morisca

dance

Also known as: moresque

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

The morisca is a battle dance that symbolizes the victory of Christians over Moors. It originated during the Crusades and has evolved over time, remaining popular in festivals across the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. This dance is related to other forms found further south, such as various types of moriscas in Mexico.12

The morisca, also known as moresque, is a romanticized dance from Moorish Spain. It was often performed as a double-file choral dance and is distinct from the English Morris dance. Similar stick and ritual dances exist throughout Europe, including Spain's moriscas.34

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Morris dance
appear across Europe, including Spain’s moriscas (or moriscos), western Europe’s ball de bastons, and Romania’s călușari—a geographic distribution that some scholars suggest reflects a shared ancient European heritage.
Read More
appear across Europe, including Spain’s moriscas (or moriscos), western Europe’s ball de bastons, and Romania’s călușari—a geographic distribution that some scholars suggest reflects a shared ancient European heritage.
Read More

Native American dance
Mexico and Mesoamerica
…types of European-influenced dance-dramas: the morisca and its variants, moros y cristianos, santiagos, matachini, and related plays; Passion plays; and posadas, pastorelas, and Guatemalan loas. These are often true dramas, with dance and music. The dialogue may be in Spanish or in an indigenous language or a mixture of both.
Read More
…types of European-influenced dance-dramas: the morisca and its variants, moros y cristianos, santiagos, matachini, and related plays; Passion plays; and posadas, pastorelas, and Guatemalan loas. These are often true dramas, with dance and music. The dialogue may be in Spanish or in an indigenous language or a mixture of both.
Read More

sword dance
…and to Morris dances and moriscas, ritual dances usually for a double file of men. Many dances of the Morris–morisca family employ swords.
Read More
…and to Morris dances and moriscas, ritual dances usually for a double file of men. Many dances of the Morris–morisca family employ swords.
Read More