Guitar accompaniment to flamenco dance: the case of the escobillas of soleá and alegrías

Abstract

The dance escobillas are sequences of zapateados that are part of some flamenco dances. The flamenco guitar accompanies these zapateados with sequences also called escobillas, mostly belonging to the repertoire of the so-called falsetas. Two of these escobillas are considered fundamental in both the flamenco touch and the dance: those for soleá and alegrías. This article addresses the study of the traditional falsetas that accompany the soleá escobillas and alegrías under the premise that, although they have not always been identified as such in the score, but generally transmitted orally from generation to generation, it is possible to trace its origins in creations and compilations of academic authors. For both styles we have found antecedents in scores that we present throughout this work.