What is the Italian tarantella dance?

tarantella, couple folk dance of Italy characterized by light, quick steps and teasing, flirtatious behaviour between partners; women dancers frequently carry tambourines. The music is in lively 6/8 time.

Why is the tarantella dance important?

Like the macaroons, the tarantella symbolizes a side of Nora that she cannot normally show. It is a fiery, passionate dance that allows Nora to drop the façade of the perfect mild-mannered Victorian wife.

What are two reasons the tarantella dance was created?

The first originates with the bite of the Tarantula, Arania or Apulcian Spider. The dance itself was used to cure the poison from the bite of the spider. Town folks would play music and the afflicted person would dance non-stop to avoid succumbing to the poison. The second origin lies in the religious story of the St.

When did the tarantella dance start?

First recorded in the mid-14th century, the dance derives its name from the southern Italian town of Taranto. It originated as a manic response of field workers to the bite of a spider whose name is also related to Taranto — the tarantula.

What music is used for the Tarantella?

Musically, the tarantella is commonly in a very fast version of the ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three rhythm usually called 6/8 time in music. Probably the best-known Neapolitan song written in that rhythm is Funiculì-Funiculà, composed in 1880 by Giuseppe Turco (words) and Luigi Denza (music).

Who is the composer of Tarantella?

Felix Mendelssohn wrote a piece called “Tarantella” in 1845 (Op. 102, No. 3).

What is the symbolic importance of the tarantella dance to our understanding of the relationship between Nora and Torvald in Act III?

Her frantic tarantella represents her inner turmoil, the dance itself being an attempt to endear herself to Helmer again, but at the same time, as Torvald tries to correct and control her, with exclamations of, “Slower, slower!”, “Not so violently, Nora!” and “that is not a bit right”, Nora’s assertions that “This is …

What instruments are used in the tarantella?

The tarantella is most frequently played with a mandolin, a guitar, an accordion and tambourines. Flute, fiddle, trumpet and clarinet are also used.

What instruments are used in the Tarantella?

What is the origin of Tarantella?

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 a condition known as “ …

How fast is a tarantella?

A dance in fast 6/8 time having a delirious, mad character to it. The tarantella is characterized by alternations between major and minor tonalities and a quickening of speed throughout the composition.

Why is it called Tarantella?

What is the story behind the tarantella dance?

Tarantellas for two couples are also danced. 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.

Where did the tarantella dance start?

Southern Italy serves as the birthplace for the folk dance known as the “Tarantella” originating as far back as the 16th and 17th centuries yet more prevalent during the Middle Ages/Renaissance. Primarily this dance form started off as a solo dance to cure disease yet transitioned into a dance of courtship years later.

What are the steps in dancing Tarantella?

Facing front,cross your right foot in front of the left. Cross your left foot in front of the right.

What is the purpose of tarantella dance?

The cultural purpose of the Tarantella dance is to cure the bite of a tarantula . There are three possible origins of the Tarantella dance. But the main idea of all the origins was to make bitten victim dance, to sweat out all the venom of the tarantula.