Pizzica Pizzica, a traditional dance from Salento, is a kind of Tarantella beloning to the rural world. This dance is about happiness and courtship.
It was traditionally danced for ritual occasions (weddings, baptisms, crops, harvests), when the little familiar communities got together to celebrate special occasions.
It was mostly danced in farms. Different to the other dances, Pizzica Pizzica is a private dance. Playful couple dance (woman-woman/man-woman) the Pizzica is part of the most important coreutic family of southern “tarantellas”.
During the party, the dance takes place inside of a circular space, surrounded by music players and the public. That circular space is called “Ronda”.
Traditional Pizzica Pizzica has a strong contact with the earth; in the past it was common to use a scarf to invite a person to dance with you, to give everyone the possibility to get inside the circle.
Very common in the province of Lecce, it had a strong decline in the 60′. This kind of music can spread a strong energy, helped by the strong beats of the tamburello, accompained by the guitar, the organ and the singing.
In the tradition there are thre kinds of coreutic expressions: Pizzica Pizzica (dance of the parties), the Scherma (challenge between men), and the therapeutic dance (Tarantismo).