Dances from Dobrogea

When you're 16, 30 seems ancient. When you're 30, 45 seems ancient. When you're 45, 60 seems ancient. When you're 60, nothing seems ancient. 

Helen Mirren 

The dance in Video #1 is Joc Batrinesc.  Batrinesc means "ancient" in Romanian. (There is also a Hora Veche which means "old dance" that was covered in one of the posts listed below.). This is slow and mellow compared to a lot of Romanian dances (though it does include stamps).

Theodor Vasilescu reconstructed it from a dance that was lost. His version has more hops and sways than the one we usually do.  It was originally from the village of Niculițel.  

This version is from a group of videos titled "Folk Dance with Henry." They live in Florida so some of these are shot outdoors, probably in the winter when the rest of us are freezing :)

   

Video #2 is Romanian Paijdusko also known as  Paiduska de la Stejaru.  The melody reminds me a little of the childhood cartoons I used to watch. Unlike the Bulgarian or Macedonian Paijdusko, the rhythm for this dance is in 6/16.  

   

 

Video #3 is Geampara (to the "Dancing Hat" song.) The rhythm is similar to Bulgarian rachenitsa: apple-apple-pineapple (7/16). This group is from Taiwan, but the Romanian who posted it and the commenters actually had a lot of praise; they said the group was dancing Geampara like they do in Dobrogea. If you want to see the original video with the dancing hat, click on the first link below at the end of this post.

 

 Video #4 is Dragaicuta, slow and graceful dance. According to Andrew Carnie's notes it is connected to a women's spring ritual. Another source cites that this is a dance done by friends of the bride to mourn the loss of her when she marries.  Either source could be correct.     

   

If you enjoyed this you may also like:

The Dancing Hat (song by the group Ro-Mania)

Folk Music from the Romanian Region of Dobrogea

Horror from Veche (a funny take on a Romanian folk dance) The woman who taught it to us passed away two years ago. 

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

Dances from Oltenia, Part Six

It's been a while since I've written here. I finally found an arthritis friendly keyboard and a computer with a large screen (less eyestrain! less hand pain!) Today's post is a continuation of a series that started years ago: Dances from Oltenia. During the past year I have been at in person dances and Zoom Meetings.  These are dances our group hasn't done.

 I had no idea that folk dances from Oltenia were so popular. Oltenia is the region directly north of the Severnjasko region of Bulgaria, best known for its spirited dances. Video #1 is Hora Mare Olteneasca (Large Oltenian Hora).

I found these on the Dunav website.  They specialize mainly in Balkan and dance and what I like is that they specify the region of the country as well. The problem is that they sometimes cut their videos short.

   

 Video #2 is Galaonul de la Birca.  Birca is a town in Dolj county. (For some reason the video lists Muntenia as the region of origin.  Somebody goofed :)

Video #3 is Briuletul de La Birca, not to be confused with the dance in the previous video.  Didn't I say many times that confusion happens quite frequently when it comes to Balkan dancing?

Briul means "belt" in Romanian.

   

There are several versions of the Rustemul dance. Video #4 is Rustemul de la Pristol.  According to a Romanian YouTube commenter, this dance duplicates how young horses are trained.  

The rhythm is 5/16, similar to the Bulgarian/Macedonian Paidusko.

 

If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Dances From Oltenia, Part Five (links to the previous posts in the series)

Balkan Dances that are often Confused Part 23 (links to previous posts in the series)

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