― Martha Graham
My favorite dance teachers have a little bit of "crazy" about them. Here are a few from the Universe of YouTube. I haven't danced with them personally, but this is the kind of instructor I like when I go to dance workshops. They display energy and passion.
Video #1 is a dance from Bulgaria, Boaliisko Horo. Check out the smile on the instructor's face, she is not only an excellent dancer but totally into what she's doing. Her enthusiasm is contagious.
This group, from Brno in the Czech Republic, does it with the arms swinging into the middle during the "grapevine" portion of the dance, which is different from the dance notes. The notes mention a belt hold.
Video #2 is Bianca de Jong teaching Vlaski Sat from Serbia. What I find most impressive is her energy, in her movement and her voice. Don't forget to shout opsa!
This was taken during a workshop in Austria.
Video #3 is from a Romanian festival in Boulder, Colorado. The teacher here is a member of Hora Romaneasca. The kids seem to enjoy it, and maybe some of them will take up dance after a session with The Crazy Guy with the Ponytail.
I think men who dance are cool, because in my culture males in general prefer sports over dance and are afraid of looking stupid on the dance floor.
The dance is De Strigat, from Romania
If you are a frequent reader of The Alien Diaries, you will recognize this Chinese guy, who teaches a "Bonding Folkdance Class" in Taiwan. Although I don't understand a word of what he says, I'm sure I'll have no trouble learning from him. By the way, it's hard to call out the steps and do them at the same time. The mouth gets the feet confused.
The dance, from Macedonia, is Berovka.
If you enjoyed this you may also like:
Romanian Folk Dance in the United States
Vlach Dances from Bulgaria and Serbia
Fun and Easy Folk Dances from Romania
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Nice site & videos.
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