What is "tarantella"

Tarantella \Tar`an*tel"la\, n. [It.] (Mus.)

1. A rapid and delirious sort of Neapolitan dance in 6-8 time, which moves in whirling triplets; -- so called from a popular notion of its being a remedy against the poisonous bite of the tarantula. Some derive its name from Taranto in Apulia.

2. Music suited to such a dance.

1782, "peasant dance popular in Italy," originally "hysterical malady characterized by extreme impulse to dance" (1630s), epidemic in Apulia and adjacent parts of southern Italy 15c.-17c., popularly attributed to (or believed to be a cure for) the bite of the tarantula. This is likely folk-etymology, however, and the names of the dance and the spider more probably share an origin in Taranto, the name of a city in southern Italy (see tarantula). Used from 1833 to mean the style of music that accompanies this dance, usually in 6/8 time, with whirling triplets and abrupt major-minor modulations. Related: Tarantism.

n. A rapid dance in 6/8 time, originating in Italy, or a piece of music for such a dance.

1. n. music composed in six-eight time for dancing the tarantella

2. a lively whirling Italian dance for two persons [syn: tarantelle]

Tarantella is a group of various folk dances characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the most recognized forms of traditional southern Italian music. The specific dance-name varies with every region, for instance tammurriata in Campania, pizzica in the Salento region, Sonu a ballu in Calabria. Tarantella is popular in Southern Italy and Argentina.

Tarantella is a type of Italian folk dance.

Tarantella may also refer to:

• Tarantella (ballet), a choreographed performance dance
• Tarantella, Inc., a software company
• Tarantella (catamaran), an historic catamaran designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff as the successor to Amaryllis (1876).

Tarantella is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine to Louis Moreau Gottschalk's Grande Tarantelle, Op. 67 (ca. 1858–64), reconstructed and orchestrated for piano and orchestra by Hershy Kay in July 1954. The premiere took place January 7, 1964, at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York.

Tarantella is a five-minute color, avant-garde short film created by Mary Ellen Bute, a pioneer of visual music and electronic art in experimental cinema. With piano accompaniment by Edwin Gerschefski, "Tarantella" features rich reds and blues that Bute uses to signify a lighter mood, while her syncopated spirals, shards, lines and squiggles dance exuberantly to Gerschefski’s modern beat. Bute produced more than a dozen short films between the 1930s and the 1950s and once described herself as a "designer of kinetic abstractions" who sought to "bring to the eyes a combination of visual forms unfolding with the … rhythmic cadences of music." Bute’s work influenced many other filmmakers working with abstract animation during the ‘30s and ‘40s, and with experimental electronic imagery in the ‘50s.

In 2010, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Tarantella (foaled 1830) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won the classic 1000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse in 1833. After winning the Guineas in her third race, Tarantella was unplaced when favourite for the Oaks Stakes and was well-beaten in two other races later that year. She won two minor races in the following year and was retired from racing having won four times from nine starts between October 1832 and August 1834. She was later exported to France where she proved to be a successful broodmare.

Tarantella was a sailing catamaran designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff. She was launched in 1877, a year after Herreshoff's smaller catamaran Amaryllis won the 1876 New York Centennial Regatta, which resulted in multihulls being banned from regattas. The Tarantella was longer than her two patented sisterships Teaser and John Gilpin (measuring approximately 32 feet in length overall). She was eventually exported to the United Kingdom. The brother of her designer described these catamarans as outstanding upwind performers:

"Tarantella" is the 11th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 1, which premiered on February 10, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by co-executive producers Alan DiFiore and Dan E. Fesman, and was directed by Peter Werner.