts. But the real spectacle for the world outside Spain is the whole package with dancer out front, even with several dancers on stage. Pecking order really comes from who is the most famous or most knowleadgeable of the group. If any of the group of 3 is "weak", the overall group would benefit with just the other 2. A bad guitarist does not help a strong dancer and singer, in fact it even could ruin a juerga. Likewise a bad singer is just "there" to fill in the spot where the letra goes in a dance show. So in that way I do see it as a balance, in terms of performance. But at the heart of flamenco are the SONG forms. That means the foundation is the singing. That is why the emphasis on cante and it's importance. The dancer dances to the song, the guitarist harmonizes, the singer just sings. Rhythm, harmony, melody. Imagine the Beatles. Imagine if their music was ONLY instrumentals. Imagine if they never used guitar or drums/bass, only sang acapella. Imagine all the people.... Ricardo
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