Variations on a Romanian Folk Dance: Hora pe Gheata

When you're on the ice, you have very little time, you see very little, and everything happens really quick.
Steve Yzerman

First of all, let's look at some clips of people slipping and falling on the ice, a very common occurrence in places where water gets cold enough to freeze. This post is for them and for all who endure cold northern winters and slick sidewalks. It's funny as long as it isn't you.  Otherwise, it hurts.



If you have defrosted yourself enough after watching the first video, it's time to enjoy a few variations of the dance Hora Pe Gheata from Romania.  The English translation is "dance on the ice." The people in the following videos are neither on the ice nor wearing skates, but you can always use your imagination.

I couldn't find the version that we do at the Friday night dances during my searches on the Universe of YouTube.  However, I found a couple of different variations that were just as good.  The first one is performed by Balkanitsa, from Haifa, Israel.



The next group is at Balkanalia, a dance festival held in Dresden, Germany. There is quite a crowd here which reminds me of the rink in Rockefeller Center in New York City, right before Christmas. The floor looks like a sheet of ice.



Video #3 is the same music as video #1 but a little bit slower. The picture is very appropriate for the season: four scary costumed people in a wintry landscape. There's no dancing here, though, this is a still photo.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Dreaming of Spring in the Middle of Winter: Flowers in Bulgarian Folklore

Crossing the River: Part Two The Bulgarian Martenitsa and the Romanian Mărţişor

If you like pictures of snow and ice, you can check out my Pinterest board: I Hate Winter.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.