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The Society of Folk Dance Historians (SFDH) Moresca
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BACKGROUND
Information: A dance.
Translation: Muslims who were converted to Christianity
Pronunciation: moh-REHS-kah
Other names: Morisca, Morisco. An undulating Arabic dance in parts of Spain; a mimed male battle dance in southern Europe; part of a mascarade, or theatrical show at court in which the sides were Christians and Arabs, or Amazons vs. Knights.
Fakelore: No connection to English Morris dancing. The English perhaps thought they were doing something similar to a Moresco. A solo dance as described by Arbeau described a solo dance, Morisque, mistranslated by Mary Stewart Evans. Often confused with the Matassins. There is no known choreography of any type of Moresca, so the dance in Romeo and Juliet was a 20th-century creativity.
Region: Spain.
REFERENCES
- 15th century Moresca: A. Pontremoli, P. La Rocca, Il Ballare Lombardo, Milano 1987, pp. 184-234.
- 16th century Moresca: A. Pontremoli, La Moresca. Una forma di teatro-danza del XVI secolo, in F. Paino (ed.), Dramma medioevale europeo 1997, Atti del Convegno Internazionale, Università degli Studi di Camerino, Camerino 1998, pp. 79-103.
DOCUMENT
- Spain, a country.
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