Big Blog II: One Last Music-Culture
For this second Big Blog I have decided to share with you a typical
Spanish dance called "Ball de Bastons" that means “Stick Dance” in
english.
The “balls de bastons” or dance of the canes is a typical popular dance
spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, and that in Spain takes place
mainly in Aragon, Valencia and specially, in Catalonia. This peculiar dance has
different peculiarities depending on the area in which it is practiced but
always having as protagonist a cane or two canes that hit each other to the
rhythm of the music (simplyknowledge.com).
The origin of this dance is not known with certainty and although some
say it comes from Greece, others go back to agricultural rites and traditions
of the prehistoric era. However, the most widespread theory places it in a
dance of swords that confronts two sides fighting recognized by having
different colors of scarf and skirt. The dances were very popular in the 15th
century and persist in France, Italy, England and Wales (Morris dance), Spain
(paloteo or troqueado) and Portugal (dança de pauliteiros). In the Maghreb
cultures there are also traditional dances with sticks, and some steps of some
of them have been integrated into belly dancing (sites.google.com).
Belly dancing has an origin as uncertain as it is disputed, being one of the oldest dances in the world, combining elements from different countries of the Middle East and North Africa. It is believed to have its origin as a form of pagan ritual of fertility worship. Thanks to belly dancing you will improve your posture, strengthen your shoulders and back, as well as your abdomen, and become aware of your postures, allowing you to correct those that are harmful and that we adopt in our daily lives when we do not have that "body awareness".
The rhythm of the canes accompanied by the music and the movements of
these dancers, known as bastoners, also promote a great tourist attraction,
especially every September 24, the day on which the Morning of the Canes is
celebrated, a festive space typical of the festival of La Mercè. The dances are
composed of groups of between 8 to 24 dancers (barcelonayellow.com, 2022) Initially,
it was a dance in which only men participated., but since the 60's the figure of
women is also present; nowadays with a great relevance, although in some
populations the male exclusivity of the dance is still preserved. The dancers
dance carrying, in each hand, a cane or stick that to the sound of a melody
perform a variety of jumps and steps while striking, rhythmically and
rhythmically, their canes. The "colles de bastoners" are the groups
of dancers who perform the stick dances. Many names are in Catalan, a language
spoken in Catalonia apart from Spanish.
As you can see in the video, there are no vocals, only music created
with the instruments and the sticks. The instruments used in this dance are:
the shawms (grallas) and the tabal (timbal); in others the flabiol is used; and
in some few the violin, the accordion or the sac de gemecs (cornamusa or
bagpipe). Obviously the sticks are also used to make the dance and music.
Sac de Gemecs
Flabiol
Bastons (Sticks)
The footwear for this dance is usually: the espadrille, stockings,
leggings full of bells or gaiters, white pants or skirt, colored “taja,” white
shirt and in some gangs; colored handkerchief crossed at the neck.
Personally I have had the opportunity to observe live several times.
When I was a child and I saw them giving those blows with the sticks the truth
is that I was astonished. I thought all the time that how was it possible that
they could not hurt themselves with such blows between canes because they
sounded very loud and it seemed that if a cane hit you it would do a lot of
damage. Once after the dance with a friend we tried to copy his dance with two
tree canes that we found next to him and accidentally hit him in the hand, it
was nothing serious but we had a great time.
When I was older when I saw these dances I thought about how many hours
they must have been practicing because coordination is key in these dances to
get it right because sometimes they make turns and hit the canes under the
legs.
Works Cited
Ball De Bastons | General Knowledge | Simply Knowledge. (n.d.). http://simplyknowledge.com/popular/gk_detail/ball-de-bastons
Barcelona 2022 - Ball de Bastons - Catalan Stick dance. (n.d.). https://www.barcelonayellow.com/barcelona-business-directory-yellow-pages/catalan-culture/catalan-traditions/bastoners-stick-dance
DANCE OF STICKS - legendsalive08. (n.d.). https://sites.google.com/site/legendsalive08/magazine-3/ball-de-bastons
I enjoyed getting to read your blog on Ball de Bastons. I thought the video of the people dancing and playing music with only instruments and sticks, no vocals, was really cool; it was also really interesting to see the traditional clothing that they wear.
ResponderEliminarThank you for sharing Ball de Bastons. I enjoyed the example of and explanation for the lack of lyrics and vocals. I think it allows the instruments (and more importantly sticks) to really be showcased with how complex sounds can be created.
ResponderEliminar