History.

"Esbart Egarenc” was founded on 26th January 1958 in the “Centre Social Catòlic de Terrassa”, but this esbart (Catalan dances folk group) already had some years of history...

During the summer of 1931, in the “Centre Social”, the pioneer esbart from Terrassa was created: “Esbart Dansaire del Social”, which was on until 1936 when it had to stop their activities because of the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and the obligation of some of its member to join the army.

The dificult post-war years created all kinds of difficulties to Catalan culture, which made it impossible to start that esbart over. Its old members were all plit up into the different societies (all of them with Spanish nouns) of that moment in Terrassa. Some of them stayed in the renamed “Centro Social Católico” and some at the “Parròquia de la Sagrada Família”, “Coro Viejo” or “Centro Parroquial de San Pedro”.

Everywhere, though, they made their efforts to preserve and spread our language and our tradicions.

Later on, at Sant Pere, in simmer in 1951, the “Esbart  Vallparadís” was created, which was active until 25th January 1958, when the whole group went back to the place it had begun so many years before: “el Social”. In that moment they changed its name, taking the one it has had up to today: “Esbart Egarenc”.

“Esbart Egarenc”, which at present can count with the sponsorship of the “Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya”, “Diputació de Barcelona”, Terrassa city Hall and “Obra social de Caixa de Terrassa”, with its over 50 years of history, is the oldest of all the “esbarts” in Terrassa.

Since that long gone 1958 we’ve spent quite a bunch of years dedicating to the preservation, promotion and spreading of traditional folk dances from the called “Països Catalans” (Catalunya, València and Balears), stating at the same time the love for our traditions and the respect for other ones.

Out of the long members of this family, there are at present 150 active.

The different dances engloves original coreographies of folk and traditional from Catalunya, Illes balears, País Valencià and Alguer. However, it also includes present coreographical and musical creations, some of them created just for our group by some of our country’s coreographers. One of the most renouned ones is “Trama”, which recreates the life at the textile factories at the end of the 19th Century, revisiting our city’s history.

The accurate dressing, created by our "majordomia" for each of the dances, adds an extra light to out performances, in which every single detail is presented with maximum artistic dignity.

These performances have been taken by the “esbart Egarenc”, appart from everywhere in Catalunya, to some places of País Valencià, and the rest of the Spanish State. And further, out of our borders, for example: Andorra, Belgium, France, Bulgary, Italy, the old Iugoslavia, Mexico, the Czech Republic and the old Txecoslovaquia.

It must also be said that since 1959 the “Esbart Egarenc” performs, at the end of the “Festa Major”’s (city party) Sunday mass, the “Ball de plaça de Terrassa” (Square Dance).