More Quirky Odd Rhythms in Balkan Dance

I can tell by the way somebody walks if they can dance or not. Just by the rhythm. Bruce Forsyth

Today's post is more of a dance lesson than a math lesson. So don't let the numbers and the odd rhythms scare you. Many people find Balkan dancing intimidating for this reason.

Drăgăcuţa, a graceful and beautiful dance from Romania,is in 3/4 meter..  Most people associate this rhythm with waltz music. (1-2-3-1-2-3).  This is a quick-slow (with the accent on the second beat). It's easy to follow (most of it is walking) but difficult to lead because of the quirky rhythm. 

In Romania, women dance this at weddings to mourn the loss of the bride to the world of the married; in this instance it's an equal opportunity dance, since there are several men in the group.



The next number is five, and this Macedonian dance is Strumicka Petorka (pet is Macedonian for five).  It's has a totally different feel from Pajduško Horo, another dance with a five in the time signature.



I skipped over seven and nine since they have been covered in previous posts (see links at the end).  The next dance is Gankino Horo, a basic kopanitsa from Bulgaria. The rhythm for this is 11/16. (quick-quick-slow-quick quick).



Kopanitsa comes in different "flavors." Bulgarian dances are often named after cities and towns and sometimes regions, for example there is a Pazardzhishka Kopanitsa and a Shopska Kopanitsa. This particular dance is Bistrishka Kopanitsa. As difficulty goes, I would rate this as a 9 on a scale of 10.



Perhaps the people who work at the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute taught these cute little penguins how to dance Bistrishka Kopanitsa.  If the video looks familiar, you have probably seen the movie Happy Feet.



If you enjoyed this you may also like: The Travels of Padjusko Horo

Balkan Folk Dancing and its Relationship to...Math?

Dancing in Sevens, Parts One and Two

If you like the number nine, this post on Daichovo Horo, a Bulgarian folk dance, is for you.



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

Dancing to the Rhythm of a Different Drummer, or Why I like music in odd time signatures

Part of the fun of Balkan dance is learning the rhythms. People who are accustomed to "western" music often find that Balkan dancing and the assymetrical rhythms take a little getting used to.

Many years ago, I took a band class in school. Nearly all the music was in common time signatures, such as 4/4, 2/4, 6/8, and the occasional waltz (in 3/4 time). I found the waltz intriguing because it has an odd number of beats in each measure. When I first heard a rachenitsa from Bulgaria, I was totally smitten, by both the sound and the rhythm. It was beautiful and different!

In the Balkans, musicians like pieces with odd meters, such as 7/8 and 11/16, although in the villages, they played by ear, and sheet music to them was a foreign concept. They didn't let little things like quick-slow beats concern them, and the dancers had a lot of room for improvisation. If you're into music theory you may find this link of interest.

http://www.debone.com/MasteringOddComplexTimeSigsAndRhythms.html

One of my favorite dances is the kopanitsa, popular in Bulgaria and Macedonia. It has 11 beats to the measure. It's one of those rhythms that's a little tricky to internalize. The accent is on the 4th beat.



I have internalized the kopanitsa to the point that at a Bulgarian event I went to last year, no one got up to lead the dance. Whatever possessed me at the time commanded me to lead, and I did. Before I knew it I had about 50 people dancing in a line behind me, many of them exchange students from Bulgaria. The song lasted about 10 minutes, and I was exhausted when the music ended. This is the poem I wrote about the experience:

http://www.helium.com/items/1811432-kopanitsa-bulgarian-folk-dance

Dances often cross borders. Here are two dances from Serbia in 7/8 time which look and sound like Bulgarian rachenitsa. There are two versions of 7/8 rhythm: the rachenitsa is "apple apple galloping."

The drummer is amazing, he's playing and dancing at the same time. How many people can do that?



For more on the rachenitsa (the national dance of Bulgaria), read:

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/07/flavors-of-bulgarian-rachenitsa.html

Here is the other version of 7/8 rhythm, which makes for a completely different dance, the Lesnoto or Pravoto. This dance is from Macedonia. The beat is "galloping apple apple."



One of the first dances I learned many years ago was this lively Serbian number, Niska Banja, which is in 9/8. (This time signature is also used in the Bulgarian dance Daichovo Horo).

Niska Banja is a very catchy drinking song. This link will take you to the lyrics, and an English translation, so you can sing along :)

http://www.dunav.org.il/lyrics/niska_banja.html



This is a Daichovo, also a 9/8 dance, (quick-quick-quick-slow). Although the first beat has the accent, the fourth is the longest.



Since music is related to math, and since many people who take up Balkan music and dance are often math and physics people, here is an unusual take on that subject:

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/06/balkan-folk-dancing-and-its.html


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