A folk-dance of great antiquity, according to Fuentes, is the _Seguidilla_, which has certain affinities with the _Bolero_. It is a spirited, gay and modest country dance of the Andalusian peasants. The _Seguidillas_ of some provinces have a rapid rhythm and are accompanied by humorous recitative songs. It is said that in La Mancha, whose inhabitants are famous for their passionate love of dancing, verses to _Seguidillas_ are improvised by popular poets to suit every occasion. The _Seguidillas_ are dances that you see performed on any occasion at country inns and at social festivals. Though requiring less physical strength and dynamic technique than many others, nevertheless the _Seguidilla_ is difficult to untrained aspirants. But like most of the Spanish folk-dances it betrays caprice, coquettishness and romantic tendencies of some sort. The theme of the _Seguidilla_ poems is always love. Davillier says that the _Seguidilla_ that he saw at Albacetex ‘began in a minor key with some rapid _arpeggios_; and each dancer chose his partner, the various couples facing each other some three or four paces apart. Presently, two or three emphatic chords indicated to the singers that their turn had come, and they sang the first verse of the _copla_ (the song that accompanies a dance); meanwhile the dancers, toes pointed and arms rounded, waited for their signal. The singers paused, and the guitarist began the air of an old _Seguidilla_. At the fourth bar the castañets struck in, the singers continued their _copla_, and all the dancers began enthusiastically turning, returning, following and fleeing from each other. At the ninth bar, which indicates the finish of the first part, there was a slight pause; the dancers stood motionless and the guitar twanged on. Then, with a change of step, the second part began, each dancer taking his original place again. It was then we were able to judge of the most interesting and graceful part of the dance--the _bien parado_--literally: well stopped. The _bien parado_ in the _Seguidillas_ is the abrupt breaking off of one figure to make way for a new one. It is a very important point that the dancers should stand motionless, and, as it were, petrified, in the position in which they are surprised by the final notes of the air. Those who managed to do this gracefully were applauded with repeated cries of _bien parado_!