Karen Ludtke

Dances with Spiders (eBook, PDF)

Crisis, Celebrity and Celebration in Southern Italy

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

For centuries, the rite of the tarantula was the only cure for those 'bitten' or 'possessed' by the mythic Apulian spider. Its victims had to dance to the local tarantella or 'pizzica' for days on end. Today, the pizzica has returned to the limelight, bringing to the forefront issues of performance, gender, identity and well-being. This book explores how and why the pizzica has boomed in the Salento and elsewhere and asks whether this current popu- larity has anything to do with the historic ritual of tarantism or with the intention of recovering well-being. While personal stories and experiences may confirm the latter, a vital shift has appeared in the Salento: from the confrontation of life crises to the vibrant promotion and celebration of a local sense of identity and celebrity.

---

Dieser Download kann aus rechtlichen Gründen nur mit Rechnungsadresse in A, B, BG, CY, CZ, D, DK, EW, E, FIN, F, GR, HR, H, IRL, I, LT, L, LR, M, NL, PL, P, R, S, SLO, SK ausgeliefert werden.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Berghahn Books
• Seitenzahl: 224
• Erscheinungstermin: 30. Dezember 2008
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781845458751
• Artikelnr.: 39598128

Autorenporträt

Karen Lüdtke received her DPhil in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford. Aspects of her research on the performance arts and well-being in the context of the Salento have been published in the edited volumes Music as Medicine(Ashgate, London) and Performing Ecstasies(Institute for Mediaeval Music, Ottawa).

Inhaltsangabe

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction: Tarantula Territory
* Salentine Tarantulas: Spider Dances and Discourses
* Tracking Down the Spider: Research Techniques and Intentions
* Crisis, Celebrity and Celebration: Contextualizing Salentine
Tarantulas
* Preview: Summarizing this Book
PART I: PAST AND PRESENT SPIDER WEBS
Chapter 1. Seeking St Paul: Historical and Contemporary Enactments
* Dances at Galatina: a Crossroads of Old and New Tarantati
* Dances on Screen: Invention versus Intention
* Maria's 1959 Domestic Ritual: a Historical Performance
* Ada's 2001 Dance on TV: a Contemporary Performance
Chapter 2. Webs through Time: Origins and History of Tarantism
* Possible Origins: Searching for Tarantism's Roots
* Historical Interpretations: Explaining the Tarantula's Cult
* De Martino's View: a Key Point of Reference
* Recent Studies: Continuing the Quest for Answers
PART II: THE SPIDER'S CULT TODAY
Chapter 3. Curing Myths and Fictive Cures: Views of Believers and Sceptics
* Tarantism as Cure: Debates in Favour of the Tarantula
* St Paul's Grotto: a Contested Site
* Spider Poisoning: a Contested Case
* Tarantism as Fiction: Debates Against the Tarantula
Chapter 4. Ads and Antidotes: Celebrity versus Conservation Taranta-muffin,
Techno-pizzica, Tarantavirus: Hybridizing the Pizzica
* The Festival of San Rocco: Revitalizing and Commercializing
Traditions
* La Notte della Taranta: a Music and Media Spectacle
* La Sagra dei Curli: a Community Festival
Chapter 5. Sensing Identities and Well-being: Personal Motivations and
Experiences
* The Alla Bua: Music for Healing
* Tanya's Story: Dancing Colours
* Ada's Story: Retrieving Soundness
PART III: FROM RITUAL TO LIMELIGHT
Chapter 6. SpiderWoMen Transfixed: Negotiating Crisis and Cure
* Diagnosing Spiders: Identifying Tarantula Cases
* Views on Venom: Interpreting the Spider's Bite
* Tarantula Alternatives: Choosing Treatment Options
Chapter 7. Tarantula Threads and Showbiz Airs: Fine-tuning Performances
* Spider Sites: Performance Places
* Spider Schedules: Performance Times
* Tarantula Threads: Past Props and Techniques
* Showbiz Airs: Present Props and Techniques
Chapter 8. SpiderWoMen Transformed: Celebrating Well-being
* Magic Circles: Allowing Music to Take Over
* Rhythmic Intervention: Choosing to Entrain
* Vibrating the Spider's Web: Tapping a Source of Vitality
* Integrating Toxins: Connecting Self and Other
* Transforming Identities: Evoking a Sense of Belonging
PART IV: CONCLUSION
Chapter 9. Dancing Beyond Spiders
* Evelina's Story: Living with the Tarantula
* Tarantula Rhythms: Reflections on Performance and Well-being
Epilogue
Bibliography
Filmography
Index