Monday, August 4, 2014

Made in Romania

Many Europeans are confused by the terms Roma and Romania. They wonder if it is an ethnicity or a nation of 22 million citizens.
Traian Basescu

Today's post features a Roma (Gypsy) dance and a medley of dances from the region of Transylvania. 

The first video is the Roma dance, Made in Romania. You can do it freestyle or go by the "suggested" choreography here.  Included are the lyrics and the translation for the song.

I have been known to deviate from the choreography at times and like to create up my own steps. As long as it goes with the music, it's all good, but sometimes it drives people crazy.



The second "Made in Romania" is a folk ensemble who perform a medley of dances from Transylvania. Bram Stoker's novel Dracula was the book that made Transylvania famous. It was based on an actual person, Vlad Tepes, (Vlad the Impaler), who ruled Wallachia from 1456 to 1462. He is best known for the way he killed his enemies.  He impaled them on stakes.

Stoker created a novel based on the folklore of Transylvania. Although he had never visited the country, he had read about it extensively, and he reincarnated Vlad Tepes into a vampire. Nowadays, everyone associates Transylvania with Count Dracula and vampires.

The name Transylvania means "land beyond the forest."  A number of ethnic groups have left their imprint in this region:  the Romanians, Hungarians, Saxons (Germans) and Roma.



If you enjoyed this, you may also like

A Romani Potpourri, Parts One and Two

Transylvania: The Land of Count Dracula is a Multi-Cultural Mishmosh

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