Wiktionary
n. A dance of Mexican Indian origin characterized by a lively rhythm punctuated by the striking of the dancer's shoes.
Wikipedia
The zapateado is a group of dance styles of Mexico, characterized by a lively rhythm punctuated by the striking of the dancer's shoes, akin to tap dance. The name derives from the Spanish word zapato for " shoe": zapatear means to strike with a shoe. It is widely used in huapango, son jarocho, son jaliscience, son calentano.
The term is also used to refer to percussive footwork in some Spanish/Latin dances that involve elaborate shoe clicking and tapping and to the percussion music produced by shoe striking.
Zapateado is a style of dance and traditional music of Andalusian origins in metre , with lively movement, marked on two beats, the second being very stressed. The dance shows a gracious tapping. Humanists of 16th century affirmed that zapateado derived from the lactisma of the Roman dancers in times of the Empire.
Among the composers who write Spanish Zapateados is Paco de Lucía, whose Percusión Flamenca is a very popular piece for guitar and orchestra. Also Pablo de Sarasate, whose opus 23, no. 2 is a version of the dance scored for violin and piano. The piece is replete with harmonics, double stops, left hand pizzicatos, and is often performed by young virtuosos.
In flamenco, zapateado also refers to a style of dancing which accents the percussive effect of the footwork (zapatear is a Spanish verb, and zapato means "shoe"). In the footwork of particular zapateado, "the dancer and the guitarists work together in unison, building from simple foot taps and bell-like guitar tones to rapid and complex steps on a repeated melodic theme."
Zapateado may refer to:
- Zapateado (Spain), traditional dance and music of Spain
- Zapateado (Mexico), traditional dances of Mexico
Usage examples of "zapateado".
The seated performers joined in with the jaleo, and the handclaps that accompany the flamenco dance, and the rhythmic beat of the palms enhanced the music and dancing, lifting it, building it, until the room began to rock with the echo of the zapateado, the hypnotic beat of the half toe, the heel, and the full sole clacking out an endless variation of tone and rhythmic sensations.
Antonio gave out a thrummed major chord that, with the smell of cognac, seemed to affirm life (sun, zapateados, death in the afternoon).