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The Society of Folk Dance Historians (SFDH)
Saltarello in Romagna
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Recreational international folk dancers usually think of the Tarantella when they think of Italy, because at least 7 Tarantella dances have appeared frequently on American folk dance programs (see the _Folk Dance Problem Solver, volumes 2016-2019), and another 35 appear in the folk dance literature. Yet, Italy has a rich dance heritage, including among many other dances, the Saltarello. Two have appeared on American folk dance programs:
1 Someone, possibly Grace West, presented to recreational international folk dancers in America a one-couple "Saltarello from the Roman Campagna" (Italy) at the 1948 Folk Dance Camp at Stockton, California. West did present the dance later, at the 1956 Idyllwild (California) Folk Dance Workshop. This dance came from Evelyn Porter's 1937 book, Music Through the Dance.
2 By 1961, Vyts Beliajus was presenting Elba Gurzau's three-couple "Saltarello di Romagna" at dance camps across the country. The Slatarello dances described below come from Gian Carlo (Juan Carlos) Battilani, one of the corresponding ethnochoreologists with whom our Society is proud to be associated. Gian Carlo sent the surveys of the Santerno and Sillaro valleys that appear in our encyclopedia, and he has posted many videos worth viewing on the internet.
Gian Carlo adds:
"I am writing to share with you the latest developments in my research on the traditional dances of Romagna. As you may recall from my previous contribution regarding the Santerno and Sillaro valleys, my
work has always focused on documenting the living tradition of our "staccato" dances. I have recently completed a comprehensive geographic and musical mapping of the Saltarello Romagnolo, identifying 13 specific variants (after the respective localities of origin) that span from the Apennine valleys to the Adriatic coast. This research bridges the gap between the historical field recordings (such as those by Gualtiero Gori for Uvagrisa and Roberto Bucci for Carampana) and contemporary musical practice.
To provide a clearer picture for the international folk dance community, I have produced a new cartographic map and a comparative synoptic table. This work demonstrates that the Saltarello in Northern Italy is a complex and widespread phenomenon, distinct from the more commonly known Central Italian (Laziale) versions."
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