The Sevillanas are a type of Spanish folk music which combines both song and dance forms.
Despite its name, Sevillanas did not originate in Seville; it was derived from an old Castilian folk dance, a seguidilla. Sevillanas is extremely popular throughout Andalucia where it is danced mainly at festivals – especially the famous Feria of Seville. It is a colourful dance performed by couples, frequently with the use of castanets and with an accompaniment of guitar and singing.
Sevillanas has a definite form in which the guitar first sets the rhythm with a short rasgueado section. This is followed by the salida, a short melody introductory section. The salida is linked by a short rasgueado section to the copla or verse, at which point the dancer joins in. The copla frequently finishes with the melody of the salida and is repeated three times, with or without variations. The whole is repeated four times, so that the overall pattern consist of four sets of three coplas each. The coplas may be varied in melody and key, but the rhythm and form must remain constant.