This isn’t the first processional ribbon dance I’ve seen, but they still come as a real novelty to those of us only used to static ‘maypole’ dances.
Ball de Gitanes. Dance of the Gypsies.
https://www.facebook.com/stephen.rowley1/videos/1325874481612911?idorvanity=2199109560199076
Where: Vilanova i la Geltrú.
When: Stephen Rowley says: it is danced whenever the balls populares are danced. Festivals marking key religious date’s through the year, although the religious element is often nominal these days.
HIstory: Pole and ribbon dances go back a long way here, but we aren’t sure when they acquired the Gitanes link. It may just be an excuse to dress up. The dance is a whole lot of fun with role play between the women and the two men.
Stepping: Skipping, but with a rather nice cross over of the lifted leg.
More videos
This one comes with castanets and an interesting costume for the men.
The one below skips the ‘gypsy’ aspect and doesn’t use an actual pole (I’ve seen some Latin American dances that use a central dancer in a similar manner) It also uses more complex footwork. Note the move where each dances