The Spanish dance Jota came to be in the 1700's and is the National folk dance of Aragon, Spain. This is probaby the most traditional dance of Spain. It is a quick Spanish dance in 3/8 time. The "Jota of Aragón" is the oldest of the styles and corresponds with the ancient carols, which in Chaucer's time meant a dance as well as a song. Funerals and wakes also afford opportunities for the dance, the Jota, for instance, is often performed in watching the dead. At the feast of La Virgin del Pilar, the Jota is in great favor with the crowd which assembles in Sargasso from outlying parts. The verses in the improvised couplets are not always in true metre, the performers not being very particular. They
make up for the loss of a syllable or two in one line by adding it to the next, or they clap their hands, twang the guitar string, or stamp their feet to cover the defect. The Aragonese in their pride in the dance say that a pretty girl dancing the Jota sends an arrow into every heart by each one of her movements. Sometimes the couples of the Jota indulge in a satirical vein.
There are many versions of the Jota dance from Spain, not just the ones above and all from her former colonies... Jota Aragonesa, Jota Manileña, Jota Caviteña, etc. Not all Jota's are strictly danced only in Spain, other countries may have the Jota dance in their répertoire of dances.
