The dance of swords

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The dance of swords is a folk dance spread in ancient times in

Spain, germany, England nd scotland and, also, in Balcans, basque

regions and in some extraeuropean countries. A recurrant element is

the disposition of dancers in order to make some figures:

concentrical circles, spirals, bridges and vaults made with swords. in

Scotland, at the end of every figure, swords used to be woven to

make a 5, 6, 8 points stars and the dance ended up with the

"buffone" 's death by decapitation. The typical instrument used were

pipes, flutes and drums. Every instrument has symbolical meanings

connected to very ancient cultures: the most significative example

seems to be the "tamburello" ( tambourine).