This page shows how the main families of Romanian dance are linked to the
choreographic patterns of European dance families.
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- Hora
- music 2/4
- large circle/open circle dance
- social occations
- relatively slow pace, simple construction, suitable for wide participation
- + other dances to "Hora" style music
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- Sârba
- music 2/4, with melody in compound time
- faster social circle dance
- basic form is pan-Balkan
- Romanian and Greek names suggest a Serbian origin
- + other dances to "Sârba" style music
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- Aksak
- music 5/8, 7/8, 9/8 etc.
- part of Danubian & southern Balkan types
- various dance choreographic patterns
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- Travelling chain dances
- dance progresses in one direction only
- basic is the pan Balkan 3 measure pattern
- Romanian are mostly 4 measure patterns
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- Bi-directional chain dances
- dance progresses equally to left and right, or foward and back
- includes short line dances with little movement, and circle dances covering greater distances
- also common in pan-Balkan
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- Returning dance
- a more complex choreographic pattern most common in Bulgaria
- dance progresses to right, may be something in place, returns nearly back to place, may be do something in place
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- Alternate: resting & figure
- figures in place alternating with a travelling or resting
- common in men's dances, both chain and Corps types
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- Men's group dances
- may have a set number or participants
- formation: a circle, not connected
- danced in unison, may be will a leader
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- Boot slapping dances
- not really a "choreographic pattern", but so obvious to the observer
- rhythmical boot slapping sequences found throughout the Habsburg empire
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- Walking couple dance
- couples, facing anti-clockwise, in open circle
- steps are mainly walking, progressing anti-clockwise
- couples most often in loose hold
- dance form found from Norway to Transylvania
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- Turning couple dance
- tuning as a couple in place in alternating directions
- couples in close hold
- often includes a resting step in place
- common thoughout Scandinavia, central Europe, and Transylvania
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- Turning & progressing
- a development of the turing dance allowing it to progress whilst turning, led to the Polka, Polska, Waltz etc.
- Romanian derivatives mainly in Moldavia
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- Column and set dances
- various more recent dances
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- "Braul"
- men's dances in line formation
- name suggests past use of belt hold, but now mostly shoulder hold
- many can be danced by men & women now
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- Ritual dance
- associated with a custom
- best known are Căluş and Căluşeri
- generally men's group dance
- often includes holding a stick
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- "Fecioresc"
- lad's dances associated with Transylvania
- parallels with Transylvanian Hungarian lad's dances
- development showns varying degrees of inclusion of several choreographic features
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- "Purtata"
- includes: Romaneşti, De-alungul
- most probably arrived via nobility in middle ages
- similar dances are found through northern & central europe
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- "Invârtita"
- includes: Bătuta, Haţegul
- part of a dance fashion over much of europe
- pre-dates Hungarian Csardas development
- parallels with Transylvanian Hungarian dances
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- "Polka"
- derivatives of central european couple dances
- the most widely adopted is the polka into Moldavia, but there are other Germanic dances in Transylvania & Moldavia
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- Couples in "set" formations
- typical western europe folk dance
- some examples are found in Romania
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- "Ardeleana"
- typical of Crişana and Banat
- couples arranged in a column
- name suggests a Transylvanian origin, but without the turning
- figures have similarities with Austrian
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- Herdsman's dances
- dancing across crossed sticks (of pipes)
- common throughout europe
