| Culture of Basque Country |
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| Mythology |
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Basque dance is the folk dance by the Basque people of the Basque Country. [1] [2]
| Culture of Basque Country |
|---|
| |
| Mythology |
| Literature |
Basque dance is the folk dance by the Basque people of the Basque Country. [1] [2]
From one part of the Basque country to another the music, steps and costumes change, but the collective reveals the Basques' deep love of dance. There are approximately 400 distinct Basque folk dances, each with its own story and significance.
Some, the more ancient ritual dances, are performed only for particular events or circumstances and initially were performed by male dancers only. Many include the use of sticks and swords that the dancers strike together as they progress through the movements of the dance. The more recent social dances derive from early celebratory dances but are today devoid of any sacred function. They are characterized by differences in style and function, and allow for dual-gender participation. Some are more complex, while others are simpler. Some are ritual while others are entertaining. Some sacred and other profane. Some are open group dances and others closed.
Generally the space in which they are carried out is open, although a few were originally danced in closed quarters. The vast majority are danced only by men, some only by women and others by both sexes. The basic characteristics of Basque dance are seen in the choreography, historical and festive elements, and the universal traits of tradition, entertainment, tourism and especially religious-festive events. You can tell a good dancer by how high they jump, their double clicks, how high they kick, and their gracefulness.
Voltaire noted in his observations
Strabo's observation in the first century B.C.
Dantzari Dantza from Durangaldea (Biscay) is a well known cycle of dances where on the eve of the local feast day, it is the custom to set up the traditional San Juan or Donianeatxa oak tree (now usually a poplar). The trunk is peeled and the branches limbed, and flowers and a sometime a flag or two are placed at the top. All of the festive activities take place around this symbol, which is set up in the middle of the town square. The nine dances that make up the cycle have remained unchanged since at least the 19th century; the choreography consists of two parallel rows of dancers standing face to face. The dancers, in a show of virility, very skillfully manoeuvre fighting weapons as part of the dance.
Sorgin Dantza from Oria (Gipuzkoa) is a comical or a burlesque dance that reach their peak in the Sorgin Dantza, or dance of the witches. These dances, a combination of wild and sometimes a bit obscene body movements, have managed to remain alive over time in certain towns. The best known of these dances can be seen in the town of Lasarte-Oria. As the story goes, this dance simulates a group of workers who moved here from the town of Bergara. Today this dance is also danced in the town of Antzuola during Carnival, although here, along with the dantzaris and musicians, there are also people dressed up as bears and monkeys.
Mutxikoak is a popular dance of Basque Ancestors, which comes back stronger these days[ citation needed ], as if the tradition could never be forgotten. Mutxikoak which in Basque means that at first "a young boy's dance", although women dance it more now than young boys. It is danced in circle as around a sun, where the individuality of each other fuse together with the universality of an illimited circle, where each person is unique even if everybody dances the same dance.
Some of the Basque dances feature weapons. The ezpatadantza [3] ("sword dance") comes from the Durango area and is danced for authorities and in the feast of Corpus Christi. After the dance, both opposing rows of dancers raise their weapons and form a corridor for the authorities. The ezpatadantza and the makildantza ("stick dance") ends with the dancers raising one of them, lying as a fallen warrior, over their heads.
In the Basque province of Gipuzkoa in Spain, the Okrabario Dantza is performed in Legazpi—a sword dance in which a participant dances atop a grid of crossed swords held aloft. In Tolosa, on Midsummer Day, the Bordon-Dantza ("walking stick dance") is performed with the figures of the ezpatadantza; some [4] point its origins to the border fights in the Middle Ages, when the Castilian troops from Gipuzkoa won an important victory over the troops from Navarre at the Battle of Beotibar. Sticks simulate some weapons, and halberds—a combination of a spear and a battle-axe—are also used. [5]
Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins and/or shoes. A band or single musician, also costumed, will accompany them. Sticks, swords, handkerchiefs, and a variety of other implements may be wielded by the dancers.
Weapon dances incorporating swords or similar weapons are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic) sword dances in Africa, Asia and Europe. Some traditions use sticks or clubs in place of bladed weapons, while most modern performers employ dulled replications to avoid injury.
Gipuzkoa is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques at the northeast, with the province and autonomous community of Navarre at east, Biscay at west, Álava at southwest and the Bay of Biscay to its north. It is located at the easternmost extreme of the Cantabric Sea, in the Bay of Biscay. It has 66 kilometres of coast land.
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The Călușari are the members of a fraternal secret society who practice a ritual acrobatic dance known as the căluș. Originally Romanian, the practice later spread to Bulgaria and North Macedonia. From three weeks after Easter until Pentecost, called Rusalii in Romanian, for around two weeks they have traditionally travelled to all their local communities where they would dance, accompanied by a few fiddlers.
Leintz Gatzaga is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The municipality's population is 251 (2015).
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Punjabi dances are an array of folk and religious dances of the Punjabi people indigenous to the Punjab region, straddling the border of India and Pakistan. The style of Punjabi dances ranges from very high energy to slow and reserved, and there are specific styles for men and women.
Ball de bastons is the name of a ritual weapon dance spread throughout Europe and the rest of the Iberian area but mostly in Catalonia,Valencia, Aragón and Castilla y León where it is UNESCO heritage. English and Welsh Morris dances are well-known relatives to these traditions. The origins of dance are difficult to reference; first recorded mention dates to 1150, in a banquet of Count Berenguer IV)
The weapon dance employs weapons—or stylized versions of weapons—traditionally used in combat in order to simulate, recall, or reenact combat or the moves of combat in the form of dance, usually for some ceremonial purpose. Such dancing is quite common to folk ritual on many parts of the world. Weapon dancing is certainly ancient; among the earliest historical references we have are those that refer to the pyrrhichios, a weapon dance in ancient Sparta, in which the dance was used as a kind of ritual training for battle.
Dance in Thailand is the main dramatic art form in Thailand. Thai dance can be divided into two major categories, high art and low art.
The yowlah, is a weapon dance of the United Arab Emirates, traditionally performed during weddings, celebrations, and other events. The dance is accompanied by traditional music, and men and women are represented in separate groups of dancers. The yowlah originated as a Bedouin war dance where men would spin rifles after victory in a battle. There is also a variation from the standard yowlah known as the razfah ; and the ardah is sometimes considered a form of the yowlah.
Karnataka has a variety of traditional arts, including folk dance and puppetry.
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The Koruko Ama Birjinaren Scholla Cantorum, which adopted its current name, Koruko Ama Birjinaren Eskola, in 1976 and nowadays commonly known as Eskola, is a cultural and arts association founded in 1940 in San Sebastián by Juan Urteaga. Initially, it had a choir, but a dance company emerged soon. In the 1960s, the music band was created, performing together with the dance company ever since. All three groups are active as of today. The first performance of the association was held in Easter 1940: the founding date of Eskola is set to be April 10, 1940.
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