You see this is the home of the Sardana, the traditional folk dance of Catalonia. It all kicked off several centuries ago right here in the Empordá, and whenever there's a party there will always be a few Sardanes (plural) danced in the course of the merry-making. The dancers move in circles, holding hands. In each circle there is an experienced dancer, who leads the others through the steps.
For the fast parts - the tirada de llargs - the dancers hold their hands at shoulder height, and for the slower parts - the tirda de curts - the dancers have their hands at waist height.
On a very superficial level it doesn't look that desperately complicated, but when you get into the whole composition of the dance it's another world. There's an opening and a closing section and sections danced at different beats. It's far from simple or random. There's a whole framework of elaborate choreography that has to be followed.
My lovely sister-in-law, Neide, who hails from Brazil and has the natural rhythm of a Latina, was intrigued. 💃 💃💃 And before long one of the ladies left a circle and came over to get her involved. We weren't able to stay for the entire afternoon, but if we had I think Neide would have cracked the the Sardana and been dancing like a pro. It would, on the other hand, have taken me a lifetime, but then I'm not one of nature's dancing prodigies ... 🤷♀️
For any good Sardana party you need a Sardana band. And yesterday we had the real deal. They're called a cobla. They comprise 11 musicians and a drummer. There are 10 wind instruments, a double bass, and a drummer with a very, very small drum called a tambori.
All the best for now,