While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Advertisement. There are theories about the dance and one of those is that the dance is a cure for spider bites. In Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House, … Ibsen’s use of the symbol of the Tarantella dance is instrumental in demonstrating the changing dynamics and progression of Nora and Torvald’s marriage. Chopin, Liszt, Weber, and others used the dance in the form of a perpetuum mobile. The essential Varsovienne concept (point, draw back) can be applied in many different contexts. Tarantella can also be danced to as it is also a lively folk dance in 6/8 time. Tarantella, a genre of southern Italian folk music and dance, is an international phenomenon--seen and heard in popular festivals, performed across the Italian diaspora, even adapted for New Age spiritual practices. Tarantellas for two couples are also danced. The dance dates to at least the fifteenth century, and began as a cure for a condition called tarantism, which was believed to be caused by the … It was believed that if a spider called the tarantula bit the townspeople, the only way to survive its bite was to do a dance called the Tarantella. Corrections? It was used on posters announcing the theatre performances of the play, as early as in 1880. All three words ultimately derive from the name of the town of Taranto, Italy. Although folklore often attributes the tarantella name to the dance's supposed ability to cure the bite of the tarantula spider, the name of the Italian folk dance comes from Taranto, Italy, the place it began. The specific dance-name varies with every region, for instance tammurriata in Campania, pizzica in the Salento region, and Sonu a ballu in Calabria. Then this and other categories of dance were questioned and their distinctions became subject to debate. Toschi, Paolo (1950). Global Tarantella Reinventing Southern Italian Folk Music and Dances. Proceedings of the Congress Held in Venice September 7th to 11th, 1949: "A Question about the Tarantella", Ettlinger, Ellen (1965). How To Dance The Tarantella, In Scarce Lithographs (Cue The Godfather Theme) By Stephen J. Gertz Poor "Frankie Five Angels" Pentangeli. The tarantella is most frequently played with a mandolin, a guitar, an accordion and tambourines. Portions of Christopher Smart's (1722-1771) Jubilate Agno text are also used. The name of the dance comes from Taranto, Italy, and the specific dance steps vary by … The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES [6], The stately courtship tarantella danced by a couple or couples, short in duration, is graceful and elegant and features characteristic music. Flute, fiddle, trumpet and clarinet are also used. Also known as “the dance of the spider,” the Tarantella is derived from the Italian word tarantola, meaning “tarantula.” The tarantola gets its name from the town of Taranto in Puglia, where the bite of the local wolf spider (the tarantula) was widely believed to be highly poisonous and led to … Here courtship and power reside in the dance of the tarantella and the crash of the tambourine, which, much like the flamenco, embodies history, tragedy, passion, sex, and power, all in a ritual dance. Online versions of the poem vary: a reliable printed version can be found in The Oxford Book of Modern Verse. tarantella a rapid whirling dance originating in southern Italy. Hecker, Justus. https://study.com/academy/lesson/tarantella-definition-history-quiz.html The music is in lively 6/8 time. Then this and other categories of dance were questioned and their distinctions became subject to debate. While the tarantella — arguably Italy’s most famous folk dance — is best known today as a dance performed at weddings, its origins are as ancient as they are peculiar. In the symphony’s uninhibited finale, Mendelssohn, so deeply displeased with Italian concert music, showed his favourable reaction to the country’s…, Folk dance, generally, a type of dance that is a vernacular, usually recreational, expression of a past or present culture. Tarantella, couple folk dance of Italy characterized by light, quick steps and teasing, flirtatious behaviour between partners; women dancers frequently carry tambourines. The intensely dramatic and passionately performed Tarantella dance depicts a different side of Nora … Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. [5] John Compton later proposed that the Roman Senate had suppressed these ancient Bacchanalian rites. Taranto. Tarantella is popular in Southern Italy and Argentina. What a fascinating story behind this dance! The tarantella traces its origins to Taranto, a city in Puglia, the “heel” of Italy’s “boot.”. 1866) by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, reconstructed and orchestrated by Hershy Kay. Its name derives from a little southern town of Italy called Taranto. tarantella târ´əntĕl´ə [ key], Neapolitan folk dance that first appeared in Taranto, Italy, in the 17th cent. Updates? Tarantella definition, a rapid, whirling southern Italian dance in very quick sextuple, originally quadruple, meter, usually performed by a single couple, and formerly supposed to be … Entire communities of people would join hands, dance, leap, scream, and shake for hours [...]. The dance was later applied as a supposed cure for the behavior of neurotic women ('Carnevaletto delle donne').[8]. There are several traditional tarantella groups: 'Cantori di Carpino', 'Officina Zoé', 'Uccio Aloisi gruppu', 'Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino', 'Selva Cupina', 'I Tamburellisti di Torrepaduli'. Tarantism, as a ritual, is supposed to have roots in the ancient myths. Tarantella (Italian pronunciation: [taranˈtɛlla]) is a group of various folk dances characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in 68 time (sometimes 128 or 44), accompanied by tambourines. Its origins may further lie in "a fifteenth-century fusion between the Spanish Fandango and the Moresque 'ballo di sfessartia'." By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The term ‘folk dance’ was accepted until the mid-20th century. The music used to treat dancing mania appears to be similar to that used in the case of tarantism though little is known about either. The tarantella has a very interesting history. Historically a Tarantella is a traditional lively Italian dance. How tarantella beguiled the world, and what happened next. [4] This became known as the Tarantella. Relax, dance the tarantella with a ‘Stranger In The Night’ and sing along with your new found Italian friends to ‘That’s Amore.’ Come hungry!” Tix $19.99. The confusion appears to arrive from the fact that the spiders, the condition, its sufferers ('tarantolati'), and the dances all have similar names to the city of The Balanchine ballet Tarantella is set to the Grande Tarantelle for Piano and Orchestra, Op. The term may appear as tarantello in a linguistically masculine construction. On the other hand, the supposedly curative or symptomatic tarantella was danced solo by a victim of a Lycosa tarantula spider bite (not to be confused with what is commonly known as a tarantula today); it was agitated in character, lasted for hours or even up to days, and featured characteristic music. Originally, the Tarantella(Pronounced As: târntel) was a legitimate Italian folk danceof lower to middle classes. The dance partners can be a man and a woman or a couple composed of two women (Goethe described a version in his Italian Journey involving three women partners dancing the tarantella.) Sear, H. G. (1939). Today, it can still be danced as a sequence, but more often, elements of these parts are mixed and matched at will. In 186 BC the tarantella went underground, reappearing under the guise of emergency therapy for bite victims. The tarantella is a dance in which the dancer and the drum player constantly try to upstage each other by playing faster or dancing longer than the other, subsequently tiring one person out first. This article is about the Italian folk dance style. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. However, this is only under very controlled circumstances, and Torvald seems to enjoy the fact that it is a performance that impresses other … There are many folk dances in Italy but the tarantella is iconic, instantly recognizable as an image of Italian culture. The tarantella from Napoli, choreographed by August Bournonville, 1842; performed by members of … Both are wild and swirling, abundantly energetic (bordering on frenetic), and unquestionably Italian. [9], The music used against spider bites featured drums and clarinets, was matched to the pace of the victim, and is only weakly connected to its later depiction in the tarantellas of Chopin, Liszt, Rossini, and Heller.[10]. The Tarantella, a centuries-old dance, evolved from a unique, ritual-like practice. Music appeared to be the only means of combating the strange epidemic [...] lively, shrill tunes, played on trumpets and fifes, excited the dancers; soft, calm harmonies, graduated from fast to slow, high to low, prove efficacious for the cure. The term may appear as tarantello in a linguistically masculine construction. [2] It is among the most recognized forms of traditional southern Italian music. Tarantella Dance: A representation of the Helmer marriage. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership. The Sicilian curative tarantella, however, comes from Taranto in Puglia. R. Lowe Thompson proposed that the dance is a survival from a "Dianic or Dionysiac cult", driven underground. https://www.britannica.com/art/tarantella, History and Development of Dance/ Brockport - La Tarantella Italiana, tarantella - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Danced to tambourines played by the dancers, the Tarantella is a lively, improvised aerobic dance for men and women alike. Through her search, our heroine discovers the one thing that can stand up to raw elemental power. The most well-known Sicilian folk dance is the tarantella, which can be either a courtship tarantella that is stately and elegant or the so-called curative tarantella. Tarantella is a group of various folk dances characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in 8 time (sometimes 8 or 4), accompanied by tambourines. "Music and Medicine", p.45, List of tarantellas used in media and literature, Word of the Day: Tarantula and Tarantella, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tarantella&oldid=1001402933, Articles containing Italian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 January 2021, at 14:51. Another theory is that when one is bitten by a spider, the victim would have the urge to dance uncontrollably. It had rapid 6–8 meter with an increasing tempo and was thought to cure the bite of the tarantula ( Lycosa tarantula, a wolf spider), which supposedly caused the disease tarantism. Tarantella Dance: A representation of the Helmer marriage Bhadani Simran 12th Grade. Variations of this dance can be found in at least seven different regions of southern Italy, where it is most common. Love. Just think: the famed Tarantella gained its first step from a ritual-like practice that involved escaping the sting of a spider. [11] It was thought that the Lycosa tarantula wolf spider had lent the name "tarantula" to an unrelated family of spiders, having been the species associated with Taranto, but since L. tarantula is not inherently deadly,[11] the highly venomous Mediterranean black widow, Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, may have been the species originally associated with Taranto's manual grain harvest. The profusion of steps and the quick changes of direction that this brief but explosive pas de deux requires typify the ways in which Balanchine expanded the traditional vocabulary of classical dance. Tarantella is popular in Southern Italy and Argentina. Once upon a time there was a delightful story connected with the tarantella. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. A piece of music with this rhythm would likely alternate between major and minor. Quoted in Sear, H. G. (1939). A Tarantella is a very fast, feverish dance rhythm in 6/8 time that sets the pulse racing. The tarantella’s origin is connected with tarantism, a disease or form of hysteria that appeared in Italy in the 15th to the 17th century and that was obscurely associated with the bite of the tarantula spider; victims seemingly were cured by frenzied dancing. The term folk dance was accepted until the mid-20th century. Tarantellas were written for the piano by Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Carl Maria von Weber. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... saltarello and the tarantella. Folk dance, generally, a type of dance that is a vernacular, usually recreational, expression of a historical or contemporary culture. While the tarantella — arguably Italy’s most famous folk dance — is best known today as a dance performed at weddings, its origins are as ancient as they are peculiar. In the Italian province of Taranto, Apulia, the bite of a locally common type of wolf spider, named "tarantula" after the region,[3] was popularly believed to be highly venomous and to lead to a hysterical condition known as tarantism. While most serious proponents speculated as to the direct physical benefits of the dancing rather than the power of the music a mid-18th century medical textbook gets the prevailing story backwards describing that tarantulas will be compelled to dance by violin music. The light and lively dance is typically performed by couples is … Tarantella (Italian pronunciation: [taranˈtɛlla]) is a group of various folk dances characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in 68 time (sometimes 128 or 44), accompanied by tambourines. The dances, different in rhythmic structure, are alike in general character. Reportedly, victims who had collapsed or were convulsing would begin to dance with appropriate music and be revived as if a tarantula had bitten them. It is a fiery, passionate dance that allows Nora to drop the façade of the perfect mild-mannered Victorian wife. The name essentially means in English "Tarantula Spider (pronounced tranchl." All three words ultimately derive from the name of the town of Taranto, Italy. The specific dance-name varies with every region, for instance tammurriata in Campania, pizzica in the Salento region, and Sonu a ballu in Calabria. It is among the most recognized forms of traditional southern Italian music. The Tarantella has gone by many odd and similar spellings such as Tarentule, Tarantel, Tarantella, and Tarentella. Review of "La Tarantella Napoletana" by Renato Penna (. It is in constant uncertainty, like Nora's character. He schleps all the way from New York to … The tarantella, meaning "spider dance," is a popular Italian dance with origins in the eleventh century from the villages of Tanto and Tarentum ("little spider"). Omissions? Folk dances tell stories and reflect a group’s diverse history and culture. However, other forms of the dance were and still are couple dances usually either mimicking courtship or a sword fight. The steps are nimble and the dancing involves a lot of whirling, flirtatious glances, and close approaches. Some historians believe the tarantella originated in Greece. Tarantellas were written for the piano by Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Carl Maria von Weber. TARANTELLA TECHNIQUE Throughout the play, Nora uses performance to please Torvald, and the tarantella is no exception; he admits that watching her perform it makes her desire her. In addition to the distinct movements and musical accompaniment, the tarantella dance has a … The tarantella is a lively dance form that originated in Italy. Hilaire Belloc's poem "Tarantella" (1929) mimics in words the progress of the dance, culminating in the stillness of death. And its main weapon--sexual passion. It is among the most recognized forms of traditional southern Italian music. This piece is written for four drums. Justus Hecker (1795–1850), describes in his work Epidemics of the Middle Ages: A convulsion infuriated the human frame [...]. The word comes (in the late 18th century) from Italian, from the name of the seaport Taranto; so named because it was thought to be a cure for tarantism, the victim dancing the tarantella until exhausted. The tempo is either 3/8 or 6/8 and can quicken depending on the mood of the musicians. For George Balanchine's ballet, see. For the…. [7], The dance originated in the Apulia region, and spread throughout the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The following article was written by ISDA Contributing Editor Tony Traficante. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The tarantella is a traditional Italian folk dance that was believed to cure the bite of the tarantula spider. The tarantella scene is often considered “the most spectacular” scene in the whole play (Törnqvist 1999:35), an emblem of the drama, even. 67 (ca. 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