Hora mare dance form
Hora mare or Hora dreaptă is circle dance and is the most widespread dance in Romania, partly because any number of participants of both men and women, of any ability or age, can join in. Hora is frequently performed as a ritual dance at weddings and funerals.
The hold in Hora has the hands joined at shoulder height and held slightly forward. The formation is a closed circle, apart from in some parts of Banat and north Oltenia where it is danced in an open circle with a leader who can take the dance into a spiral. Mostly these dances progress to the right, often with a diagonal forward and back path.
Comparison with other nation equivalent dances;
| name | translation | nation | structure | motifs | music |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hora mare | "large" | Romania | 2 or 4 measure phrases | walking, stamps, arms circling and swings | 2/4 |
| Hora dreaptă | "straight" | Romania | 2 or 4 measure phrases | walking, stamps, arms circling and swings | 2/4 |
| Pravo Horo | "straight" | Bulgaria | 3 measure phrases | walking, stamps, arms circling and swings | 2/4 |
| Sitno Horo | "small stepped" | north Bulgaria | 2 or 4 measure phrases | walking, stamps, arms circling and swings | 2/4 |
| Hora de mână | "with hands" | south Romania | 2 or 4 measure phrases | walking, stamps, arms circling and swings | 2/4 |
| Râka | "hands" | north-east Bulgaria | 2 or 4 measure phrases | walking, stamps, arms circling and swings | 2/4 |
Hora mare dance types
There are a number of common step sequences;
- 1 measure - simple walking, steps across in front, steps behind.
- 2 measure - three steps forward & close, three steps back and close.
- 4 measure - steps changing weight: s-s-q-q-s etc (s=slow, q=quick).
The slow step can be replaced by "step, stamp" or "par-de-bar" and then becomes similar to Brâul pădurenesc, Brâul bătrân from Banat and many fixed form Sârbe.
Choreographic form, motifs, music
| type | names | form | structure | motifs | music |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 measure | Hora, Hora mare, Hora dreaptă, Hora de mână, Periniţa | hands joined at shoulder height | 1 measure phrases | walking, stamps | 2/4 |
| 2 measure | Hora, Hora mare, Hora dreaptă, Hora de mână | hands joined at shoulder height | 2 measure phrases | walking, stamps | 2/4 |
| 4 measure | Hora, Hora mare, Hora dreaptă, Hora de mână | hands joined at shoulder height | 4 measure phrases | walking, stamps | 2/4 |
References
BUCSAN, A. (1971) Specificul Dansului Popular Românesc, Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România.
GIURCHESCU, A. & BLOLAND, S. (1995) Romanian Traditional Dance, "Mill Valley, California", Wild Flower Press.