Dancing in Sixes

It’s like asking why is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony beautiful. If you don't see why, someone can't tell you. I know numbers are beautiful. If they aren't beautiful, nothing is.
Paul Erdos

Today's post features two dances, two from Serbia, and one from Romania.  All of them have the number six in the name.

Video #1 is Sestorka.  шест is the number six in Serbian.  What is really amazing about these young dancers is their ability (this is not an easy dance) and that they are members of a Chinese folk dance club in Dallas, Texas.

Follow the link to these to old dance notes (there is no year, but you can tell they are old because they were done on a typewriter.)  Also there is mention of a country, Yugoslavia, that no longer exists. Although there are only three kids in the line, the shout "ooh ah" is done after the first set of six steps.  So I see a connection here.



Video #2,  U Sest (In Six) is also a very popular Serbian dance from the region of Sumadija.  The music is played on a frula, a traditional folk instrument.

This is a leader-called dance. The different variations are mentioned in the notes, and if you listen carefully, you can hear Yehuda call them.

The Dunav group is from Jerusalem in Israel, and they have numerous Balkan dance videos on YouTube.  While you are isolated at home, you can connect with the rest of the world and learn some new dances as well!



Video #3 is Hora pe Sase from Romania.  It has three sets of figures: the three steps in and one step out (pravo step), the second figure (czardas), and the last is the step together step.  I don't see anything here in six or its multiples, so how did the dance get its name?  I couldn't find any notes.  If you can find an explanation for the name or dance notes, please post them in the comments section.

The dance reminds me of Bulgarian Pravo Horo with a shot of Romanian attitude.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Dancing in Sevens (the series)

Dancing in Nines


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

Fun and Easy Folk Dances from Romania

Some years ago I read a book that brought Einstein's theory of relativity down to an eighth grade level. This convinced me that any subject can be made easy. In other words, always beware of anyone who tells you a topic is above you or better left to experts. This person may, for some reason, be trying to shut you out. You CAN understand almost anything.
Richard J. Maybury

Not all Romanian folk dances are fast and difficult with sudden changes of direction and stamps hard enough to put holes in the floor! Contrary to what you've seen and heard, there are relatively slow and easy Romanian dances. Relatively is the key word here. Relativity is a whole other concept.

What's really cool about today's dances is that they include shouts, called "strigaturi."  You can be a kid again and use your "outside voice."

The first is Hora Pe Sase (Hora for Six). I counted the steps, and none of them add up to six.  Notice that one of the figures in this dance resembles the Bulgarian Pravo Horo.

There are definitely more than six people dancing.  So where did the dance get its name?  If you know the answer, please post it in the "comments" section.



The second dance, Hora Pentesteanca is one I can't even pronounce.  Fortunately it is easy to learn by watching the dancers. The steps are mostly grapevines and taps.

Romanian is part of a family of languages based on Latin. There is a Romanian woman who comes to our dances and she taught us how to say some basic greetings.  Despite my familiarity with Spanish, I had difficulty pronouncing the Romanian words.

Modern Romanian, to me, sounds like a combination of Latin and Italian, with an admixture of Slavic words. The first time I heard it on an ethnic radio program, I thought it was a dialect of Italian until the folk music came on. According to Wikipedia, Romanian is 77% similar to Italian.

There are other dialects related to Romanian, including Aromanian , also known as Vlach.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

The "Flavors" of Romanian Hora

The "Flavors" of Romanian Sirba

The dances of Bulgaria and the Dobrogea region of Romania use similar rhythms.

Crossing the River Part One:  Folk Music From the Romanian Region of Dobrogea

Dancing Across Bulgaria: The Pravo and Regional Folk Dance Styles

If you are interested in some easy folk dances, check out the blog with the same name.

The Alien Diaries is taking a brief break.  Look for the next post in approximately two weeks.


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