Dance of the Hours. Dance of the Hours, Italian Danza delle ore, musical episode from Act III, scene 2, of Amilcare Ponchielliâs opera La gioconda that is often performed as a stand-alone orchestral work. In its original contextâas a balletic interlude to entertain a partyâit (and the entire opera) premiered in Milan on April 8, 1876. The popularity of the dance scene greatly exceeded that of the entire opera, and it became, for a time, one of the most frequently performed ballets in the world.