pass rapidly under the uplifted arms of the last couple.'"The Farandole is usually danced at all the great feasts in the towns of Provence, such as the feast of Corpus Domini, or the 'Coursos do la Tarasquo,' which were founded by King René on April 14, 1474, and take place at Tarascon annually on July 29. In the latter the Farandole is preceded by the huge effigy of a legendary monster—the Tarasque—borne by several men and attended by the gaily dressed 'chevaliers de la Tarasque.' Farandole of the Death After the Black Death numerous exorcism rites appeared which aimed to tame the comrade, if not to push it back. In these rituals, music and dance played the leading roles. In this farandole, skeletons and living people alternate, arranged in a descending hierarchical order: the pope, the emperor, the cardinal, the king, the patriarch, the constable, the archbishop, the knight, the bishop, the squire, the abbot, the bailiff, the astrologer, the bourgeois, the Carthusian, the sergeant, the doctor, the wife, the usurer, and the poor. The number of characters and the composition of the dance depends on the place of creation. Death, most often represented with a musical instrument, draws everyone into the dance, not looking at rank, wealth, gender, or age. Modern Farandole Current musical accompaniment is always performed by one or more drummers. The dancers join hands to form a wandering open chain and mark each beat with jumps. The leader guides the chain by drawing a snake shape. Its role is to articulate the farandole, dance of agrarian rites, in its two main themes: that of the spiral (also known as the snail or labyrinth) and that of the passage under the vault (known as the serpent). Also in Provence, other dances related to the farandole were practiced on more free steps: the brandi, the Moorish (or mourisca), the passa cariera (street pass, cf. the Spanish passa calle and the passacaille). It gave birth to certain medieval dances with repeated steps, such as the caroles of the 13th and 14th centuries, the branles of the 15th and 16th centuries. Farandole of Provence The santons dancing the farandole are one of the classics of the Provence crib. The dancers form a long line which moves by meandering. The twists and turns of this dance in the crèche must represent a labyrinth. The dancers are either dressed in Arlésienne, or