Hello to everyone, my name is Simona Vigilante and I am a graduate of the SSML Gregorio VII University in Rome. This blog has been created about the theme of dance, the origins, culture and traditions. Here you will also find my thesis with different videos in languages ​​I have studied.

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Conclusions

Conclusions

Dance, which is so fashionable nowadays, especially among young people, before being popular or a trend, is the natural expression of art and of the body, as well as an ancient form of devotion.

What many people have forgotten is that dance was born with the primitive man who, dancing, exorcised, through his movements, his ancestral fears, such as tribal trends, to which you can associate those practiced to thank his beloved deities.

Our being, our mind, our soul are expressed through our body, which is our portal  to the outside world, our tangible being, the way through which we express our passions, see our dreams and needs come true, perceive ourselves and others, through which we fulfill ourselves. Our existence on the earth is inescapable within our bodies. In this context, dance, with its gestural expressiveness, becomes a language through which we can express our emotions, without using words, but simply with music, and it is becoming more and more therapeutic and liberating.

Flash mob phenomenon

Flash mob phenomenon

Dance, considered as a form of communication and evolution, is also being developed through the Flash mob Phenomenon.

Flash mob is a term coined in 2003 to refer to a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public space, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse. Flash mobs are organized through Internet (emails, social media) or cellular telephony.

The rules and choreography can be shown to participants a few minutes before the performance or spread out with a large advance, so that the participants can prepare adequately.

In Europe, the first similar event took place in Italy, in Rome, on July 2003. Other similar events would have been already organized in New York and Tokyo. Continue...

The Pìzzica

The Pìzzica

“Some practice dance at home; some in crossroads; some dressed with their best clothes, others half-naked; some with handkerchiefs in their hands or other feminine decorations, others carrying heavy house tools. One of the most barbaric dances is practiced in the water. Undoubtedly, it is accompanied by the repetitive and measured sound of a violin, and by the roll of a drum with castanets, sounds and lilts that form the pìzzica-pìzzica, which is the most ancient and popular dance of our region, whose tradition will never end”: as was written by Giuseppe Gigli in “Superstitions, prejudices and traditions in Otranto” (1893). Continue...

Taranta: the myth of the bite in Salento

Taranta: the myth of the bite in Salento

The bite of a tarantula causes, according to popular belief, a strong state of pain, from which you can freed temporarily, thanks to a therapeutic practice based on music and dance.

A noxious animal, a spider, as the humanist doctor Antonio De Ferrariis wrote in 1513, in the most famous of his epistles, De situ Japygiae, whose poison is expelled by the sounds of flutes and drums. “I wouldn’t believe it”, he added,  “if I hadn’t had so much proof”. The bite of this spider, the tarantula, causes, according to the common belief, an extreme state of prostration and uneasiness in the unfortunate person; women suffer more compared to men. When the nature of the situation has been understood, a small orchestra is called (a small drum, a violin, a guitar), which starts a series of musical tunes, a proper exploration, to understand which tune would revive the bitten person: sometimes the rhythm is crazy like that of the Pìzzica, and so the person rises and dances for a long time in an incoherent manner, even for many hours and days, except for the occasional breaks to rest and during the nights; but the rhythm can also be softer with a plaintive tune. Continue...

Eastern Dance

Eastern Dance

Eastern dance is a dance native to the Middle East and Arabian regions, practiced most of all by, but not limited to, women. It is considered one of the most ancient dances in the world, above all in the Middle East and Maghreb countries, such as Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Morocco and Egypt.

In a strict sense, the term refers to eastern classic dance, which developed itself in  princely courts; in a wider sense, it can refer itself to all dance forms we know nowadays.

It is practiced by women, because it completely expresses femininity, vitality and sensuality. Eastern dance is unique of its kind: there are several styles that differ according to the native Country, such as the dance with the veil. In general, this dance is characterized by the sinuosity and sensuality of the movements: it is amazing both with rhythmic and slow music. Usually, it is practiced by professional female dancers. Continue...

Celtic Dances

Celtic Dances

There aren't many written testimonies on the origins of Celtic dances, but it seems that they were practiced by Druids for religious purposes. The first vestiges date back to the XVI century. Celtic dances had a life full of ups and downs, because in some historical periods they were badly viewed, most of all by the Church, that tried to ban them. They spread in Great Britain, America, Australia and New Zeeland in XIX century, because of the emigration caused by the scarcity of potatoes, that hit Ireland from 1845 to 1849. In these last few years Celtic Dances also had success in Italy, Sweden and Germany.

The “most Irish” dances are the ceili, but we also have the  “set dance” and the “step dance”, which were both born from the union of French and Scottish cultures. This dynamics of this dance is generally the following: many couples dance simultaneously, placed in a ring or along the corners of a square. 
Continue...