Student project aims to promote traditional ‘sardana’ dance among young people 

Second-grade students at the Vedruna School in Ripoll, a village in the northern province of Girona, have been investigating why the ‘sardana’ dance is no longer popular among young people.  

‘La sardana’ is a traditional Catalan dance, performed in a circle where people hold hands and follow a set pattern of short and long steps. 

The project is titled "La sardana mola" (La sardana is cool) and involves learning to dance sardanas with the help of the local sardanista group.  

One of the project’s conclusions is that schools should be a strong ally in promoting the local custom. "Schools need to teach it more so it doesn’t disappear. That way, when we grow up, if we like it, we’ll keep dancing it," Isaac, one of the students, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).  

The students have asked the Ripoll City Council to promote sardana dancing during school hours. 

Equipped with a green sticker on their right foot and a yellow one on their left, the second-grade boys and girls at Vedruna School have been learning to dance sardanas under the guidance of members of Ripoll’s sardanista group and a group of parents.  

They’ve done this once every two weeks during this trimester. Though, the main focus of the project has been to investigate why la sardana no longer attracts younger generations. 

To find out, they've carried out a survey among Ripoll residents to get their opinions and brainstormed ideas for actions they could take to help.  

Recently, they sent a letter to the City Council asking them to support sardana lessons during school hours. "If it’s only offered as an extracurricular activity, no one signs up," said Irma Darnés, the second-grade teacher. 

"We don’t want sardanas to disappear. It’s fun and anyone can do it," said Zacaries, one of the participating students. Next to him, another student, Ot, shared what he liked best: "Learning how to dance it and focusing." 

Arnau thinks it’s "not easy" but is already clear about some of its details: "The short step is done with hands down, and the long one with hands up." 

The project leaders are positive about the results so far. "We’ve seen that sardanas bring people together, that anyone can dance, and that if we start in schools we can go much further," said teacher Irma Darnés.  

As a small anecdote, she shared why she thinks the children have really "absorbed" the dance: "Now, when they line up to go out, they dance sardanas," she said with a smile. The initiative also aims to support the candidacy of la sardana to be recognized as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.