Who has not heard of the charm of Andalusian dancing? Seville is the home of the _bailarin_, the artist of the _bolero_, _olé_, _Sevilliana_, and other dances. On every evening in summer, the inhabitants dance in their _patios_ to the guitar and castanets, while the street lads perform their Oriental antics in the _plazas_ and bye-streets. The cleverest professional dancing is to be seen at the _Café de Novedades_, at the end of the Calle de las Sierpes, where it is joined by the Calle de Campana. There are other _cafés_ in Sierpes where national and gipsy dancing may be witnessed, but perhaps the most characteristic performances are those of the Novedades. You may obtain a seat, just in front of the stage, for half a peseta. The entertainment usually opens with a representation of gipsy or _flamenco_ dancing, which is a strange exercise and difficult to describe. A number of women sit in a semi-circle on the stage, and in the centre of the dancers is a male guitar player. Nothing happens for some time, but the spectators evince no impatience. They sip coffee, smoke, and chat contentedly. Presently one of the _flamenco_ women quits her chair, and begins to strike extraordinary postures. At one moment she might be trying to impersonate Ajax defying the lightning; in the next she is apparently fleeing from a satyr. Her hands are held high above her head, and there is a continual movement of the fingers. She writhes and wriggles rather than dances, and the feet play no part, except that the heels now and then thump the stage. Meanwhile her seated companions drown the sound of the guitar with the clapping of their hands and cries of _anda!_ One after another the women go through these curious contortions to the delight of the audience. I believe that there are subtle fascinations in these dances when one understands the drama which they represent; but to the casual spectator they are somewhat tedious, and they do not make much appeal to the imagination or to one's sense of the graceful in movement. Most visitors will prefer the Andalusian dancing. The dancers of the Novedades are extremely nimble in the _bolero_, one of the prettiest and most joyous of dances. Their shapely, lissome feet skim and bound in bewildering and intricate steps, to the clicking of ribbon-decked castanets. They spring into the air, hover, and bound again; they move rapidly on their toes, float, glide, and almost fly. It is a wonderful sight. One is sorry when the troop leave the stage. There is an intoxication in watching such grace, lightness and agility. The singing of _coplas_ (couplets) is one of the attractions at this _café_. This form of vocalisation is very Andalusian. I can only describe it as a prolonged _tremolo_; the singer appears to sing a verse without drawing breath, and the effort often seems painful. A 'star' in this art is exceedingly popular, and his singing is sure to be followed by loud plaudits.