Las Sevillanas-¡A bailar!

Can you count to four? Do you like moving your body?  Then you'll love learning Sevillanas, a traditional Spanish folk dance. 

Originating in Castile, it has evolved over time, with influence from Flamenco (another traditional dance from southern Spain).  Sevillanas consists of four danzas (dances), and students learned the first one during our activity.  The dance uses 3/4 rhythm and has set steps.  Class began with clapping exercises to practice the rhythm of the dance, and was followed by hand movements.  Students were told to imagine holding a beach ball, and then learned which fingers to move. 

Following this, we began to learn the pasos (steps) of the dance.  Sevillanas is danced in pairs, so each kid found a partner and we began!  We first learned the steps without music, and after getting the steps down, it was time to bailar (dance)!  There were lots of smiles and laughs. 

At the end, our instructor Pilar showed us another aspect of the dance, las castañuelas (castanets), which are the small, hand-held percusive instruments used as a part of the music.  I think it's safe to say, our students are ready for the Feria de Abril!