During festivals, people dancing were so many that they could form up to three circles (ballos a tres pigias).

This dance is like a long thread linking the people of Oliena along the centuries, but it never gets old. On the contrary, it is a healthy and robust tradition renovated by the many interpretations of these recent years.

There are three ways to dance in Oliena: silently, without any music playing, with the help of a single voice, or with the theme of a tenore choir (a typical Sardinian singing form) or a diatonic accordion.

This dance was mainly performed around the churches of San Lussorio and Santa Maria, or in the College Square.

There are many dances, all very different, some with slow and swaying movements, some others more rhythmically frantic. The people of the town always looked upon the most skilful dancers.

One of the round dance’s main variants is su passu torrau, but su dennàru, su passu torrau puntau, su nugoresu, s’àrciu, s’àrciu antihu, su durdurinu are equally important.