The Gauden Bat dance group from Chino, Calif. superbly performs the godalet dantza in the video above. This dance is perhaps the most difficult Basque folk dance because the dancer is required to jump on a glass with both feet without knocking it over.

This dance is part of the Maskaradak – traditional dances from the province of Zuberoa. Zuberoa is known as Soule in French. Located in the French Basque region, it is the smallest of the Basque provinces. Their Maskaradak dances, which are part of the Carnaval celebration (Mardi Gras, right before the beginning of Lent).

Each of the five dancers wears a different costume: the txerreroa – the sweeper (with horse’s tail) who prepares the way for the others; the gatuzaina, the cat; the kantiniersa, the canteen carrier from Napoleon’s army; the zamalzaina, the hobby-horse character representing a stallion; and the entsenaria, the standard bearer.

The Gauden Bat group is part of the Chino Basque Club, in Chino, California, which represents a longtime Basque community in the Los Angeles area.

Euskal Kazeta reports on the U.S. Basque community. See our videos on Basque dancing, music, handball and other cultural traditions.

Basque Wine Glass Dance from Euskal Kazeta Basque News on Vimeo.