Hora (dance)
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Hora is a type of circle dance originating in the Balkans but now found in a number of countries, most of which use slightly different spellings. The name is cognate to the Greek χορός : 'dance' which is cognate with the ancient Greek art form of χορεία; see Chorea. The original meaning of the Greek word χορός may have been 'circle'.
The Greek χορός is cognate with Bulgarian 'horo', Serbian 'kolo', Macedonian 'oro', the Turkish form 'hora' and Romanian 'horǎ' (having its roots in Iron Age; this gave later the Yiddish and Modern Hebrew 'hōrāh'.
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[edit] Hora in Romania and Moldova
Hora (pl. hore) is a traditional Romanian folk dance that gathers everyone into a big closed circle. The dancers hold each other's hands and the circle spins, usually clockwise, as each participant follows a sequence of three steps forward and one step back. The dance is usually accompanied by musical instruments such as the cymbalum, accordion, violin, viola, double bass, saxophone, trumpet or even the panflute.
Hora is popular during wedding celebrations and festivals, and is an essential part of the social entertainment in rural areas. One of the most famous hore is the Hora Unirii (Hora of the Union), which became a Romanian patriotic song as a result of being the hymn when Wallachia and Moldavia united to form the Principality of Romania in 1859. During the 2006/2007 New Year's Eve celebration, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, people were dancing Hora Bucuriei (Hora of Joy) over the boulevards of Bucharest as a tribute to the EU anthem, Ode to Joy. Some of the biggest hora circles can be found on early 20th century movies filmed by the Manakia brothers in Pindus, Greece and performed by local Aromanians.
Variants:
[edit] Horo in Bulgaria
The traditional Bulgarian dance horo comes in many shapes. It is not necessary to be in a circle, a curving line of people is also acceptable. The steps used in a horo dance are extremely diverse and not just two or three steps forward and one step back. The horo may vary between three to seven or eight steps forward and one to five or six steps back depending on the specific type.
There are more than five types of horo that are usually danced at every wedding. They differ by the rhythm of the music and the steps taken. There are no two horo dances with similar steps. There are probably over one hundred types of horo dances in the Bulgarian folklore.
In the past, the horo dance had a social role in Bulgarian society. It was mainly for fun, as a contest of skills, or for the show, leading to the development of the variety of horo dances. There are hora for people with little skill that can be learned in five to ten minutes, but there are also very sophisticated dances that cannot be learned unless one is fluent in many of the simpler dances.
[edit] Oro in Montenegro
A similar dance, the Oro (Cyrillic: Opo), is popular in Montenegro. It starts with participants dancing in circles to a gusle, and ends with dancers standing on other dancers' shoulders and a toast from the head of the household. People consider it to be an "eagle-dance" (in Montenegrin vernaculars usual pronunciation for Serbian orao "eagle" is oro). That's why oro is considered the dance of the brave ones and danced only by men. But Dalmatians have the slight different version (mostly serbs). They have a silent oro, just dance, no instuments or vocals, just ojha.
[edit] Gypsy oro
The Oro is also popular among the Roma people of Eastern Europe, and the dancing is practically the same as the one of the neighbouring ethnicities. Gypsy oros, and Romani music in general, are very well apreciated among non gypsies in the Balkans and Romania.
[edit] The Hora in Klezmer music
The Hora in klezmer music is the same as the traditional Romanian dance. It has a slow, limping gait in 3/8 time and often leads into a faster and more upbeat freyklakh or bulgar.[1]
[edit] Jewish/Israeli Horah
A different dance, also called the Horah is the most popular of Jewish folk dances/Israeli folk dances. It is usually performed to Jewish folk songs/Israeli folk songs, typically to the music of Hava Nagila.
To start the dance, everybody forms a circle, holding hands, and steps forward toward the right with the left foot, then follows with the right foot. The left foot is then brought back, followed by the right foot. This is done while holding hands and circling together in a fast and cheerful motion to the right. Large groups allow for the creation of several concentric circles.
In the early days, Horah was popular mainly in the Kibbutzim and small communities. Later it became a must in weddings, celebrations and group dances throughout Israel. At b'nei mitzvah, it is custom to raise the honoree and his or her family members on a chair during the horah. This is also often done at Jewish weddings.
Horah has also been danced for many generations by Jews in the United States and Canada at weddings, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, and other parties and joyous ceremonies. The dance appeared in North America in the early 20th century, well before modern Israeli independence, brought directly from Eastern Europe by Jewish immigrants.
[edit] See also
- Circle dance
- Round dance
- Bulgarian dances, details for specific Bulgarian folk dances
- Dabke, a Middle Eastern line dance
- Halay, a Middle Eastern dance
- Hasapiko, a Greek folk dance
- Khorovod, an Eastern European circle dance
- Kolo, a Serbo-Croatian circle dance
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The history of sacred dances: Choros, Hora, Calusul and Morris dance
- How to dance the Hora
- Hora Music, how do you dance the Hora in Israel - Lyrics to Hava Nagila
- A history of Jewish Hora (in Romanian, written by Romanian Jews)
- Description and history of Romanian Hora (in French)
