Cante
The song, the heart of flamenco. From the deep, aching cante jondo to festive songs, it guides the whole show.
Guide
Discover flamenco
History, palos, compás and tips: a short guide to understand, feel and enjoy your evening at the tablao.
The pillars
What you’ll see on stage
Baile
The dance: arm work, gaze, zapateado (footwork) and silences. The dancer converses with the song and the guitar.
Toque
The flamenco guitar, percussive and virtuosic, carries the rhythm and answers the song with its falsetas.
Palmas & jaleo
Hand-clapping and shouts of encouragement (¡Olé!, ¡Eso es!) keep the compás and energise the artists.
First time?
Our tips for your evening
Book ahead
Tablaos are small and fill up fast, especially at weekends and during festivals.
Arrive 15–20 minutes early
Seats are often allocated on arrival, and you’ll have time for a drink.
Don’t clap along
Palmas follow a precise compás: leave them to the artists. A heartfelt “¡Olé!”, however, is always welcome.
Silence during the cante
The most intense moments are often the quietest. Enjoy them without talking.
Photos without flash
Most tablaos allow a few photos without flash. Videos are often forbidden: ask first.
Open your heart
You don’t need to understand everything. Flamenco is felt: let the duende come.
History
Centuries in a few dates
- 15th–18th c.
The roots
In Andalusia, Gitano, Andalusi, Jewish and Castilian traditions meet. From this blend comes a deep song, handed down within families.
- 1842
The first café cantante
In Seville, the cafés cantantes open: halls where people come to hear singers and dancers. Flamenco becomes a professional performance.
- 1922
The Cante Jondo Contest
In Granada, Manuel de Falla and Federico García Lorca organise a contest to preserve the purest song.
- 1950–1960
The age of the tablaos
Modern tablaos are born in Madrid, Seville and Barcelona. The great dancers forge their legends there.
- 1970–1980
The revolution
Paco de Lucía and Camarón de la Isla transform guitar and song, opening flamenco to the whole world.
- 2010
World Heritage
UNESCO inscribes flamenco on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The palos
The styles of flamenco
Each palo has its own rhythm (compás), mode and character. Click to see its compás in motion.
Bulerías
The palo of Jerez par excellence: fast, playful and full of improvisation. Often the grand finale of the show.
The “mother” of flamenco. A slow, majestic 12-beat rhythm that expresses gravity and solitude.
From Cádiz, a joyful song in a major key. Perfect for the bata de cola and the shawl.
One of the deepest songs, with an irregular rhythm, expressing pain and mourning.
A catchy, danceable 4-beat binary compás, hugely popular in Triana and Granada.
Songs from Huelva and Málaga in triple time, where the voice unfolds freely.
The dance of the Seville Fair, in pairs and in four parts. Anyone can learn it!
The slow, majestic cousin of the tangos, with great dramatic intensity.
Mini glossary
The words of flamenco
- Duende
- The intense, almost magical emotion that seizes both artist and audience.
- Compás
- The rhythmic cycle specific to each palo.
- Tablao
- A flamenco venue, named after its wooden stage (tablas).
- Zapateado
- The rhythmic footwork of the dance.
- Falseta
- A melodic phrase played by the guitarist between verses.
- Bata de cola
- A dress with a long train that the dancer sends flying.
- Jaleo
- Shouts of encouragement to the artists: ¡Olé!, ¡Arsa!, ¡Eso es!
- Cante jondo
- “Deep song”, the most serious and ancient form of flamenco.