Dance with me!

Programs for this blog post

Connecting Italian Art, History & Culture

Authored By:

Frieda Gebert

Greetings all, 

   We started out this morning bright and early to a part of town we had not visited before. Our destination was the Centrale Montemartini Museum. It is a fascinating place - it was the only power plant left standing during World War II (saved by a Vatican flag that was flown atop the structure so pilots would see and avoid the plant) that houses some of the oldest and most beautiful statuary in Rome. It is a study in contrasts. There we had a class in photography using our smart phones and cameras, including tips on how to take a better selfie! Our subjects were the magnificent statues and the unusual architecture that surrounded them. I hope your student will show you their work because there were some stunning photos produced. I've included a couple of "interactions" of our students with the statues that I hope you enjoy.

After lunch and a brief rest, we headed for our classroom on Via Bell to learn a dance from the southern part of Italy, the Tarantella. The dance is named for the tarantula spider and is said to have developed because those who were bitten by the spiders danced feverishly to work the poison out of their bodies. That's a pretty scary legend, but whatever the source of the dance it is very lively and lots of fun. The lesson included percussion instruction as well as dancing and I think it is safe to say that all the participants enjoyed themselves! 

Only a few days left and we will be bringing your student home to you. But there is a lot of gelato left to eat before we do! Ciao!