Kathak & Flamenco

Similarities & Differences

A Comparative Analysis
(with Literature Survey)
Presented by

Nina Godbole,
MA (Spanish) Part II – Semester IV
28th January 2017
KATHAK & FLAMENCO
Courtesy: Google Images
Courtesy: Google Images
Photo: Showhouse India / Showhouse India
 The Origins: Kathak & Flamenco
Kathak Flamenco
• Nomadic storytellers • From Andalucía, Spain
(“kathakars”). • A mixture of cultures, strongly
• Performance in courtyards and based in emotions.
temples. • Flamenco origina : the Gypsy
• Strong folklore tradition culture. (Video Clip)
• Male performers : “Kathals • The ROMA people(the
• The “classic” period of Kathak : Gypsies) reached Europe
disseminated for centuries by around 1250 AD
Muslim specialists • The gypsy people : the
nomadic - did not originally
come from Spain.
• Folklore tradition : a role to
play
 The Origins: Kathak & Flamenco
Kathak Flamenco
• No single origin: continuous • Evolution of flamenco
fusion and a blend of Hindu begins with: the history of
& Muslim traditions). the gitanos, the subgroup
• Syncretic : combining of the Romani or Gypsy
disparate elements, people (settled in Spain)
especially as in forms of • Grew from the gypsy
artistic creations culture; however
• The variety of movement • A mixture of various
patterns : the result of its elements: Moorish,
syncreticism Spanish Jewish and Romani
• ROMA were the people who
left India in the 10th or
11th century AD.
The theory about the gypsies originating
From India has been falsified
Migration path of the Gypsies (the ROMA People)
The Migration path of the ROMA people
 The essential elements of dance
1. The Rhythm
2. The Body Movements & the Expressions
3. The Tempo and the Speed
4. Space-Time & Energy
 The Flamenco
Flamenco is an all-embracing term that includes:
1. dance [baile],
2. singing, [cante], i.e. the popular/folk singing
3. guitar playing [toque],
4. rhythmic hand clapping [palmas], and
5. shouts of encouragement [jaléo]
The FEET
Flamenco: (1) rhythmic expressions
Flamenco, dance movement & the expression
consist of rhythmic expressions, including:
1. taconeo/zapateado - rapid heelwork/footwork
2. palmas - slapping the thighs and chest, and hand
clapping
3. marcar/marcando - marking steps with the feet
and occasionally,
4. castañuella/palillo - castanet playing while
performing
 Flamenco Footwork Techniques
• PUNTA: 1st Major technique : One of the 4 Major Foot
Techniques of Flamenco. Punta is one of them. It refers to
the TIP of the shoe used to create the sound

• ESCOBILLA: specific type of footwork that the dancers

shines with (slower to rapid or the other way round)

• TACON: 3rd major Technique. One of the 4 major dance

techniques in Flamenco. Refers to the HEEL of the
Flamenco SHOE.

• SUBIDA: Technique used in Alegrías, Soleá, Bulerías and

any other 12 beat dance
The Castanets (las castañuelas)
Not used in PURE FLAMENCO
 Flamenco: (2) lower body movements
• Other lower body movements from the waist down,
including hips rolls and hip juts, leg lifts, and leg circles executed
from the knee down;
• The upper body and arm movements, including twisting
and circular arm movements [braceo], and spiraling the spine,
producing a counter-line in the back [torcido];
• circular movements executed with the wrists and fingers, and
fanning
• movements executed with the fingers [muñecas/filigrana
de los manos], and finger snapping [pitos].
• Combinations of these movements may or may not be
performed simultaneously.
The hip jut The leg lift
The hip roll leg circles
Flamenco dance elements
Braceo Paso
Bulerías Remate
Cadenas Salida
Careo Vuelta
Descanso
Desplante
Escobilla
Letra
Golpe
Llamada
Marcando
 Flamenco: (3) Full body expressions
• Full body expressions that combine the
elements described in the previous slide (as
• aspects of a performance), and
• Pellizcos [pinches/nips] - movements which
consist of shoulder shrugs, facial expressions,
miming gestures, small hops and jumps, and
other personalized movements improvised in
a performance. (These do not exist in the
Classical Kathak dance form)
 The Similarities
• The Kinesthetics: the rhythmic and movement similarities
between the two forms of dance. Many foot rhythms are
the same, there is also the similarity in the way movements
are phrased in relationship to the music, and other
movement features as well.
• The Body Posture : the proud, upright body stance in
flamenco is much close to (although far more exaggerated)
regal posture and demeanor of a Kathak dancer
• The whirling: “the Chakkars” of Kathak are shared in
Flamenco, although they appear in a slightly different
manner
• The expressions: in both dance forms, the artists conveys a
repertoire of expressions suitable to the mood being
conveyed.
 The Similarities
The rhythm
• The first and foremost is the shared foot rhythms and the their phrasing
is very similar.
• The footwork: both dance forms have a word for ootwork”- in kathak it is
the tatkar and in flamenco it is the taconeo ( the heelwork) or zapateado
(the shoe work).
• The meters and foot rhythms used in both have many rhythmic patterns
in common, utilize similar footwork techniques in articulating those
patterns, and they share the 34, 44, and 128 time signatures.
• The notion of pulling toward a climatic rhythmic release between
musicians and dancer – this aspect of flamenco is very closely related to
kathak. The “12” in flamenco 12-count rhythms serves a similar function
as the sam in kathak.
• In both the dance forms, the dancer tends to hold the position for one
count before starting the new phrase on the new cycle i.e. the ‘sam’
concept in Kathak.
Integration with the musicians:
• The footwork highlights the dancers in their simultaneous roles as
musicians.
 The Similarities
• The percussive sounds produced by the feet in both forms
progress to a successively rapid tempo as the beats within
the measures become denser and denser.
• In both the dance forms, the tempo continues to increase
in force, volume, and sometimes even in the velocity
• Foot drumming: in both, the foot drumming climaxes as
the dancer releases into a final burst with a “sudden
stop”, where the dancer may twist the upper body, fling
an arm, lift the chin, and focus the eyes, hitting a pose on
a specific and poignant beat.
• Closeness to the “floor”: both dances are ‘close-to-the-
floor’
 The Similarities
• A striking similarity between the
“tatkār,” and (the basic footwork of
Kathak) with an “escobilla” (footwork
section) of the Flamenco
• Both are different when compared to
the other foot-tapping dance forms
• Both dances heavily rely and play
with rhythm.
 The Similarities
The Twirls and the Whirls : Another spectacular and
revered aspect of the dance are the turns
• Both dances have quickly timed turns that
stop dramatically and suddenly.
• Both dances have fluid arms, expressive and supple
hands and fingers.
• The fluidity is often transformed into quickly
attacking hands that compliment the footwork.
• Often in both dances the dancer is moving quickly
and then suddenly stops in a dramatic pose.
 The Similarities : the Energy
Energy: The energy of the dancers movement often
relies on an interplay of quick attacking movements
and then sudden stops of fluidity.
• Both Kathak and Flamenco have different types
within the dance form
– some Kathak dances tend to be softer (depending on
the story or emotion being told
– Similarly some Flamenco dances are softer (often in
the display of “soledad” - a musical style where the
dancer expresses loneliness).
 The Flamenco vis-a-vis Kathak
(Summary)
Flamenco Kathak
1. Rhythmic expresiones 1. Yes
2. Body movements (from the waist to 2. Yes but limited;
the lower body parts) 3. Yes
3. Movements of uppper body and 4. Yes
arms
4. Circular movement executed with 5. Yes, but only to a certain extent
wrists and fingers 6. The “nava-rasas”
5. Full body expressions 7. Footwork, Bols and Signature Spins
6. The 7 expressions 8. The dancer is barefoot with
7. The equivalents exist Ghungaroos
8. The foot wear : heeled shoes 9. Kathak also has its footwork type
9. The basic foot work steps 10. The dancer gives an opportunity
10. This aspect exists in Flamenco also for the acocompanying artists to
11. No equivalent exists: closer one is shine
the “Cierre” 11. The “Tarana” (normally at the end)
 The differences
• Traditional rituals and gestures of gratitude:
touching the Guru’s feet to seek blessings is a part
of the Kathak community; an equivalent gesture
does not seem to exist in the Flamenco community
• The Floor: the wooden floor used in Flamenco dance
practices in a professional settings; Kathak practices
often happen on the floor as available at the time of
practice – as long as it is fairly smooth and levelled.
• Emotions & Expressions: the Kathak dance form is
stronger in this aspect; a dancer is required to
employ facial expressions in a sophisticated way in
order to display a wide range of expressions (called
the “Navaras” in the Bharatiya Natya Shastra)
 The differences
The attire : Kathak dancer barefoot but with hundreds of
bronze bells (the “ghungurus”) vis-a-viz the flamenco
dancer in her wood high-heeled shoes.
• Female flamenco dancers often wear an embroidered
silk mantón (shawl) or pico (scarf) draped across the
back of their body and tied in the front.
• The footgear: the Kathak dancer is barefoot but has the
bells that make the rhythmic sound, while the flamenco
dancer has heeled shoes that make the rhythmic sound.
• Meters and foot rhythms : the meters and foot rhythms
used in Kathak are much more varied and complex than
those in flamenco.
The “connecion: Kathak & Flemenco
There are two theories about the connection
between Kathak and Flamenco:
(a) the ‘gypsy theory’ and
(b) the ‘Muslim theory’.
 The gypsy theory
• The gypsy theory delves on a relationship between the
“kathakas”, or the originators of the Kathak and the
Indian gypsies who came to Spain.
• However, a great deal of investigation is required to
validate this theory
• because there are a number of disparities associated with
the connection between the kathakas and Indian gypsies.
• One needs to study the earlier dance forms of Kathak and
Flamenco; a task that presents challenges because both
dance form relied on and evolved from an oral tradition
 the “Muslim Theory”
• As per the “Muslim Theory”, the Muslim religion is said
to be the bridge between the two dance forms.
• Muslims existed both in the Indian Mughals and Spanish
Moors.
• Both these Muslim routes had lineages known for their
performing arts.
• There is material cited which traces the origin of Indian
Kathak-Mughal dance to the ancient “Uyghur dance”
• It is not known in which exact point in history; the
Gypsies came in contact with Muslims in Spain
• it is not clear whether both these people ever danced
and sang with each other
See the
Video Clip

The
Uyghur
Region
& the
Uyghur
dance
 Conclusion
• There are striking similarities between the
Kathak dance style of India and the Flamenco
dance form of Spain
• These similarities exist in spite of the
thousands of miles of geographic separation
of the two countries where the two dance
form belong.
• The small differences that exist between the
two dance styles are only superficial (the
attire and the footwear to name a few)