Dances of Spain I

After five hundred years, the influence of the Moors can still be seen in Southern Spain. In the arts and crafts, in many Spanish faces the imprint of the dark invader still shows. And above all in the dance: the famous back-bends, the delicate play of finger and hand, the sudden petrified poses are more Eastern than European.

This book deals with the dances of Southern, Central and North-West Spain. Mrs. Lucile Armstrong spent a large part of her life travelling the Iberian peninsula, studying the arts of the people and noting down the traditional dances. Herself a folk-dancer of great experience, she wrote in this book, in addition to a general introduction to these regions and their customs, a more detailed description of four Spanish dances: two simple, one of medium difficulty and one, the Seguidillas Sevillanas of Andalusia, which, as she said, is more subtle and needs special study. Step notations and music illustrate these dances, and in addition four plates by the author show in colour the beauty of Spanish peasant costume.