Dances [bailes] are part of traditional Vélez culture and can be observed in the festivals as well as performed by the musical ensembles in different events. All dances in Vélez use a Torbellino accompaniment and they are meant to be danced by couples (man / woman) or by three dancers (two women / one man or vice versa) in the case of the Baile del Tres [dance of three]. All the dances must be performed with the complete traje tipico [traditional attire] as it is the best moment when the dancers can “model” their clothing. Additionally as all dances involve at least one person of the opposite gender, dancers will try to visually impress the other person.
The four dances that will be presented in this section have common elements such as the use of the same representative steps for women and men; the use of Torbellino as the rhythmic harmonic music base for the dance; and the presence of female and male dancers. However, each of dance has unique elements that differentiated it from the others, such as the use of couplets, the number of dancers and the choreographies of each dance. One of the most accepted theories about the dance steps is the one proposed by Abadia Morales, who argues that the steps of the Torbellino want to resemble the “trotecito indio” [Indian trot] which reflects the well-paced or fast walk of Indigenous people when traveling long distances. Nestor Caceres also comments that the female steps are referenced as the paso de la perdiz [the partridge’s walking] as this bird “walks” faster and with smaller steps. In the case of the women, it is common to observe that the feet are very close to the floor.
All the dances in Vélez are danced individually; the dancers do not have any physical contact with one another throughout the dance. There are few occasions in where the couple will put their shoulders together and dance in circles establishing eyes contact. Local people usually refer to this step as espaldiado,[2] however these steps are a more recent innovation. Blanca Rivera comments that the gender roles were quite strict when she was young. During her childhood Blanca and her sisters remember that traditionally, women had to stay and care for the home while the men went out to work. This separation by gender might explain why this dance does not have any physical contact as traditionally that was “not well seen.” For courtship purposes, the man would be expected to express his intentions to the family of the girl he was interestedin, and the approval of the family was required prior to any physical expression of love (e.g., kissing, holding hands, etc.). In all the dances that are discussed, the man follows the woman as if he were trying to persuade her in a “lovely” way. The woman might or might not respond to the man’s flirting. This could resemble how courtship was conducted in the past.
Call and response between ensembles members also occurs in this repertoire; often while dancing one of the members will yell a sentence and the rest of the group will respond to it. The calls are usually phrases that meant to “cheer up” and express joy or approval to the dancers. For example, one of the members will say: viva quien baila [hurrah who dances] and the other members will answer back viva [hurrah].