Saturday 1 January 2000

Most Important Dances

RU MACCATURE - "Ru Maccature" was a typical marriage dance. It featured the interlacing of coloured kerchiefs through which the wedding guests gave their wishes to the couple for a happy married life. The dance ended with the dancer forming a star to guide the new family.

IL PALO - "Il Palo" was a ritual dance during which ribbons werebraided around a pole. If the braiding and unbraiding were perfect, it was taken as a sing that the harvest or the marriage, or whatever other reason for the dance, would be a successful one. If they were not perfect, the result would not be a happy one.

RU PELLICCE - "Ru Pellicce" was a traditional dance depicting the cleaning of olives by the local women with a tool called "Pellicce". The energetic rhythm reflects the way in which the women handled te tool as they performed their work with all the skill of a magician.

IL SALTERELLO - "Il Salterello" was a courting dance, typical of festive times. It was a dance without structure. It demonstrated the unbridled rhythm with which males competed with each other for the attention of young women in a happy dance intended to show complexity of steps and endurance