Paraguayan bottle dance explained

The Paraguayan bottle dance (Spanish; Castilian: Danza de la Botella) is a traditional folk dance from Paraguay in which performers dance with glass bottles balanced on their heads.[1]

History

The origin of the bottle dance remains unclear. One theory is that the dance was derived from the galopa folk dance, which consists of dancers performing with jugs on top of their heads, with dancers replacing jugs with glass bottles.[2]

Performance

Bottle dances performances feature female dancers wearing nineteenth century rural costumes that includes an ankle-length skirt.[3] Performances are typically accompanied by music from the Paraguayan polka genre.[4] Bottle dance performances tend to be largely improvised with basic moves consisting of dancers with outstretched arms holding the ruffles of their skirts while maintaining the impression that there aren't any bottles.[4] [5] The dance can be perform by individuals, pairs, or groups with each dancer balancing one or two bottles but more advanced dancers are able balance ten or more bottles on their heads.[6] [7] The bottles used by dancers are usually decorated with a tricolored ribbon resembling the Paraguayan flag or with flowers.[8] Also, when a dancer performs with multiple stacked bottles, she uses bottles designed to attach to each other but do not attach to her head.[9]

In popular culture

The twentieth and thirty-second seasons of the American reality show The Amazing Race featured a task in which contestants had to perform the bottle dance while in Asunción.[10] [11]

During the second season of Got Talent España, one contestant, Belén Torres, auditioned with a bottle dance performance that concluded with her dancing with a stack of five bottles.[12] Three years later, another contestant, Erika Vega, auditioned during the show's fifth season with a bottle dance performance that concluded with her dancing with a stack of ten bottles.[13]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Carpenter, Allan. Paraguay. Children's Press. 1970. 59.
  2. Web site: A Guide to South America’s Most Iconic Dances. Culture Trip. Marshall. Euan. November 15, 2017. April 26, 2020.
  3. Book: Jermyn. Leslie. Jui Lin. Yong. Cultures of the World Paraguay. Benchmark Books. 2010. 107.
  4. Book: Nettl. Bruno. Porter. James. Stone. Ruth. Rice. Timothy. Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Routledge. 1999. 461.
  5. Web site: El Baile de la Botella (danza del Paraguay). Artigoo. April 26, 2020. es.
  6. Web site: DANZA PARAGUAYA. August 23, 2011. ABC Color. April 26, 2020. es.
  7. Web site: Culture. Embassy of the Republic of Paraguay to the Republic of Korea. April 26, 2020.
  8. Web site: La danza paraguaya. April 23, 2012. ABC Color. April 26, 2020. es.
  9. Book: Morrison, Marion. Paraguay. Chelsea House Publishers. 1987. 57.
  10. Web site: The Amazing Race recap: Pyramid Scheming and Dancing on Broken Glass. Entertainment Weekly. Lynch. Joseph. March 5, 2012. April 26, 2020.
  11. Web site: Amazing Race Recap: Lost and Found. TVLine. Caruso. Nick. November 4, 2020. November 5, 2020.
  12. Web site: Paraguaya sorprende con baile en programa español. March 26, 2016. HOY. April 26, 2020. es.
  13. Web site: Joven paraguaya arrasa en España con la "Danza de la Botella". November 9, 2019. HOY. April 26, 2020. es.