Folklore: Centuries of tradition invite you to dance with them…

Gold. White. A bit of black, and a touch of red. These are the colours of our fiestas. Their gaiety is set off by the sharp clap of castanets as they crack the air together with the drum, the flute, and the espasí. Our dance is characterized by delicate steps that trace out circles, ever so timidly… Look. Listen. Feel our folklore, the unique expression of a valued heritage, nurtured in Ibiza over the course of centuries. Come join in the fiesta!

Traditions define a people; they celebrate life and tell stories. They keep alive the heritage handed down from one generation to the next. They speak to who we are. And remind us of those who inhabited our land long ago. Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Moors, Vandals, Catalonians. Our folklore drinks from all of these cultures, revealing its most vivid facet in our folkdance, called ball pagès, the traditional courtship dance that has been celebrated in the Ibicenco countryside since time immemorial. Discover what it consists of, what garments the dancers wore, and what instruments they used to interpret their traditional melodies. 

Ball pagès, an ancient treasure

Ibiza’s folkdance is a centuries-old courtship dance which you should not miss during your holiday if you have the chance to attend one of our fiestas, or alternately, a scheduled performance of ball pagès. Of uncertain origin, Ibiza’s folkdance has different variations, however, in all of them, the woman dances solemnly around the man, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground as she traces out circles with short, delicate steps. Her partner, on the other hand, gives great kicks and leaps, all the while playing large castanets, called castanyoles, as he tries to get her attention by demonstrating his strength and virility.

Types of folkdance

If you come to one of our fiestas or attend a performance of ball pagès, you will see different variations of Ibiza’s folkdance. The main types are:

• Sa curta: a slow, gentle dance done according to tradition by the elders, who thus open the session to younger dancers
• Sa llarga: a faster-paced dance of wooing, characterized by great leaps with which the man strives to impress the woman. From this dance derive other modalities, such as canvi de parella and giratomba.
• Ses nou rodades: a nuptial dance in which the newlyweds, with arms linked, circle round the dance floor, signalling that the wedding guests may now come dance as well
• Sa filera: This dance symbolizes the departure of the bride from the parental home, and is enacted by the bride and the groom along with two of the bride’s friends.

Traditional Festive Dress

Folk dancing allows us to admire the clothing that country men and women traditionally wore on holidays. The colour of the female dress may be white, blue, green or brown, and displays considerable volume as a result of the many layers of petticoats she wears underneath. But, above all, her attire is distinguished by an ornament known as the emprendada, an extraordinary jewel of very old origin, consisting of a dazzling array of necklaces and chains – crafted either in gold, or silver and coral –, which covers her chest, and from which hangs a reliquary bearing a picture of the virgin. During local festivities, or in the summer folkdance performances, it is also customary for the woman to wear on her fingers a collection of gold rings, known as the anellada, traditionally gifted by her fiancé as a way of formalizing the engagement. Depending on the wealth of the family, the anellada could contain up to 24 rings.

For the man’s part, the traditional male dress worn in the summer months consists of a white shirt and trousers, a red sash, a silk kerchief round the neck, a felt cap, and a waistcoat adorned with a set of hanging sliver buttons. The traditional winter dress differs in a few particulars, namely that the trousers are black and a short jacket, also black, is added for warmth. Both the man and the woman wear espardenyes on their feet, an artisanal treasure made from agave and esparto.

Traditional Instruments

In these festivities, Ibiza’s traditional musical instruments also play their part, the most characteristic elements being the drum, the recorder (made of a hollowed-out branch of oleander), the espasí (a piece of metal in the shape of a sword), and the castanets, or castanyoles (made of juniper wood).  Other instruments rooted in popular island culture are the xeremía, a type of piccolo with a double reed, and the bimbau, an archaic instrument made of a metallic tab fitted into a frame.