The History Of Dance - The Dance In Portugal, Spain, And Italy

By Lilly Grove

This vintage book is a concise treatise on the history of dancing in Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Profusely illustrated and full of fascinating information and interesting insights, this is a volume that will appeal to those with an interest in the traditional dances and songs of these countries. Contents include: “Portuguese Dances”, “Basque Dances”, “Spain”, and “Italy”. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on dance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Oct 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473352483

Book preview

THE DANCE IN PORTUGAL, SPAIN, AND ITALY

PORTUGUESE DANCES

IN the account of the dances of Spain, we will see that geographical divisions mark divisions in the character of the inhabitants and of their music and dances. Portugal is closely allied to Spain by its geographical position and by the common origin of the race, so we may expect in some respects to find the two countries resembling each other in their dances also. But as North Spain differs from South Spain, so does Portugal differ from her sister country; and, moreover, Portugal is not one province, but a group of provinces, each one of which has to some extent dances and dance-music peculiar to itself. The position of the dance in Portugal represents the position of the race, neither northern nor southern, but a mixture of both, with a decided flavour of the east, received from the Arabs.

In this south-western corner of Europe we find many remains of old Moorish civilisation, and the traces of Saracen culture are greater in Portugal than even in Southern Spain; it is stated that the Saracens taught the Portuguese Cymons ‘all the sweet civilities of life,’ and among these the dance was prominent. These dances are said not to be specially graceful; they are slow in movement, and similar to Oriental dances, reminding us of the East because they consist mostly of movements of the body and arms, and because they have no steps worth mentioning. They are simple and expressive, and are often performed as a rest after labour; the threshing-floor is generally the scene of the dance, and its season is mostly that of harvest or vintage. Simple, too, are the accompanying songs: each province has its own, and they are very original, sweet and varied, and unhappily little known to us. Many of them are extempore, and in the form of an irregular quatrain. Here is one of them—and though we cannot say much for the morality of the maid, at least she bestows on her best beloved a very original distinction. ‘I have five lovers, three for the morning, two for the afternoon; to all these I tell falsehoods, to you alone I speak the truth.’ But they are not all so flattering; witness the following:—‘When the cork tree shall yield berries, and the bay tree cork, then I may fall in love with you—if I can take the trouble,’—in great contrast to the light tone of which the following sounds pathetic: ‘For love of thee I have lost Heaven; for love of thee I have lost myself. Now I find myself alone without God, without love, without thee.’

The dances are generally innocent and decorous; they resemble quadrilles, with hops and skips, but without much spirit, and the faces of the performers maintain a solemn gravity. Castanets are seldom used in Portugal, and the dance is accompanied by the guitar, or by songs, the theme of which is usually the bright-eyed maids or the brave sons of Lusitania. The dress is very picturesque; the women wear huge hats ornamented with flowers and ribbons, a bright scarf round their shoulders, large ear-rings, and many gold chains on their necks. They generally arrive on horseback or on a mule, and wear in their hats a picture of the saint in whose honour the merry-making is held. There are many of these festivals, called Romarias, and on these occasions, according to a traveller, there is ‘a small amount of praying, a good deal of eating and drinking, and a vast amount of dancing and singing.’ The name of the principal dance of a Romaria is the