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Cheat Sheet for Flamenco Dancers

¡Bienvenid@ to the Online Flamenco Studio!

A simple guide with everything you need to know about flamenco dance!

  • forms, Elements & Techniques

  • Compás

  • Palos

  • Flamenco Structure

  • Flamenco Vocabulary

Forms of Flamenco

  • Casera (home-style) means the kind of flamenco you’ll find at homes danced by non professionals at parties or juergas.
  • Peña Flamenca is a private organization or club dedicated to flamenco. They have shows that are more informal for their members.
  • Tablao Flamenco which is the type performed at the flamenco restaurants or clubs. These are small venues and tend to be improvised, although there may be some rehearsal for ongoing shows.
  • Teatro (theater) are the big flamenco productions that you see touring with company dancers, a choreographer and many musicians.

Elements of Flamenco

  • Cante - singing (cantaor/a)
  • Toque/Guitarra - guitar (el/la guitarrista)
  • Baile - dance (bailaor/a)
  • Cajón - wooden percussion box (cajonisto/a)
  • Palmas - handing clapping (palmero/a)
  • Jaleos - shouts of encouragement (festero/a)

Flamenco Technique for Dancers

  • Marcaje (marking/travel steps)
  • Taconeo (percussive footwork)
  • Braceo y Manos (upper body and hands)
  • Vueltas (turns)
  • Palmas (hand clapping)

You can also download the PDF version of this Cheat Sheet here.

Meet your teacher, Rina Orellana

It's my pleasure to offer this Cheat Sheet to Flamenco to help you "speak" flamenco as well as dance it!

Trained in Madrid and based in Los Angeles, California, I've been dancing flamenco for over 25 years. I've also been training dancers for more than 20 years- from new beginners through advanced, ready to dance in tablaos.

After all these years of teaching, I've really learned what budding and seasoned dancers struggle with. And I say NO more imitating a bunch of steps from a choreography with no knowledge of what you're actually dancing! 

I believe that dancing flamenco is a personal journey and we all have something unique to offer. I am passionate about helping dancers unleash their inner flamenca by bravely stepping up to be seen. 

My super power is clarifying the secret language of the art form so that you can truly dance it with confidence and self expression. 

Since 2015, thousands of dancers from all over the world have unleashed their flamenca with me in the Online Flamenco Studio. I hope you will join us.


❤️Rina

Ready to embark on your flamenco journey?
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  • A special section for NEW BEGINNERS
  • TECHNIQUE and CHOREOGRAPHY for all levels
  • LECTURES to explain the structure of particular palos (rhythms) and complete dances
  • An amazing COMMUNITY of like-minded flamenco aficionados in the private Facebook group
  • Monthly CHALLENGES & WORKOUTS to keep you focused and progressing
  • And so much more!

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