The bolero dance school is a very unique dance, scenic and scenographic expression, of a great baroque style and complexity in its execution that constitutes a variant of Spanish dance and drinks from the source of classical dance, brewing under the influences of the dances French and Italian courtiers of the 17th century and obtaining splendour in the 18th century, when it was consolidated, based on Spanish popular dances.
In the 19th century, bowling alleys were also known as Spanish dance or national dance, as it became one of the representative musical and dance expressions of the nationalist movement of the time. Although, at the same time, during this same century, the event experienced a curious mix with the so-called Andalusian dances, to the point of being synonymous with the Bowling School.
Flamenco dance is the result of the meeting of two dance schools: that of the bolero dancers and that of the Andalusian calés. A meeting that takes place, towards the middle of the 19th century, on the tables of the dance academies that offered public performances or rehearsals. A dialogue in which a transcendental fusion is forged in the history of dance: that of Andalusian bolero dances and gypsy dances.
The most accredited bowling alleys of the time and the Triana gypsy girls who were also already professionals in their art shared the poster. The gypsies would learn the arm movement, the technique, the handling of the sticks and, above all, the elegance of the bowling alleys; the bowling alleys the freshness and temperament of the gypsies. And between all of them they would configure the bases of what very shortly after began to be known as flamenco dance.
Among the bowling alleys that brought brilliance to this school, it is worth mentioning Amparo Álvarez la Campanera, Manuela Perea la Nena, Josefa Vargas and Pepita de la Olivalas.
Characteristics of the Bolera school
The characteristic features of the dances of the Bolera School are the grace, the elegance of their movements, the richness and difficulty of their steps, as well as the characteristic interpretation of dances with castanets. The codification of these dances implies the knowledge and mastery of a set of steps whose denominations configure a specific vocabulary of this school. Most of the great figures of current flamenco have included part of these steps in their dances.
The school’s repertoire is made up of two types of dances with two different techniques:
- Bolero dances: In these dances, jumps, turns and complicated footwork, braiding and lifting steps of enormous difficulty are executed.
- The stick dances: These dances are performed with shoes or chapines, they are danced at ground level and they are usually tapped.
The repertoire of steps comes from various sources. Most of the dances of this school retain their knowledge and technique thanks to the contribution of the Pericet saga and the compilation documentation works of characters such as Pierre Lacotte and Ann Hutchinson Guest who rescued the Cachucha, and the Jaleo de Jerez. and Flemming Ryberg, who recovered María Cristina’s zapateado. Very important, of course, is the work of Mariemma, as the main representative of this school and thanks to which we preserve many of her works, as well as the National Ballet of Spain, which continues to include this dance in its repertoire, and the Aída Gómez Dance Company, which continues to be successful with its show Let me dance you.
Current situation
Those boleros and Andalusian dances along with their stage designs that began to take shape on theatre stages in the 16th century, and in the 18th century were consolidated as such, obtaining great success, are currently experiencing difficult times due to their transmission and reproduction problems. on stage, especially in some forms of dance that are in disuse, and could disappear as has already happened with some of them. However, most of the dances of this school retain their knowledge and technique thanks to the contribution of the Pericet saga and the compilation documentation works of characters such as Pierre Lacotte and Ann Hutchinson Guest, who rescued the Cachucha and the Jaleo de Jerez, and Flemming Ryberg who recovered the zapateado of María Cristina.
Currently, the testimony of the Pericets occupies an outstanding place in this outreach work, materialized in the Aula Pericet of the Andalusian Dance Center and in the work: La Escuela Bolera Sevillana: Los Pericets, by Marta Carrasco Benítez. Ángel Pericet deserves recognition for his career, dedication and teaching, essential for maintaining a unique style of Andalusian and flamenco dance. Likewise, the work carried out by Mariemma is added, both on stage and in the classroom as a professor of Spanish Dance and director of the Royal Professional Conservatory of Dance in Madrid, whose legacy is preserved in the Mariemma Museum in her native town, Íscar ( Valladolid).
Dancing Giglio 