Sarabanda

Performed in the 16th and 17th centuries in Spain, it is a fast dance, full of temperament, accented with the sounds of castanets or tambourines. Performed to texts sung by courtesans, it was considered a seductive dance; in 1583 it was forbidden to perform at the Spanish court. In the first half of the 17th century it made its way to France, where it appears in the court ballet La Douairière de Billebahaut as a dance of Spaniards with castanets. At the same time, it existed in street theater circles, where it enjoyed great success with the comedians of the time. From the second half of the 17th century the sarabande entered the repertoire of court performances and was also recorded by Feuillet as Folie d’Espagne. In the surviving compositions for duet, as well as solo for a male or female dancer, we find similar steps, which are intended as a display of the performers’ technical skills. In triple meter sarabande uses such steps as pas grave, pas coupé, pirouettes, rond de jambe. It is characterized by circular, sliding steps, turns, as well as decorative hand movements, high port de bras, which refer to the position of castanets.