Montblanc plans to encircle city wall with 'sardana' dancers

Catalonia’s traditional dance known as the sardana involves a group of dancers holding hands in a circle. Often performed in village squares during local festivities, sardana dances never match the size of the one proposed for Montblanc, which aims to encircle the medieval walls of the town in the Tarragona region, in southern Catalonia.

If the dance is to go ahead, Montblanc will have to find enough sardana dancers to cover the 1,402 metres. That is why the town has already put out the call for volunteers to sign up for the macro-sardana planned for July, which is to be just one of the activities organized to celebrate Montblanc’s status as the Sardana Capital 2018.

Montblanc this year takes over from the northern city of Figueres to become the sixth Sardana capital. Officially beginning on March 17, the series of events organized will start with the unveiling of a major monument dedicated to the traditional dance. However, the events and activities will continue throughout the rest of the year.  

A preview of the plans for Montblanc took place on Monday, with the council announcing it will contribute 50,000 euros for the organization of the sardana-related activities. A coordinator of the sardana capital project celebrated the revival in the traditional dance all over Catalonia: “As a kid I was told it was in danger of disappearing, but it is in very good health, and we have more than a hundred dance groups signed up,” he said.