Dances of Spain II

'There are other dances in Aragon,' says the author of this delightful book, 'but when the province is mentioned every Spaniard I have ever met preens himself and remarks, "Ah! La Jota".' There are indeed other dances. Mrs. Armstrong, a widely known authority on Spanish Dances and author of 'Dances of Spain: vol. I', in this series, takes us through the great province of Aragon, from the Pyrenees to the borders of Valencia, to busy Catalonia, and to Valencia itself, where Catalan and southern influences meet, Catalan delicacy softening the rigid grace of Andalusia. Everywhere she shows us the dances of the people: the famed Jota, the Sardana - of which, as she says, much has been written, and a great deal of it nonsense - and less-known dances such as the Dance of the Gypsies from the Valles, to which, oddly enough, no gypsies are admitted.

To this most absorbing of travellers' tales has been added a more detailed step-by-step description of four selected dances, with the original music specially arranged for this series. In addition, four beautiful colour plates show traditional Spanish regional costumes.