Arm Movements in Advanced Flamenco Dancing

"Hi! Thank you for visiting Expertvillage.com. My name is Yvette Parrish. It is every important that you work on your arms. You can do some arm circles because your arms are upper lot when you dance flamenco and especially if you have got the manton and you are using the manton, you got the fan, you using the castanets, you are doing a lot with your arms. So practice arm circles, start small, start big, may be I would suggest just start with 100 a day and every couple of days add 25, 25 or more. Little circles, backward little circles, big circles. You will thank me when you are moving that manton and your arms never get tired. So one thing, arms up, middle finger, down, pretty. Okay, arms up together, palms are together, middle finger, down, pretty. This is a ballet stance. Remember, I don’t want to see my students’ feet like this. Look, it does not look nice at all. So make sure they are closed together and proper, arms up, together and down, pretty. You are dancing with someone, you want enough space right here so that way if somebody came right here you would have enough space for them. That’s the hardest thing. I think students have to remember. They tend to get really tight where they get smaller and smaller, smaller and when I am teaching at the studio I will walk in with my students and say hay I don’t fit, somebody has to fit there. So if you have a friend of yours that can kind of stand there and help you get used to that kind of space… and up and out middle finger and out, little finger and out, bring your arm down pretty, bring your arm down pretty, same thing. I am leaving enough room with my right arm here, not really tight, same thing left arm up, middle finger and this is just little floreo that you are learning, that is pretty. You are now stirring your pot. Always start with that middle finger, if you start with your middle finger, you will have a little bit of a flower effect with your fingers. I have seen some flamenco dancers look like they are stirring a pot of soup or cauldron, don’t do that. If you can practice this way and do the middle finger in out, little finger in out and you get faster and faster. I think if you practice maybe 10 times...10 minutes a day…"