The instruments that accompany the dances are simple:
drum, castanets and flute.
The melodies are simple and cheerful and the costumes,
especially the women’s, authentic works of art

Music and dance

The “ball pagès”, the typical dance of Ibiza and Formentera, is much more than a beautiful display of our culture, our traditions and our traditional folklore. It is, in addition, a living relic of remote and very ancient ritual dances.

A clear difference can be seen in our dances between men and women. The women dance with their arms held close to the body and their gaze fixed firmly on the ground, taking short and rapid steps. Their steps form patterns on the ground, which are different for each type of dance. The man’s dance, meanwhile, consists of great leaps around the woman, as he attempts to capture her gaze, without ever turning his back to her, to the rhythm of the castanets he plays as he dances.

According to some researchers, the inscrutable position of the woman identifies the female figure with an ancient goddess or with the moon. Let us not forget that the goddess of Carthage was Tanit, who personified the moon.

Fertility dances, courtship dances, ancient cult dances dedicated to a mother goddess or dedicated to the moon, the oldest feminine symbol. Dances full of mystery which have survived in Ibiza mainly in the countryside, as an essential part of family celebrations, like weddings, annual slaughtering of a pig, village festivals and festivals for wells and springs.