The wires with the bunting of vibrant colours actively participated in the celebration of San Vicente Ferrer festivities. The wind made them dance cheerfully to the beat of the performed music.
I was also there as a performer in one of the activities and later as the audience when a dance group of traditional Valencian dances had their presentation.
This performance was just one of the many that happened in the last three days in this chapel that bears the same name as the celebrated saint, San Vicente Ferrer. It is better to say that the activities took place in front of the chapel and not in it. These hermitages are quite small, but they do have space around the buildings for these kinds of celebrations.
The activities included dances, concerts, book presentations, workshops, pilgrimage, footrace, Valencian pelota and mass. Oh, and we also had lunch there. I was there for some six hours, in the sun of midday, dressed in black, but all in all, it was a very nice day with a successful performance for everyone.
But I'm really not going to complain. The girls and boys who danced for almost an hour during their presentation surely felt the heat too. And dressed this way, with many layers of shirts and skirts, even more so.
The dances that I have seen here, and you will see also if you are seeing this post are the folkloric manifestation of this region, the Valencian Community in Spain. The dances in the past were performed in the squares and streets of the Valencian towns, accompanied by the music of the popular traditional instruments of this region dolçaina and tabal. There were also some mandolines (I think they were mandolines) that a group of musicians played but I was focused on these dancers and not musicians this time.
The colourful dresses were beautiful, I loved them. I was thinking what makes nowadays young people practice these dances and preserve the tradition? I guess it is challenging with all the distractions we have so hats off to these girls.
They danced very gracefully! I know it takes a lot of time to learn, practice and dance in harmony with the group.
While the girls were dancing they also played the castanets simultaneously. The combination of colourful skirts, the music, and the castanets' sound made this show wonderful. I had a smile drawn on my face.
One of the dances was very quick. Here also a few men performed and the dynamic was more intense.
Not sure whether it can be noticed from the photos but this dancer was smiling for the whole time. He really enjoyed the dance and when they finished he congratulated the others. Maybe he was a kind of a teacher, I don't know. It is just my guess.
The most cheerful moment was when the music went pretty fast, at the end of one song. I had the impression that the dancing girls would fly thanks to their skirts. That was beautiful and could make you dizzy, which is sometimes good! 😁
Now I understood why they had to have wide skirts with many layers.
I called these skirts in my mind faldas voladoras - flying skirts! 😂
The colourful little flags greeted us once again, with the help of the wind and in the same way I greet you with hopes that you have found some enjoyment in these colours and traditional dances, music and flying skirts.
Year ago, I took my girlfriend to a carnival parade (Masopust) in the south of Bohemia. There was a dance quite similar to the one one your pictures, and she, a flamenco dancer, keeps mocking it ever since (it's listed as a UNESCO protected intangible and cultural heritage). Now I have to share your post with her :P
That is a huge number of costumes that passed in that post of yours! Very funny ones haha.
Your girlfriend is a flamenco dancer? Nice 😇
Say hola to her from my side 😉
Well, not like a pro dancer, but she did dance flamenco for like 10 years or so ;)
She dances then more than ten times better than I would do 😇
And every Spaniard dances like ten times better than me :P
This looks gorgeous. The colors really pop and make you want to look closely to everything. This pictures are great :)
I am glad you also enjoyed these vibrant colours and so many details on the skirts 🤓
Beautiful tradition!! full of vibrant colors and movements!! thanks for sharing with us!
Movements - well, their skirts were moving for the whole time :))
They really are flying, the girls thought they were going to fly away!!!!
What a beauty to know about the customs and so much colour and dance. I love the music but I don't dance at all, I'm made of wood hahaha.
I was delighted to see so much joy and especially to the beat of the music! Thank you @mipiano!❤️
Music can make that, right? To give that feeling of flying away :D
I am glad you enjoyed this, I enjoyed it too. Later we had tapas and paella 🤤
Yes, a lot of music gives me that, especially classical music which I love!!! Tapas..... you want me to be hungry hahahaha
Have a nice day!❤️
Love how colorful everything is. That looks like so much fun.
Art on those skirts 😇
Yes !
I love watching people dance. I don't know how to dance, my thing is something like body expression. It's something I enjoy very much and I do it sometimes here alone at home.
The day I met Nickydee, thanks to you, I was very surprised that she does this. And I loved it.
About your wardrobe thing . ugh, I think you could go thinking about a little more colorful and summery outfit. Something flowery... maybe.
Dancing home alone - cool, I guess - and if the neighbours are not bothering, then even better.
The wardrobe thing. That was the dress code - the musicians in black 😉 But when I become a dancer of traditional dances of Valencia, then flowers will come 🌼
Por favor, maestra, I should have said clothes. No dejes que haga el ridículo con el inglés. jajajaja... ¿entonces no hay pianistas que tocan con ropas floreadas o de cualquier color que no sea negro? No sabía que existía un código de vestimenta. 😶🤔
Sí, hay pianistas que tocan con ropas floreadas, cuando uno toca como solista puede vestirse como quiere pero lo habitual es negro si es una actuación en grupo (which was the case yesterday + the director sent a reminder that all the musicians in black 😉). Also, the usual dress code for classical musicians is black, or black and white combination if it is more serious or official performance. This could be a topic for some future post maybe :))
😄 cool - y gracias por tan detallada explicación, which is very very (ay no sé) ¡qué tarde es!
time is relative - el día aquí acaba de empezar jaja
Que tengas un hermoso y productivo día, mipiano. ☀️
More reasons to visit one day the area where you live and Valencia, it is lovely that they do this, and yes, you can see the smile of all the dancers in the images, which by the way, I find excellent, it makes me see you as a professional photographer. I send you a hug dear mipiano...
Yes, if not to see some Hivers there are also other good reasons to visit la costa Valenciana 😁
That was beautiful , I love the colors on the flags and the faldas voladoras me imagino que en vivo aún más emocionante con la música y todo el ambiente de fiesta It seem like you had fun there 😎💃
Bonito post señorita Mipiano colorida 😂😅
Sí, en vivo es mejor, y yo llevaba solo el celular jeje, pero espero se ha podido ver bointo. Este sitio es donde se juega la pelota valenciana, que hace un año mencionamos - como el frontenis pero se juega con las manos sin raquetas :))
Perdonen que me meta en esta conversación, es que extraño las canchas. 😜
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What good photos, I really enjoy this content since I like to know the remoteness of other cultures, I imagine the music of those dances, everyone happy in their celebration , greetings
Thanks. Hive is a world in small, we can travel from one part of the globe to another in a few clicks ;))
Muy lindos bailes españoles. Y en verdad las banderitas no dejaron de moverse dando lucidez al lugar. De seguro lo pasaste muy bien. Bonita semana @mipiano.🥰❤️❤️❤️
Sí, todo salió muy bien, un día muy bonito y soleado con colores, tradición y música 🤓
Being an audience in such a gathering must have been really amazing. I don't know how to dance myself but I always love watching dancers perform. So sorry about the hotness of the sun, I guess that is the sacrifice that comes with being the celebration.
I can't dance either haha, but seeing those who can is a real enjoyment. Sun - we need a bit of vitamin D, so it was good :))
It is the vitamin D for me😅
It's a good thing you enjoyed the performances
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Wow! Valencia really have such a reach culture. The scenes are lovely.
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Such a colourful event. Good decorations and beautiful dancers
Wow
Those people deserve accolades because they could dance for almost an hour under that sun
They must be really amazing
Can you imagine that the dancers flew by? It's as if they were wearing a parachute but it works the other way around. 🙃🤣 The costumes are beautiful and I can imagine the dances you could admire.
What you call mandolin I suspect that you mean the bandurria, which is smaller than the lute and also has 6 double strings.
I just see this comment now. Hahaha, a parachute in reverse 😂
Oh, it could be bandurria indeed. Creo que sí
It looks great. I've never been to a carnival before. I don't like crowded places, but I like events where people dance happily and have fun.
This was a nice event, not too crowded but still, interesting to spend a few hours there! ;)
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