Lynda Barr
Although pandemic restrictions are loosening up in the United States, and groups in some places are meeting in person again, many of us still dance on Zoom.
Zoom has some advantages over in person meetings: you don't have to go out during inclement weather to dance, and you get to see and meet people who live far away.
The main disadvantages are lack of space in the living room (where most people use as their dance space) and the hard floors. Folk dancers tend to prefer wooden floors with spring; these are less stressful on the feet and knees. Some of us dance on carpet which can also be challenging.
Also it is best to see friends in person. You don't get to talk much to your friends at Zoom meetings. Sometimes there is a chat scheduled either at the beginning or the end of the meeting for social time.
From what I've been hearing in various groups, there will be dancing on Zoom for a while; at least until the end of the year.
Video #1 is a dance I learned on Zoom: Mahala Mori Shej. It is described as a Romany dance from Hungary/Transylvania. Transylvania is a multicultural region of Romania; Germans, Roma, Hungarians and other ethnic groups call it home. Also, this dance is not to be confused with another dance, also Romany, from Hungary: Mori Shej.
If anyone can find the lyrics for Mahala Mori Shej, please post the link in the "comments" section.
Video #2 is a mellow dance from Albania: Moj Maro Moj Marine. I never knew this dance existed until people met on Zoom. It became very popular in the Zoomiverse during the past year. You can find the lyrics here.
Video #3 is Djurdevica, from Serbia, not to be confused with Djurdevka. Djurdevica was popular before the pandemic. You can find both in my series Balkan Dances Often Confused (the link is on the bottom of the page.)
This is a dance that requires more space than the average living room because it's fast and moves in several directions. (See below for the pandemic version that uses smaller steps.)
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The entire "Confusion" series (so far) can be found here: (This is the longest series on this blog with 22 posts!)
Here is the rest of the series Most Popular Balkan Dances on Zoom. It starts with Part Five.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
