Popular dances have existed since humanity itself. Musical traditions that pass from fathers to sons, generation to generation, and like anywhere else, become the musical soundtrack to the most festive moments of the year. In Menorca the traditional dances that have been able to survive decades are the fandango, the jota, the bolero and the còssil. If we discover a little bit more about them, we might even become fans.
Let’s talk about the fandango first, the most popular of them all. It is a Spanish dance with a fast rhythm and movement. At the beginning of the 17th century it spread along the south and eastern peninsula. It is divided into two highly differentiated parts, one instrumental and the other vocal. The accompanying instruments are the guitar, the large guitar, the tiple (like an oboe), the bandurria (like a lute) and the castanets.
Next we have the jota, a lively and very vigorous dance that, although having close ties to Aragon, its origin is not precisely known. To start, every village in Menorca has its own jota. As occurs with the fandango, it is also divided into two parts, the instrumental and the vocal, which alternate between 6 and even 12 times.
The third is the bolero, which arrived on our island in the 19th century. It is a dance, which is associated with a “school”, and gave the dancers social prestige due to its elegance and gracefulness. The rhythm of the bolero is ternary and more restful than the fandango or jota. The large guitar and the tiple are not played in this dance and it is the castanets that mark the rhythm.
Finally comes the dance of the còssil, which is danced only in the district of Es Castell. Its unusual name comes from the cossiers of Mallorca, translated from the Latin word as “runs” according to the Menorcan professor Xavier Martín. The dancers, dressed up in a skirt, carry a stick adorned with ribbons and dance around creating shapes. They may form a snake, a snail or even a star with the sticks. The only instruments used in this dance are a drum, a flipple flute and paletas, an instrument in the form of a small spatula,which is played by a maiden.
