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Play it again, Sam

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Posted on 2021-01-29 in

Music-and-dance event enlivened by the group Aiko. Iñaki de Andrés.

St James’ Square in Bilbao. Last Saturday of the month. 21:00 hours. Following the tradition of yesteryear, a dance would be held in this charming corner of Bilbao, were it not that we are in the midst of a global pandemic. Should we place our hundred-year-old grandmother in the middle of the square, what would she think? She would probably enjoy seeing so many people dancing, but would she know how to dance with them? I would say she would not. She might feel as if she were somewhere else, far from the dear city where she grew up. And with good reason. The Bilbao of today is not the Bilbao of her youth. The city has changed, just as the way its peoples dance and the music repertoire played in its squares have changed. That is what these lines are about. (more…)

And dancing goes on

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Posted on 2020-11-20 in

Popular dance. José Arrue.

By accepting that tradition is a constantly evolving concept, we accept that it will not always move in the right direction. Nevertheless, those of us who are part of that tradition and promote it must be aware of the responsibility such a task entails. What we do will have an effect, in one way or another, on the evolution and future of the said tradition.

Slowly but surely, traditional dance tends towards normalization, and thus away from diversity. It might be on the right path, it might be on the wrong path: for better or for worse, it depends on the eye of the beholder. (more…)

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