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Basque Studies Program Newsletter · Issue 45, 1992

Lisa Corcostegui is the group's director. Her knowledge of ballet is a helpful addition to the mandatory hours of practice as both instructor and dancer. Marcelino, Angie, Lisa, and Denise provide the knowledge gained from studying dance in the Basque Country. Some members have danced since childhood.

Zenbat Gara's Reno debut was in 1989, dancing the jota, or fandango, at UNRs Multicultural Awareness Day celebration. Why this particular dance? It as the only one the entire group knew! Even so, the jota is a difficult dance to master, especially for beginners. Its rhythm requires quick shifts in body weight.

In 1990 they performed the Iarrain dantza at the Winnemucca (Nevada) Basque Festival and at Jaialdi in Boise, Idaho. Lisa and Enrike learned the dance first and then taught it to the rest of the group. They often rely on their video recorder, which their friends call the "jota cam" because it goes everywhere and records the dances.

Practice sessions usually range from one and one-half to two hours, with much time devoted to warmup exercises in technique and balance. Each session focuses on one or two dances. Thinking through the order of the steps is a continual mental discipline.

Keeping people in the group is their biggest obstacle. UNR graduates leave, some going to the Basque Country. New people always join. With an ever-changing membership, Lisa finds that "doing the steps is easy; dancing the steps is not."

One of the group's favorite dances is the kuadrille, a popular rather than ritualistic dance. It is borrowed from the northern French provinces, though it may have originated, Lisa says, in England. It is danced by four couples in a square, much like American square dancing, and is stylistically repetitious. What makes this dance so enjoyable is the members' interaction while performing. Frivolous talk creates smiles, perhaps a muted laugh. The audience finds the dancers' mirth infectious and shares the enjoyment.

Another well-liked dance is the Apple Dance. Originating in the town of Arizkun, it is traditionally a man's dance. The men wear white pants and shirt and a red sash, or gerriko. Pointed cone-shaped hats with rows of curled crepe paper catch one's eye. The dancers stand in two lines and, with forceful movements, hit together the apples they are holding. This dance was later changed in the Basque Country, adapting it to female performers, thus supplementing the lack of dances of this type. It became gentler in form with smoother, ballet-like movements, and the dancers no longer hit the apples together.

Many Basque dances performed today in the United States differ from their performance in the Basque Country. Adherence to traditional style is dictated by each group. Zenbat Gara strives for authenticity and accuracy, while acknowledging the fact that changes may be necessary, depending on the size of the group.

Basque dancers perform at ethnic events such as festivals, conventions, and picnics. They enhance cultural programs at the schools. Nursing home residents are entertained by their colorful forms as they twirl and stomp. Shopping mall patrons pause to watch the dancers exhibit their talents during various ethnic celebrations. Basque hotels host lively performances. From the gaiety of wedding and graduation dances to the melancholy of funeral dances--which indeed bring tears to many an eye--the dancers become infused with the dance.

In October 1991 Zenbat Gara performed the Lapurdiko makil dantza (stick dance from Lapurdi) at UNR's International Club Dinner. It is a carnival dance, a spring dance, like the Mardi Gras, where participants use noisemakers (sticks) to wake up the earth. Performed in two lines which face each other, each person bangs the sticks together between his or her knees. This was no easy feat for the women whose skirts and petticoats got in the way! Reflecting on this performance, Lisa notes, "This dance is originally--and still should be--a man's dance, but what are you going to do when you don't have any men?" Enrike was the sole male dancer that evening.

Zazpi jauziak, the Seven Jumps, is another popular choice. It is a circle dance, done counterclockwise. Currently performed by both men and women, the dance consists of a series of specific steps, the order determined by a caller. Seven is a very important number for Basques: it is the number of Basque provinces. The first time this dance is done there is one jump. It is repeated with two jumps, increasing with each repetition until seven jumps are performed.

Zenbat Gara's creativity is further evidenced in its artistic rendition of authentic Basque costumes, all made by its members. Books, magazines, and etchings provide the basis for their designs, although sometimes there is an added bit of luck. In the fall of 1991 the seamstress/costume designer for Argia, a San Sebastián dance group, was in Reno and lent her expertise to the costume design.

Without the availability of live Basque music, the dancers rely on tapes, most of which come from the Basque Country. Their swords and hoops (arches) are from Joe Eguia in Mountain Home, Idaho, and their sticks and other props are garnered from whatever is at hand.

No one knows exactly what the future holds for Zenbat Gara. They hope to continue dancing, performing throughout Nevada. To master the intricate ballet-like steps which, when skillfully done, present the appearance of dancing on air. To reap the rewards of their growth as dancers, summer 1993 is the target date for the group's visit to the Basque Country to observe folkdance groups, work with Argia, and dance in some of the villages. Lisa and Enrike have already been invited to the Basque Country to study with Juan Antonio Urbeltz, Argia's artistic director/choreographer. Enrike, who did not dance before meeting Lisa, now shares her commitment to Basque dance. As for Lisa, she asserts, "It's what we live for. I think we'd die if we couldn't dance."

Additional Basque Dances

It is said that the Basque dances nobly. The dances, whether exhibiting the serious majesty of the Spanish Basques or the gaiety and technical precision of the French Basques, are indeed a pleasure both to watch and perform.

Basque dances are generally divided into two groups: 1) recreational or social dances, more recent in origin, open to general participation by both men and women, and 2)performed dances, many of which were ritual or religious, performed traditionally by men only.

The early churches, realizing the futility of attempts to eliminate pagan practices among their members, decided to adapt them to religious ends. These dances were absorbed into the rituals of the Church, their original purposes ultimately forgotten.

An example of the Church's modification is the custom of Kaxarranka, or Dedication of the Coffer, still observed in the coastal town of Lequeitio. On St. Peter's day (June 29), the members of the Fishermen's Guild elect officers for the coming year and march through the town carrying a coffer containing their archives. A statute of St. Peter, accompanied by two fishermen dressed to represent Saints John and Andrew, used to stand on this coffer. At the end of the ceremonies St. Peter was taken to the sea and soundly beaten, an indication of what might happen if the fishing were poor. (Some sources say a man, rather than a statue, represented St. Peter, and he was ultimately tossed into the water.) The Church has prohibited this show of disrespect of St. Peter, and Saints John and Andrew, whose conduct was often considered "unseemly," have been eliminated from the procession. Today St. Peter is replaced by a dancer carrying a red banner depicting keys, symbolic of this saint.

The Guipuzcoan dances, in all their variations, are very popular. Most are performed on special occasions and begin with a lively march tune. A common pattern features lines of dancers who remain motionless while their leader dances alone. Leaping high into the air, he performs a series of complicated maneuvers. When he is finished, the dancers repeat his feats in a simpler version, retaining enough intricacy of movement to be a joy to behold. The tempo changes throughout the dance, slower at times, then quickening as the dancers meet one another. They bang together the various items they hold, such as 1) arkuak, which resemble large wooden croquet hoops; 2) brokelak, small shields; 3) makil txikiak, little sticks; 4) makil haundiak, bigger sticks; or 5) expatak, swords, and smaller daggers whose hilts are covered with handkerchiefs. Neither of these is banged together.

The fertility ritual Zanpanzar is actually a walk, not a dance. In what is almost a procession, men from two towns walk to each other's town and have dinner. This ritual occurs near the time of Mardi Gras (Lent). Huge bells, worn on the men's backs, are sounded, the idea being to wake up the earth. Each man carries a horse tail on a stick with which he caresses the earth (the horse being a fertility symbol). They wear sheepskins, white slips adorned with lace, and cone-shaped hats with rooster feathers at the top.

The godalet dantza, or Wine Glass Dance, is part of the mascarades performed in Zuberoa in the spring. One of the major participants is the "horse." The highlight of his performance occurs when he approaches the glass of red wine, which has been placed on the ground, and dances around it. His costume prevents him from seeing either the glass or his own feet. He gently feels for the glass, poises his body upon it, and with his free foot makes the sign of the cross. Then, with a forceful leap, he springs clear of the glass, rarely spilling a single drop of wine!

These are but a few of the Basque dances, a sampling of the rich heritage of a dancing people. A verse from a Mummers' Play proclaims:

   We are not London actors
   That act upon the stage,
   We are the country people
   That dances without wage.

Copyright © 2000 the Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada, Reno. All rights reserved. Updated 21 February 2001. E-mail: basque@unr.edu