Dancing Feet Spell

Dancing Feet Spell
Incantation	Tarantallegra (ta-RON-ta-LEG-gra)
Type	Charm
Hand movement
Light	Red or purple
Effect	Sent legs out of control

"The 'Dancing Feet' spell has its origins in ancient Italy, but is best remembered for its improper usage by Warlock Zaccaria Innocenti who is credited with conjuring a 'dance' within Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD."

— History of this spell, Cast-a-Spell handbook

The Dancing Feet Spell (Tarantallegra) was a charm that made a target's legs spasm wildly out of control, making it appear as though they were dancing. It worked on both living and inanimate targets, so long as it had legs. It was mainly used to humiliate a victim, but it could be also be used in duelling.

History

This Dancing Feet Spell was created in ancient Italy but was best remembered for its improper usage by warlock Zaccaria Innocenti who was credited with conjuring a 'dance' within Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, triggering its eruption.

At some point, Miranda Goshawk wanted to give her grandmother a magical bouquet of flowers, so her sisters told her the incantation was Tarantallegra.

Casting

"Essential Tip # 1: You must have an unobstructed view of your subject in order to properly cast the Tarantallegra.
Essential Tip # 2: In order to make a subject dance, it must first possess legs (a spell for growing legs appears in the advanced CAST-A-SPELL training handbook)."

— Tips on casting, Cast-a-Spell handbook

In order to be successfully cast, the spell required a clear, unobstructed view of the target. The spell worked on both living and inanimate targets, but the target in question must possess legs for the spell to work properly, otherwise, the spell might provoke an undesired reaction, such as in the case of Mount Vesuvius.

Known uses

"Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry's knees, choked, 'Tarantallegra!' and the next second Harry's legs began to jerk around out of his control in a kind of quickstep."

— Draco Malfoy using this spell on Harry Potter at the Duelling Club

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Zaccaria Innocenti	79 AD	Conjured a 'dance' within Mount Vesuvius, triggering its eruption and killing over a thousand people.
Unidentified third-year	1987–1988 school year	Used this spell on a second-year jokingly.
First-years (possibly)	June 1992	It is possible this was the spell used to make a pineapple dance across the classroom in the first-year Charms exam.
Draco Malfoy	17 December 1992	Cast this spell on Harry Potter in 1992 at the first and last meeting of the Duelling Club.
Albus Dumbledore	June 1996	Albus Dumbledore used this spell at Hogwarts to make the suits of armour dance.
Antonin Dolohov	18 June 1996	Used it against Neville Longbottom during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries making Neville smash the prophecy of Harry and the Dark Lord.
Harry Potter	September 2020	Harry used this spell while duelling Draco Malfoy in his home.

Known practitioners

Albus Dumbledore

Harry Potter

Draco Malfoy

Antonin Dolohov

• Zaccaria Innocenti

Etymology

The Tarantella is a dance originating in Italy. It was believed to cure the effects of the bite of a Tarantula by causing the victim to sweat out the toxin. It wasn't until centuries later that scientists determined the Black Widow was actually the venomous spider in question; people merely blamed the Tarantula because of its size. Allegra may be derived from allegro, a musical tempo meaning "quick and lively"; or simply from the word "leg" as this is the only body part affected by the charm.

Behind the scenes

The wand movement shown in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells

• It can be bought at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment in Diagon Alley in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, and in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7.
• It should be noted that although this spell requires the target to have legs (animate or inanimate) it can also provoke a reaction out of legless targets (for example, it is known to have caused Mt. Vesuvius to erupt).
• The hand movement required to use this charm, highly resembles a pair of legs dancing. This is most likely intentional as the spell causes the target to dance.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Possible appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game (Possible appearance)
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter (website) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter Official Site
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Hogwarts Legacy

Notes and references

The Standard Book of Spells
Grade 1 · Grade 2 · Grade 3 · Grade 4 · Grade 5 · Grade 6 · Grade 7
Charms included in the series: Dancing Feet Spell (Tarantallegra) · Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) · Engorgement Charm (Engorgio) · Fire-Making Spell (Incendio) · Freezing Charm (Immobulus) · General Counter-Spell (Finite Incantatem) · Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa) · Locking Spell (Colloportus) · Memory Charm (Obliviate) · Mending Charm (Reparo) · Nonverbal spell · Severing Charm (Diffindo) · Skurge Charm (Skurge) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Substantive Charm · Summoning Charm (Accio) · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Unlocking Charm (Alohomora) · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos)