Cos de Bastoners de l'Esbart Català de Dansaires

The Cos de Bastoners belonging to the Esbart Català de Dansaires is the oldest stick-dancing group in the city. When the esbart was set up in 1908, its first director, Aureli Capmany, began to compile traditional melodies and redo the choreographies so they could be danced. Now the Esbart Català de Dansaires is the oldest active dance group in Catalonia, dedicated to compiling, studying and popularising traditional Catalan dance and other material directly related to popular dance and customs.

It has three colles de bastoners, grouped according to age: the colla infantil, with children aged 4-9; the juvenil, with dancers aged 10-14; and the colla gran, with the over-14s. When they perform, the three groups are usually accompanied by music from the typical wind and percussion instruments: flabiols, tenoras and timbals.

The colles de bastoners play an active part in the festive events held in the Barri Gòtic, Ciutat Vella and other city neighbourhoods, and they often take part in the city festivals too, namely Santa Eulàlia, Corpus Christi and La Mercè. They also dance at cultural events and festivals around Catalonia.