Last weekend I had a great time working with a group of flamenco guitarists taking a series of workshops from Francisco Antonio organised by  the Peña de Londres. They had been studying Solea for a few weeks and were ready to apply their skills and accompany a dancer for the first time. Tony and I took them through the basics of the discussions that dancer and guitarist would normally have at the outset – how many letras (verses); how the entrada (entrance; opening) would lead into the llamada (call) for the singer; where the escobilla (specific footwork section) would be positioned; how to transition into the bulerias and so on. We then went on and all performed solea together – with a very satisfying result!

It made me remember what a minefield it can feel like when you first pluck up courage to take what you have been learning and try to fit in it with other dancers, guitarists and singers without descending into complete chaos. Unless you work together for a while and rehearse regularly to a very specific routine, you will always need to be able to ask the right questions and pick up the right signals (those of you who know me will know how much I hate over-rehearsed “formation flamenco” that follows the same path every time – but more of that on a separate post……)  and perhaps the following tips will help all you rookie guitarists:

•  DO NOT imagine that all dancers are god-like and know everything.  This is a myth that we like to encourage but which is generally untrue. There are some prima donnas around (and not only dancers – guitarist and singers too) but most flamenco performers worth their salt are there to encourage, support and help. We will not bite your head off!
• DO  have the courage to ask questions at the outset to understand the shape of the dance (number of letras, rough position of llamadas and so on. You have the right to have a general idea of what is going to happen in advance. The idea is for all participants to work together to create a flamenco performance – it is not a competition.
• DO NOT ask questions using technical words about key changes, finger positions, modes or other guitar-speak. Most dancers will not understand such stuff and may feel the need to hide their general ignorance under a mask of pretended superiority.
• DO bear with us if we try to explain what we mean in very non-technical terms. Few flamenco steps have names and so we have to rely on descriptive phrases such as “I’ll stick a call in after the diddly-diddly-dum step”.  A physical demonstration generally helps so just ask us to show you what we mean.
• DO listen and take note of the palmas marked by the dancer (and singer) at the beginning of a dance. This is, in part, there to help set the tempo that we want to follow and, contrary to popular opinion, not only to make sure the audience is looking at us.
• DO watch the dancer closely to pick up the signals that indicate a llamada or change to a different section. Hopefully these will not come just at the time you are picking out your new and most complicated falsetta – the one which requires your full and undivided attention. To begin with these signals may include waving one arm in the air; a general wind-milling movement with the skirt, a steely glare at the guitarist and/or a strangled shriek. Hopefully, as you get to know each other better, a rather more subtle approach can be adopted.  [One of the first guitarists I worked with once told me that he could tell when I was about to call a change just by watching my posterior. However, as I later discovered that his mind was definitely on things other than llamadas while eyeing my nether regions, may I recommend watching the dancer's feet as a safer bet...]
• DO watch and listen to the dancer to pick up on changes in tempo. These generally indicate speeding up to reach towards a crescendo, but can also include a desire to drop the speed slowly. However……,
• DO NOT take a slight increase in the tempo to indicate the beginning of a frenzied hurtle towards the finishing post. Dancers will often want to bring up the speed a little but then hold it at that point in order to fit in their favourite piece of complicated choreography before continuing the build up at a later stage. This is an important point -  all too often I have encountered guitarists who, given a whiff of freedom, allow the blood to rush to their heads and it’s “chocks away chaps, and the last one home is a sissy”.  We do not like this. We do not like it at all and may well become all god-like and bite off more than your head.
• DO feel free to make suggestions. If you have favourite falsettas you want to use, put them in. Contrary to what some people think, good dancers do also listen to the music and working with an inspirational guitarist is wonderful. What you play will encourage the dancer to use steps and shapes that compliment the music, and this is what real, living flamenco is all about. However, use this freedom to make suggestions with caution. Get to know your dancer extremely well before you even think of being less than ecstatic about costume choices. We need to know we look wonderful at all times.
• DO NOT expect the dance to be exactly the same every time. Apart from the times when you work with a group that uses very precise and exact choreography, things will change – there will not always be an identical number of compas between the end of the letra and the llamada for example. As I have said before, I feel strongly that real flamenco is a moving feast that grows and changes each time depending on performers and mood. It keeps you on your toes, but is all the better for that.
• DO be prepared to act as diplomat and elder statesman when there is also a singer involved. Now, they really ARE gods! Don’t ask me how you manage to balance your own needs with those of cante and baile – you guitarists are amazing when you get it right.
• DO enjoy yourself! The feeling that comes from having been part of the creation of a piece of living flamenco that was special to that moment simply cannot be beaten.

Sandra La Espuelita