Guitars and castanets are the essence of Spanish popular music. Flamenco dances are characterized by the expression of the hands and the movement of the feet. To dance this popular dance, women have to wear a long skirt and high healed closed pumps. The castanets are sometimes  used to improve the dance and add rhythm. The castanets are wooden, and the round instruments are strung from the hand and tapped with all the fingers. Women also wear a shawl or "pañueleta."