“Tarantella”–a ballet perspective

The dance, legend, and music behind tarantella inspired George Balanchine, acclaimed GeorgianAmerican choreographer, to create a ballet similarly titled “Tarantella” in 1964. In a pas de deux style, the ballet takes from the flirtatious motifs of the Italian folk dance to create a soaring piece. The dancers wear outfits inspired by Italian tradition while the female performer uses a tambourine to entice her male counterpart, much like the use of the tambourine in Italy. As the dance progresses, leaps and actions get more vibrant to dynamically parallel the legend of tarantism in how dance’s power releases the poison from the spider bite.

The music for “Tarantella” was composed by Moreau Gottschalk who studied the traditional tarantella sounds and interpreted them for the ballet stage. The tempo of the music is fast to encourage speedy choreography. Dancer

Daniel Ulbricht of the New York City

Ballet describes the ballet as having an intimate relationship with the ground which enhances the spider themes. Though Balanchine’s “Tarantella” goes to show how dance can affect and inspire outside of its original origins and identity, it also demonstrates how tradition can easily be commodified and arguably appropriated. Many motifs of the authentic Italian tarantella exist in Balanchine’s version, yet credit is not inherently given to the myth of the spider bite or Italian culture. This appropriated westernized approach through ballet lacks authenticity in, most importantly, its presentation as Balanchine’s name is plastered all over its creation rather than the source material; in brief, “Tarantella” disrupts both historical and functional authenticity that present in thetarantella.