Esbart Sant Martí - Ballet Folklòric dels Països Catalans

The Esbart Sant Martí was founded in 1945 by Monsignor Laureà Guibernau, in collaboration with the Esbart Verdaguer. The two groups shared their activities until 1949. The Esbart Sant Martí, with its band, or cobla, costume design and lighting, performed for the first time in 1947. And in 1953, with the Esbart Verdaguer, it began a series of performances of the opera Canigó, at the Palau de la Música Catalana, that lasted six years.

The Esbart Sant Martí has two sections. One is the dance corps, which devotes itself to reviving and popularising traditional dances from all Catalan-speaking lands, as well as performing new shows and dances. They have an initiation group for children aged 4-9, a children's group for 9 to 12-year-olds, and a youth group for 13 to 17-year-olds. The other section is the classical dance school, which was set up in 1968 and teaches classical ballet to children over five.

In 1983, the Sant Martí group received the Premi Sant Martí a la Trajectòria Internacional from Barcelona City Council. It was in acknowledgement of their participation in festivals in 26 countries, including France, England, Hungary, Slovakia, Portugal, Malta and Italy. Their repertoire consists of nine very different shows, including a fusion of dance and theatre (Pyrene), a demonstration of dances from all the Catalan-speaking lands (Antologia - Anthology), a children's show (Cançons d'Ariadna - Ariadna's Songs) and a choreography based on the legend of Count Arnau (Fill de la Terra - Son of the Land).