Dancing

I have a passion for dancing, I mostly dance Latin American Folklore. And danced the traditional dances from my country Bolivia, since a very young age. In London I started to dance and learn new rhythms.

I have experience in Street Dance/ Hip-hop.. belly dance, samba , and gained experience in traditional folkloric dances from Latin America, such as from Ecuador , Colombia, etc.
I love learning and applying different forms of rhythms..

lindsey.funes.obleas@gmail.com 

Caporales is a traditional Bolivian dance originating in the La Paz Bolivia; it was created and presented to the public for the first time in 1969 by the Estrada brothers, who were inspired in the Afro-Bolivian Saya character of the Caporal, a dance that belongs to the region of the Yungas, Bolivia. The dance, however, has a prominent religious aspect. One supposedly dances for TheVirgen Del Sovabon (patroness of miners),and promises to dance for three years of one's life.
A male caporal dress depicts an old Spanish military guard. Wearing heeled boots bearing large bells known as "cascabeles", a male dancer carries a hat in his left hand and a whip in his right(sometimes). Even some girls will dance in a male role; some may refer to them as "chinas" or "machas". A female caporal dress consists of a minidress with matching panties, skin-color pantyhose, fancy high-heeled shoes, and a round top hat pinned to her hair. The style and colours of the dress are maintained the same for both the men and women of a certain group, but can vary drastically between groups. Men and women usually dance separately in a progressive march style dance. Caporales is a dance where you jump a lot and is very active in this way.

 The dance is often mistaken for the Afro-Bolivian Saya, a confusion partly due to popular Caporales song texts like the ones composed by the popular Bolivian group "Los Kjarkas"; this group makes many Bolivian songs. Also this is due to an international ballet version of Saya Caporal being danced as "Modern Saya"

Cumbia has been around in Colombia for a long time and it's also stayed relevant hitting pop charts. Colombian cumbia began as many popular Latin styles began: as folklore.  Dating back to the colonial period in Colombia's Atlantic (Caribbean) coast, cumbia emerged as a courtship dance and music that celebrated the union of African and indigenous people (called zambos), and went on to become one of the most popular dance styles in both South and Central America and beyond.
History of Cumbia
"Cumbia is a Colombian musical style and folk dance that is considered to be representative of Colombia, along with Vallenato. Cumbia originated from the Caribbean coast of Colombia, with folcloric variants in Panama. Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the slave population that was later mixed with European instruments and musical characteristics. It was also used during the Colombian struggle for independence as an expression of resistance against Spain, therefore, most of its songs' messages were related to freedom or slavery." via Wikipedia

San Juanito

Considered the national rhythm of Ecuador, the San Juanito's pre-Columbian origins boast joyful rhythms and melancholic melodies. According to musicologists it is a unique combination which denotes the feeling of the Ecuadorian indigenous native.

Today the San Juanito is played with a variety of indigenous instruments such as the rondador ( a small panpipe), the pinguillo (a type of flute), the bandolin (a type of chordophone), and the dulzaina (a intstrument similar to an oboe). These are joined by foreign instruments such as the guitar, quena (a reed flute), drums, zampoñas (a type of panpipe), etc. as well as electronic instruments, which give it a modern style.

For the indigenous native of Ecuador, dancing the San Juanito expresses a communal message of unity, feeling, identity, and relationship with Mother Earth (Pacha mama).

For the mestizo, dancing San Juanito conveys a message of joyful enthusiasm and national identity.

Today the San Juanito is a part of the repertoire of various traditional festivals and social gatherings across the country. During lively festivals, dancers showcase their best moves and dance forming circles and small trains of people.

Morenada
The Morenada is one of Bolivia´s most popular Highland dances. There are several theories about its origins which are fiercely debated among the specialists in this topic. Basically there are three hypothesis: The most commonly distributed one says that the dance was inspired in the sufferings of the African slaves brought to Bolivia in order to work in the Silver Mines of Potosí. The enormous tongue of the dark masks is ment to represent the physical state of these mines workers and the rattling of the Matracas are frequently associated with the rattling of the slaves´ chains.

Tobas
The tobas is a folkloric dance from Bolivia. It's a dance that derives from the indigenous people in the amazon. It was brought to the rest of Bolivia when the incas captured them, but they let them keep their costumes and traditions.
The Tobas dance is a special representation of energy - a singular dance with impressive jumps performed by the dancers to impress the audience. This unique dance is performed during religious and other festivities as well as the Oruro Carnival.Not only do you need a good physique ,but a lot of stamina and energy.
The dance steps have special names: Bolivar (quick with regular jumps); camba (very agile, one meter high jumps); chucu-chucu (with a faster rhythm that amuse the audience, in the foot tips, almost in the knees); and the cullahui jump.
Costume is: head wear entirely made of feathers,decorated with jewels, a skirt and top decorated made with colorful fabrics,with beads and fringes on the bottom , with cows feet sewed onto fabric to tie around the ankle , spear or hatchet, bracelet of feathers ,and an anklet of feathers.

Currulao
This is one of the most African influenced-styles in all of Colombia, and has its roots among the Afro-Colombian/African-descendant/Black people of the Pacific Coast.
In its most basic form, the currulao is played by a group of four musicians.
One musician plays a 6-8 rhythm on a drum known as a "cununo", which superficially resembles the "alegre" drum (used in Cumbia) to the untrained eye, but is narrower and taller. The Currulao rhythm is created by both striking the skin of the drum with the one's hand and tapping the side of the drum with a small stick.
The second musician keeps time on a shaker known in parts of Colombia as a "guasá"(goo-ah-SAH) or "guache"(goo-AH-cheh), which is typically a hollow cylinder made of metal, wooden, or guadua bamboo, filled with light seeds, rice is sometimes used in home-made guasás.
But the main instrument of the currulao style is perhaps the Colombian marimba, a wooden xilophone which resembles the African bafalon also for the style of playing.
Info via wikipedia.