Flamenco is among the most well-known dances worldwide, with its passion, rhythm, and vibrancy. That’s why today, we want to introduce you to some of the best and most famous flamenco dancers of history. Each contributing by embodying this art form, capturing its essence and spirit in their own ways.

Joaquín Cortés

Joaquín Pedraja Reyes, better known as Joaquín Cortés, born in Córdoba in 1969 into a gypsy family, is a dancer, choreographer, director and producer. He has been listed among the best ten dancers of the 20th century by numerous international rankings.

He was admitted as a member of the National Ballet of Spain at 14 years old. With this company, he travelled to many cities around the world and by the age of 16 he was promoted to the category of soloist. He performed as a principal dancer until he was 19.

In 1988, he decided to leave the Spanish National Ballet and began to be invited to numerous galas, events, theatres, and shows in places like Paris, New York, Russia, Italy, and Tokyo. Being acclaimed by the critics and the public, he made his own company: Joaquín Cortés Ballet Flamenco and, in 1992, he created his first work “Cibayí”.

His style: spectacular, dramatic, and avant-garde but with details and flashes of a pure beauty.

Shōji Kojima

Shōji Kojima is a world-renowned Japanese flamenco dancer who was born in Tokushima, Japan, in 1939. His art and his roots have brought him to the top of the international flamenco world.

This flamenco master with Japanese roots is a graduate of Musashino Academia Musicae, where he studied vocal music, piano, classical ballet, modern dance and got to know the world of flamenco. In 1966 he moved to Spain via the Trans Siberian Railway, determined not to return to Japan until he became the best flamenco dancer.

Once settled in Madrid, he began learning flamenco. In 1967, he was elected a member of the Spanish National Ballet Company and toured the Soviet Union on the Spanish-Soviet cultural mission. Just the following year he was recognized by the cantaor Rafael Farina and debuted as the first dancer of a full-length show of the cantaor’s company.

Farruquito

Juan Manuel Fernández Montoya, known worldwide as Farruquito, is the son of flamenco singer Juan Fernández Flores “El Moreno”, and flamenco dancer Rosario Montoya Manzano, “La Farruca”.

Farruquito is heir to a unique school founded by his grandfather, so he was born and raised in the purest Flamenco art. His debut on the international scene was at the early age of 5, on Broadway with the show Flamenco Puro.

At 11 years old, he first appeared on television in the video “Camarón Nuestro” and then appeared in the next year’s movie by Carlos Saura’s “Flamenco,” alongside with his grandfather-El Farruco. In 1992, he engaged in the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics in Barcelona as a continuation of his artistic voyage. He also demonstrated his skills together with his grandfather at the Spanish Pavilion during the International Exhibition in Seville in a performance termed “Presente, pasado y futuro” (present, past and future).

The death of the patriarch in 1997 meant that Farruquito took over to perpetuate the lineage. Thus, when he was only 15 years old, he created his first show, Raíces Flamencas.

María Juncal

María Juncal is a leading flamenco dancer in Spain and around the world. She was born in 1981 in Palma de Gran Canaria.

She was born into a family of flamenco blood, the Borrull family, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. There she began her studies of Ballet and Classical Spanish Dance with the choreographer and prima ballerina of the Liceo de Barcelona; her great aunt Trini Borrull. She moved to Tenerife and worked with the Ballet de Cuba.

In Madrid, she studied with Flamenco masters El Güito, Ciro, Cristóbal Reyes, Merche Esmeralda, and La Tati and was part of El Güito’s company, touring Spain and France and finally moving to Manolete’s company. She is a soloist in the USA with the National Theatre of NY and performs in Boston, Chicago, Kansas, New York, and Minnesota, among others.

She starred in Musa Gitana, directed by Paco Peña in Europe and China, and worked as assistant director and soloist in the show España Baila Flamenco by Cristóbal Reyes.

Sara Baras

Sara Pereyra Baras, born in San Fernando, Cádiz, on April 1971, is known as Sara Baras; Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer and director of her own dance company.

This great dancer began her artistic training in San Fernando in the school of Concha Baras, her mother and first flamenco teacher. It was precisely with the dance group directed by her mother and the work Los Niños de la tertulia with which she made her stage debut. It was a time when the artist from Cadiz shared the stage with greats such as Camarón de la Isla.

The company of Manuel Morao, and the television program Gente Joven in which she won the first prize at the age of 18 came later. But it was when she decided to complete her training in Madrid that Sara Baras began to perform regularly, surrounded by other outstanding dancers.

The National Dance Award 2003 and the Gold Medal of Andalusia 2004 are some of the many awards that figure in the career of this spectacular artist.

Antonio Canales

Born on December, 1961 in Seville, known as the birthplace of flamenco music, Antonio Gómez de los Reyes, better known as Antonio Canales, comes from a lineage of artists. He spent several years dedicated to dancing in the National Ballet before becoming a soloist. He left the National Ballet and went to Paris, where he became a member of Maguy Marín’s ballet. In addition, he served as a lead choreographer of the Versalia festival in the city of Italy during that time.

He is a world-renowned dancer who participated in about fifty creations as the main dancer and was present at various international galas. In the 80’s and 90’s, he won awards for his In 1992, Antonio took a pivotal step by establishing his own dance company. A debut in Bilbao featured mesmerizing choreography.

So there you are, some of our top picks on some of the best flamenco dancers, we hope you found them inspiring.

Cover image by by byungjei Lim from Pixabay

Spanish Dances article by Tanya, a dancer who lives in Spain.

The warm, cheerful, and picturesque streets of Spain contain many wonders for anyone who wants to visit them. There is a very rich and diverse culture, and you can get to know so much of this by seeing these traditional Spanish dances – as we’ll introduce you to now.

List of top 10 Spanish dances:

If you have had the opportunity to walk through Seville, Madrid and Barcelona, you have surely seen the famous Tablaos that offer Flamenco shows. But there are so many other beautiful Spanish dances, as we’ll cover in this article, from the Gypsy communities of the south to the Celtic costumes of Galicia.

1. Sevillanas

Previously called “Seguidillas”, they are a dance (and a music style) that’s typical of Andalusia, mainly in Seville, Cadiz, and Huelva. Sevillanas are danced in pairs, and they have a very festive nature.

This Spanish dance originated from La Mancha, but when it came in contact with Andalusian music, it became ‘flamencoized’, and movements from the Bolero dance were added; so it’s not strictly a Flamenco branch but a proper, individual classical dance.

The Sevillanas are an emblem of the famous Feria de Sevilla and of the pilgrimages of Huelva, in festivities like Virgen de la Cabeza (in Jaén).

2. Sardana

The origins of this dance are still uncertain and not really traceable. Some say that Sardanas are as old as the ancient Roman times, but most seem to agree that it was spread in Catalan regions like Roselló and Empordà during the 19th century. This dance, as time passed, became a symbol of the Catalan identity, step by step.

It is a Spanish dance performed in alternating circles of dancing women and men who hold hands and dance to a Cobla, a live band of eleven musicians. This dance, like Sevillanas, is performed during celebrations and public gatherings.

3. Paso Doble

spanish dancing_paso doble_competition — Photo by Ailura, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT, via Wikimedia Commons

Paso Doble is one of the most popular Spainish dances. At its true origin, even though is it is actually French, was a fast-paced march used by the infantry troops of the Spanish military, and goes by 120 steps per minute (which is the double of the standard unit, thus its name of “double step”). The pace is based on the movement and rhythm of a bullfight.

The military march was responsible for the origin of the modern Spanish dance that was used in 18th-century comedies and ballroom dances, often performed in pairs of one woman and one man, him symbolizing the bullfighter (el matador). In our modern times, it’s also a musical genre that has instruments and voices, as well as a version of instrumental music used during bullfights.

4. Fandango

If you are into dance, you have probably heard of this name at least once. Its origin is not actually as a Spanish dance, and according to the Diccionario de Autoridades of 1732, during that time, it was a “dance introduced by those who had visited the kingdoms of the Indias”, thus implying that its real origin is from Hispano-America.

By the 19th century, the Fandango embraced many aspects of the Andalusian Fandangos, and gave origin to the “fandango aflamencao” nowadays considered one the most elemental flamenco palos. This dance has more variations than any other flamenco dance. It’s a big part of the traditions of the Basque Country, Asturias, Valencia, Catalonia, and Portugal too.

This dance is fast-paced and is performed by couples. It has some similarities to boleros, and it’s usually danced with castanets, guitars, and hand-clapping, which makes it a very lively and festive performance.

5. Muñeira

Muñeira Spanish Dancer — Photo by Pieterjan Grobler Via Flikrr https://www.flickr.com/photos/krypty/

The Muñeira (Galician for “miller”) originates from Galicia and is often danced there and other Spanish autonomous communities like Asturias, and Castilla y León (which borders Galicia). In other regions of the country, this dance is called “Gallegada”.
The Muñeira is an example of the Celtic influence on the local culture of Spain, and the most evident parallel with Celtic music is a type of bagpipe called gaita, used to perform the accompanying music. The rest of the instruments are tamborils, bass drums, tambourines, conchas and charrascos.

Apparently, there is no documentation of this dance that goes prior to the 16th century, and nowadays it is an instrumental dance. The name makes reference to the working days in the mills and the spare time that went with the waiting for the milling.

6. Bolero

Bolero dance painting. Spanish dances — Marcelle Lender Dancing the Bolero in Chilpéric (1895-1896) painting in high resolution by Henri de Toulouse–Lautrec. Original from National Gallery of Art. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

The origin of Bolero traces back to Cuba, but it is also a very popular dance in Spain. It emerged from the Sevillana and La Contradanza during the crepuscule of the 18th and the early 19th century, more specifically during the years of 1750 and 1772, and became a very popular dance in Murcia, Madrid, Andalusia, and La Mancha.

It has a moderate slow tempo (thus, it is moderately paced) and it is usually performed as solo or with a partner, accompanied by castanets, guitars, and lyrics from the Seguidilla. It has somewhat fallen out of fashion but still holds a very important place in the history of Spanish dances.

7. Zambra

The Zambra (a word that comes from the Arabic Hispanic term “zámra” and “zamr” from classic Arabic and which means “tocata”) is a palo flamenco that originated from the gypsies of Granada in Andalusia, and it was performed at gypsy weddings. There’s the belief that Zambra is a continuation of Moorish dances, as it holds similarities with Arabian belly dance.

This is danced barefoot, with the dancer revealing her stomach by knotting her blouse under her chest. It was prohibited in Spain during the 16th century due to political reasons because Philip II wanted to wipe out traces of culture that didn’t belong to the Catholic religion. It was danced in clandestinity and taken back during the 20th and 21st centuries by known dancers such as Lola Flores.

Gypsies are still dancing it, for them and even for the tourists in the caves of Almeria and the Caves of the Sacromonte Hill in Granada.

8. Zarzuela

La Zarzuela is not precisely a dance style. It is a genre that mixes sung and spoken scenes while incorporating popular and opera-like songs, as well as dancing. A lyrical performance, if you’d like. The etymology of the word is said to come from the Palace of Zarzuela near Madrid, as the entertainment type presented to the court was of a similar fashion to that of the Zarzuela.

It’s traced back to the 17th century and became popular during the 19th century because of the Zarzuela Theatre (located in Madrid) and the work of Francisco Barbieri, a a Spanish composer and musicologist. The Zarzuela fell out of grace during the civil war and was retaken during the decade of the 50’s to the 60’s. It is still being performed nowadays across all of Spain.

Watch an hour long Zarzuela performance – it really is quite the spectacle.

9. Jota

The Jota is a music genre and a dance style as well. It originated in Aragon and has different versions according to the region it is performed like Asturias, La Rioja, Eastern Andalusia, León, and many others, reflecting the local culture of each place.

The Aragonese Jota can be dated back to the 18th century and became more popular during the 19th century, which gave laboriously choreographed versions for festivals, movies, zarzuelas, and contests.

In is purest forms, this dance is kind of complex, as it has small jumps and rapid foot movements. It also is a visual representation, thus accompanied by singers, castanets and the dancers usually wear regional costumes. The most original and pure form of this dance is still found in places like Zaragoza, Andorra, Calanda, and Albacete.

10. Flamenco

Female Flamenco Dancer in full dancing. — A Flamenco dancer Photo by Alexander Jawfox on Unsplash

And last but not least, we have Flamenco, the heart of the most famous cultural export of Spanish Heritage. This is more than a dance style, it’s actually more of an art form, to the point of being given recognition by the UNESCO as part of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage.

Flamenco comes from a myriad of folkloric traditions from Southern Spain, and it was made and developed by the Gypsies of Andalusia, and was present in Murcia and Extremadura.

The Romani Gypsies made a significant contribution to the professionalization of Flamenco, but the unique Andalusian style has contributions by both non-gypsy and gypsy heritages. The oldest record of Flamenco music traces back to the book of Las Cartas Marruecas by José Cadalso in 1774.

Flamenco was originally a form of political protest, and that is the origin of the famous tablaos. Franco Spanishized it by taking it away from the gypsies, prohibiting its lyrics, dance form, and giving it a different tinge to the original. However, the indelible mark of the gypsies could never be eliminated, and although it is one of the best know Spanish dances, it is recognized and known today that it has gypsy and Arab origins.

Famous flamenco dancers