We'll be in Barcelona October 31-November 3 and would like to see the dancing of the Sardana. I've done quite a bit of research and I think it's done on Sunday at 11:15 in front of the Cathedral but have seen conflicting reports. I'm trying to plan our other sightseeing for Sunday so it would be helpful to know for sure when it will occur. If you have been in Barcelona recently and know when it is done, that information would be helpful. Thanks!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17435 posts
We were just there on a Sunday in late May and went to the Cathedral to see it. I thought it was 11:00 but it is possible the music and dancing did not start until 11:15. It was great to see it.
Watch for a group that dresses up and wears the special white dancing shoes.
Posted by
Portland
3643 posts
Just a caveat. When we went, a number of years ago, the dancers arrived so much later than our information had told us, that we were about to leave, when they appeared. Being sure of the time may just not be on.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15788 posts
According to their website (scroll down almost to the bottom), there's a casteller performance (2 teams) at noon on Nov 2 in Barcelona at Plaça de la Palmera. I finally got to see a performance on my third visit by sheer good fortune (and clean living). I tried on my second visit, but got lost and got there late, they'd already finished and were packing up to go home.
Posted by
OP
Houston, Texas, USA
231 posts
Chani - Thanks for the link and info. I'll keep an eye on this to make sure it's still on when we get there.
Posted by
Barcelona (Catalonia)
3071 posts
Firstly, for information: sardana is both a genre of traditional Catalan music AND a folk dance. We use the word indistinctively and sometimes this might confuse non-locals.
The music is performed by a "cobla" (sardana music band, in Catalan, the local language). Some are professionalized but many are associations of amateur musicians. For those musicians interested in knowing more about the genre, I wrote a post some time ago about "cobles" (plural for "cobla") here: see the last post at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/next-week-in-barcelona-on-very-short-notice
For info about sardanes in front of the Cathedral: http://bit.ly/2bZCUpK
In this instance, the use of "sardanes", refers to the music genre, the sardanes are performed by an association of amateur musicians and people just gather to dance to its tunes. I read earlier about "dancers arriving so much later"... if we're talking about a regular Sunday, these are not 'performers' per se but regular folks -sometimes members of sardana dance associations- that get together to dance so there's no 'schedule' or similar, they, on their accord decide to gather there and dance.
However, sometimes -on special dates- there are indeed programmed dance performances and contests and one can admire the different groups dressed in different colours. It's very visual, here a contest in Balaguer, a small city to the north of Barcelona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b87pPjYKRUw And, one can occasionally see and hear sardanes in the Auditorium: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/kBF2O
Enjoy!