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Hora, also known as horo and oro, is a type of circle dance originating in Aromanian and Romanian communities, especially in Romania and Moldova. It is also found in other South East European countries (such as Bulgaria and North Macedonia) and culturally adopted by ethnic minorities such as the Ashkenazi Jews [1] (Yiddish: האָרע hore) and the Roma.
The name, spelled differently in various countries, is derived from the Greek χορός ( khorós ): "dance", [2] which is cognate with the Ancient Greek art form of χορεία ( khoreía ). The original meaning of the Greek word χορός may have been "circle". [3]
Also, the words hora and oro are found in many Slavic languages and have the meaning of "round (dance)"; the verb oriti means "to speak, sound, sing" and previously meant "to celebrate".
The Greek χορός ( khorós ) is cognate with Pontic Greek χορόν ( khorón ), and has also given rise to the names of Bulgarian хоро (horo), North Slavic Macedonian оро (oro), Romanian horă, kolo / коло in Serbian, the Turkish form hora and in Hebrew הורה (horah). The Khorumi dance of Georgia also might be connected to the Horon dance in the neighboring Turkish regions, as it rose out of the Adjara region, where Kartvelian Laz people co-existed for centuries with Greek Pontians. Overall, Horos has its origins in ancient Greece and Greek culture and tradition, it has spread to areas heavily influenced by the Greek culture and were part of the Byzantine Empire, these areas include most of the Balkans, Turkey, and Middle East.
Horă (plural: hore) is a traditional Romanian and Moldovan folk dance where the dancers hold each other's hands and the circle spins, usually counterclockwise, 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 cymbalom, accordion, violin, viola, double bass, saxophone, trumpet or the pan pipes.
The 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 (Romanian : Odă bucuriei). Some of the biggest hora circles can be found on early 20th century movies filmed by the Manaki brothers in Pindus, Greece, and performed by local Aromanians.
The traditional Bulgarian dance horo (Bulgarian : хоро) 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. The horo may vary between three and seven or eight steps forward and one to five or six steps back, depending on the specific type.
Bulgarians believe that each village has their own type of horo. 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.[ citation needed ]
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 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.
North Macedonia uses the Cyrillic spelling of oro. The origins of the Bulgarian dialect word oro vary from its use in socializing and celebrating to historical dancing before going into battle. Teshkoto, translated as "The difficult one", is one of those, danced by men only, the music of which reflects the sorrow and mood of war. The oro is danced in a circle, with men and women holding one another by hand. They are used to celebrating occasions such as weddings, christenings, name-days, national and religious holidays, graduations, and birthdays.
The horo is also popular among the Roma of Southeastern Europe, and the dancing is practically the same as that of the neighboring ethnicities. Roma Horos, and Roma music in general, are very much appreciated among the non-Roma in the Balkans, as they also have a reputation as skillful performers of other people's folk music.
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In klezmer music, the horah refers to a circle dance. The horah has a slow, limping gait in triple meter, often three/eight time (3
8), and generally leads into a faster and more upbeat duple meter, usually a freylekh or a bulgar. Among Yiddish-speaking Jews, the triple-meter horah has also been called zhok (Romanian joc, 'dance') or krumer tants (Yiddish: 'crooked dance'). [1]
The horah (הורה), which differs somewhat from that of some of the Eastern European countries, is widespread in the Jewish diaspora and played a foundational role in modern Israeli folk dancing. It became the symbol of the reconstruction of the country by the socialistic-agricultural Zionist movement. [4] Although considered traditional, some claim it rose to popularity due to Hora Agadati, named after dancer and choreographer Baruch Agadati and performed for the first time in 1924. [5] According to Gurit Kadman, the original melody was a Moldavian folk tune, which in mid-1940s was recognized by composer Uriya Boskovitz as an anti-Semitic one,[ clarification needed ] and Gurit asked Boskovitz to write a new one. About the same time Ze’ev Havatselet wrote a lyrics to the tune [6] (found, e.g., in the Library of Congress [7] ). Now the dance is usually performed to Israeli folk songs, and sometimes to Jewish songs, often to the music of "Hava Nagila".
To start the dance, everybody forms a circle, holding hands or interlocking arms behind their backs or on their shoulders, [4] and steps forward toward the left with the right foot, then follows with the left foot. The right foot is then brought back, followed by the left foot. This is done while holding hands and circling together in a fast and cheerful motion to the left. Large groups allow for the creation of several concentric circles, or a large spiral formation.
In the early days, horah was popular mainly in kibbutzim and small communities, often continuing for hours. [8]
The horah became popular in group dances throughout Israel, and at weddings and other celebrations by Jews in Israel, the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. The dance appeared in North America in the early 20th century, well before modern Israeli independence, brought directly from Eastern Europe by Jewish immigrants.
At Jewish weddings during the horah it is customary to raise the bride and groom, each on their own chair and holding a handkerchief between them, following Jewish tradition. This is also done at b'nai mitzvah, where the honoree and sometimes his or her family members are also raised on a chair, copying the wedding tradition.
The song "Hora", sung by Avi Toledano, who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, is based on this dance.
Horon in several variants is danced in Black Sea Region / Pontos of modern-day Turkey.[ citation needed ]
The oro (Serbian Cyrillic : оро) circle dance should not be confused with the Montenegrin Oro dance of Montenegro and Herzegovina, which is a paired courtship dance. Its name comes from the Serbian оrао, meaning "eagle".
Perinița is a traditional Romanian wedding folk dance. The dance is typical in the Muntenia region. [9] [10]
Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle, semicircle or a curved line to musical accompaniment, such as rhythm instruments and singing, and is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need of partners. Unlike line dancing, circle dancers are in physical contact with each other; the connection is made by hand-to-hand, finger-to-finger or hands-on-shoulders, where they follow the leader around the dance floor. Ranging from gentle to energetic, the dance can be an uplifting group experience or part of a meditation.
Antikristos or Antikrystós is a dance of Greek origin. “Aντικρυστός” in Greek language refers to the verb αντικρύζω “be across, opposite, face-to-face”. It is also known in Armenia. Antikristos has similarities with the karsilamas dance. It is danced in couples.
Choreia is a circle dance accompanied by singing, in ancient Greece. Homer refers to this dance in his epic poem, the Iliad.
Čoček is a musical genre and dance that emerged in the Balkans during the early 19th century. It features prominently in the repertoire of many Romani brass bands.
Kolo is a South Slavic circle dance, found under this name in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia. It is inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intagible Cultural Heritage for Serbia.
The music of Thrace, a region in Southeastern Europe spread over southern Bulgaria, northeastern Greece, and European Turkey, contains a written history that extends back to the antiquity, when Orpheus became a legendary musician and lived close to Olympus. Though the Thracian people were eventually assimilated by surrounding Balkan groups, elements of Thracian folk music continue.
Israeli folk dance is a form of dance usually performed to songs in Hebrew, or to other songs which have been popular in Israel, with dances choreographed for specific songs. Israeli dances include circle, partner and line dances. As almost all dances are intentionally choreographed, and the choreographers are known and attributed, the reference to these dances as "folk dances" is sometimes controversial among the general folk dance community. The recent trend of dances becoming much more complex and "professional" has led some to use the alternative term "Recreational Israeli Dancing".
Bulgarian folk dances are intimately related to the music of Bulgaria. This distinctive feature of Balkan folk music is the asymmetrical meter, built up around various combinations of 'quick' and 'slow' beats. The music, in Western musical notation, is often described using compound meter notation, where the notational meter accents, i.e., the heard beats, can be of different lengths, usually 1, 2, 3, or 4. Many Bulgarian dances are line dances, in which the dancers dance in a straight or curved line, holding hands.
Pajdushko oro; is a folk dance from Macedonia. It features a 5-beat meter divided into "quick" (2-beat) and "slow" (3-beat) units, abbreviated quick-slow or 2+3.time. Like many other Balkan folk dances, each region or village has its own version of the dance. It is traditionally a men's dance, but in modern times it is often performed in lines of both men and women.
Greek traditional music includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and other parts of Europe. Apart from the common music found generally in Greece, each region of Greece contains a distinct type of folk music that originated from the region due to their history, traditions and cultural influences.
Turkish folk dances are the folk dances of Turkey. Facing three seas, straddling important trade routes, Turkey has a complex, sophisticated culture, reflected in the variety of its dances. The dominant dance forms are types of line dance. There are many different types of folk dances performed in various ways in Turkey. Zeybek, Teke Zortlatması in Aegean region, Bar in Erzurum province, Halay in the central, southern, eastern, and southeastern parts of the country, Hora in Thrace, Horon in the eastern Black Sea region, Spoon dances in and around Konya, and Lezginka in Kars and Ardahan are some of the best known examples of these.
Jewish dance is dance associated with Jews and Judaism. Dance has long been used by Jews as a medium for the expression of joy and other communal emotions. Dancing is a favorite pastime and plays a role in religious observance.
Gankino horo is a Bulgarian folk dance written in 11 (undecuple) = 2+2+3+2+2 time similar to kopanitsa or krivo horo. The name gankino seems to be used mostly in northern Bulgaria. The basic gankino horo is a three-measure dance using the step structure also common in the dances: Dunavsko, Povarnoto and Eleno Mome.
Pravo horo is a very popular, simple folk dance from Bulgaria that is done throughout the Balkan countries. In Greece, it is called Zonaradiko. It is considered the "national dance" of Bulgaria, Albania, and North Macedonia. It is a rustic village line dance with a three-measure pattern, done to 2
4 or 6
8 music, and is a staple of weddings, feast days, and other celebrations. As with other Balkan dances, each country and even local region has its own variation of the dance, often interspersing other steps with the basic pravo step, to the extent that these different versions amount to distinct dances.
The Tapeinos horos is a traditional Greek dance.
EastWind is an album by Andy Irvine and Davy Spillane, showcasing a fusion of Irish folk music with traditional Bulgarian and Macedonian music. Produced by Irvine and Bill Whelan, who also contributed keyboards and piano, it was widely regarded as revolutionary at recording.
Baruch Agadati was a Russian Empire-born Israeli classical ballet dancer, choreographer, painter, and film producer and director.
Opa is a common Mediterranean, Eastern European, Middle Eastern, North African, South American, and Jewish emotional expression. It is frequently used during celebrations such as weddings or traditional dancing. In Greek culture, the expression sometimes accompanies the act of plate smashing. It can also be used to express enthusiasm, shock or surprise, or just after having made a mistake.
Bulgarian wedding music is a genre of Svatbarska muzika or a "wedding music" style that evolved in the late 1960s in Bulgaria. Its popularity has spread in Europe and North America. This style of music is performed elaborately in weddings in a festive atmosphere, and also on other happy occasions. It was not given state privilege initially by the socialist regime of Bulgaria as it was considered folk music. The music is a fusion of "an eclectic array" of Bulgarian, Romani, Turkish and Macedonian music and is very popular in the southern Balkan region. Following the end of the People's Republic of Bulgaria in 1989, the popularity of wedding music has soared.
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