Discover How to Dance Flamenco Rumba in an Online Flamenco Course
- Why are you interested in learning to dance rumba flamenca?
- Where did the rumba flamenca originate?
- What is rumba flamenca
- How to dance the flamenco rumba: male, female
- How to learn to dance with online flamenco rumba flamenca dance lessons
Why are you interested in learning to dance rumba flamenca?
Let me start by saying that everything I share with you will always be from the point of view of my own training and experience, after more than 28 years as a teacher or from my experiences as an advanced amateur and passionate flamenco dancer.
I am convinced that learning to dance rumba flamenca will help you a lot to increase your motivation and your self-esteem in front of the mirror.
First of all, because its rhythm, its sound, its beat is full of life. Think that the rumba flamenca is a flamenco palo of Latin American origin, festive style, very lively, with cheerful lyrics that will encourage you to uninhibited dancing.
Rumba flamenca will make you move your whole body, especially your shoulders and hips, which I often joke in class that this must be very good for opening all the chakras, at least that’s how I feel, that I have the sensation of letting go, of unlocking our feminine sensuality when dancing.
Where did the rumba flamenca originate?
This style of flamenco music and dance, the rumba flamenca, as its name suggests, originated when flamenco was mixed with the Cuban rumba.
We could say that the origin of the rumba flamenca is the result of the aflamencamiento of the Cuban rhythms that the Spaniards who traveled from Spain to Cuba, imported from Cuba to Spain.
Hence the name of the songs and dances back and forth.
For a bit of context, let’s think that in the 19th century there was a lot of commercial and cultural exchange, of merchants, workers, bullfighters or singers, among others, who traveled frequently between the ports of Cadiz and Seville and the ports of Havana.
My mother tells me that this is how my grandfather, José Fernández Castro, for example, who was an insurance agent and from a very young age traveled with his family to Cuba, lived like this. In fact, I am very proud to know that he and his brother Antonio were members of the first Board of Directors of the Andalusian Center of Havana in 1919.
The rumba flamenca, according to sources consulted, began to form as a flamenco form towards the end of the 19th century, when singers and guitarists translated or adopted the sounds of the guaracha, son and rumba guaguancó to the flamenco guitar and palmas (hand clapping).
And let’s not forget another key instrument, discovered by Paco de Lucía in 1987 in Peru: the cajón.
The castanets can also be played to the rhythm of rumba flamenca, although it is perhaps less common.
What is rumba flamenca
Now we can answer with more sense to the question of what is a flamenco rumba. I would define it as the festive union of singing, guitar playing, clapping, cajón and dancing, to the sound of a 4×4 meter, with a lot of flamenco duende and Cuban flavor.
How to dance the flamenco rumba: men and women
As I see it, you don’t need great flamenco dance technique, no large repertoire of steps, but rather, a lot of feeling, feeling deeply the compás and the sense of this union of singing, guitar and dance.
You need it to “burn you up inside” to start dancing. At least, that’s what a song by Los Chichos, one of my favorite flamenco rumba groups, transmits to me.
In fact, when my friends Pepe or Jesús Tomé sing for Los Chichos at the flamenco club in Marbella, I can’t resist. I need to get up from my chair and start dancing a pataíta por rumba.
In theory, it is very free to dance the flamenco rumba. You can do a start, a basic marking, a remate and a simple recogida.
Men and Women in Flamenco Rumba
Both a man and a woman can dance the flamenco rumba. What will obviously change is the style, more masculine or more feminine, depending on how each person feels.
Women in Rumba Flamenca
And, of course, in the female case, don’t forget to feel and live the sensuality of the hip movements of the rumba flamenca. In fact, I believe this helps us to balance our chakras.
Dancing the Rumba Flamenca as a Couple
The rumba flamenca, like the sevillanas and the bulerias of Jerez, can also be danced as a couple. Bearing in mind that one will lead the other out, they will dance facing each other and will gather in the same place together, with the possibility of the man throwing his arm over the woman’s shoulder.
One last point, especially if you are at a party: go out to dance rumba flamenca, dance and relax. Sometimes we forget and we stay on “the dance floor” in the center without realizing that there may be more people wanting to go out and dance and that they will not interrupt your dance and will wait for you to finish dancing your pataíta for rumba flamenca, but make sure it is that and not a complete dance “almost choreographed” (this already has another scenario, another objective and another audience).
How to learn to dance with online flamenco rumba flamenca dance lessons
Well, as you can see, I have mentioned before what could be a basic structure to go out to dance at a party a simple pataíta for rumba flamenca, but of course, here we are limited to mere theory in text.
With your permission, I encourage you to try my classes to learn to dance flamenco online for free 3 days. I will be happy to help you understand the basics with video tutorials in which I easily explain how to learn to dance rumba flamenca online.
And after studying the theory with me, I propose to motivate you to rehearse and dance with me with the video tutorials of performance with a flamenco rumba compás base, which will help you a lot, especially if you are a beginner in flamenco dance and then I encourage you to dare to dance with some flamenco rumba songs, with those that I share with you in my Online Flamenco Rumba Course or with other songs that you like.
I hope I have helped you to get to know flamenco rumba a little better and to be inspired by it. I will have accomplished my mission if I have managed to encourage you to become a fan, learn and dare to dance flamenco.
For me these are magic words: if you feel a passion for flamenco dancing, it will motivate you to learn and will help you to increase your self-esteem and motivation to dare to dance flamenco and share your passion with other people.
I think this is the key to the passion I feel for flamenco dancing.
