“Who wouldn't want to get married in a room full of love stories?”
Jen Campbell
Many of the dances on The Alien Diaries recently have been about weddings. Today's dance is Periniţafrom the Romanian region of Muntenia. It is pronounced "perinitza." The dance is in sârba rhythm, a popular dance form in southern Romania similar to the Serbian Cacak or Bulgarian Pravo Horo.
The idea behind the dance is to "capture" a partner with a scarf. Both women and men can pick partners. They kiss after their turn at the dance and move on to find other partners until the music ends.
Periniţacan be done as a hora (group), couple or even as a threesome (1:44). The threesome part reminds me of the Russian dance Troika. At 2:48 two couples kiss. It's really sweet!
You can read the story behind the dance here. It was a favorite of the dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, and under his regime it was the last dance at every party. It's still popular from what I've seen on YouTube.
Once you listen to Periniţa, it will live on in your head for days because it's a catchy, repetitive tune, also known as an earworm.
Here is another version of Periniţa performed at the wedding of Marius and Geana in Galati.
In the range of music that we play - roughly 300 years' worth-there really are more similarities than differences.
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Today's post features two Florecica dances with different music and different choreography performed by a group of dancers from Boulder, Colorado.
Video #1 is the version familiar to most folk dancers, Florecica Olteneasca. The best description of it is a Sârba on steroids. A Sârba is aRomanian folk dance related to the Bulgarian Pravo Horo and the Serbian Čačak. The dance is from the region of Oltenia in southern Romania.
The first part of the dance, which is relatively easy, consists of Sârba choreography(the spelling Sirba is also used).
This video took place at a Romanian festival in Boulder, Colorado, and the dancers are from the Hora Romaneasca dance group The musical accompaniment for this dance is known by the politically incorrect name of Jew's Harp (drîmba is the name in Romanian). The other instrument is a kobza.
Video #2 is the same group performing Florecica #2. Like the previous video you can hear the "chatter" in the background. This is also a fast dance done in Sârba rhythm, punctuated by shouts from the leader. The opposing lines at 0:52 remind me of a Bulgarian dance, Sitna Zborernka.
This version of Florecica is played on violins, cimbalom and panpipes.
At one of the annual conventions of the American Society for Aesthetics much confusion arose when the Society for Anesthetics met at the same time in the same hotel.
Rudolf Arnheim
When it comes to the subject of similar names, do you sometimes get confused? It happens quite often at dances!
Do you know the difference between hora and sirba? Today's post features two Romanian dances with similar names. One is a hora, the other a sirba.
Hora is the generic name of a dance popular in Romania and Moldova. It can be easily confused with the Israeli dance of the same name, or the Bulgarian dance with a similar name (horo) or the Greek dance with a name almost like the Bulgarian (horon).
Are you confused yet?
Sirba (also spelled Sârbă) is a Romanian folk dance related in rhythm to Serbian Cacak and the fast Bulgarian Pravo Horo. You can dance a fast pravo to a sirba or a cacak to a sirba. They are pretty much interchangeable. During a live music night I (mistakenly) led a cacak to what the band listed as a sirba. No one took offense to my confusion because the music went perfectly with the steps. Besides, Sirba means "Serb like." The Romanians borrowed the sirba from the Serbs!
Video #1 is Hora Pe Loc from Romania. Pe loc means "in place" Hora is usually done in a circle but it's impossible to make a circle with only four dancers.
Video #2 is Sirba Pe Loc is a dance from the region of Muntenia (southeastern Romania). There are many variations of the sirba. Villages, towns and regions often have a sirba named after them. It is a dance commonly done at weddings, when the guys get drunk and want to show off. The women are too busy struggling to balance on their high heels. They usually have their own "heel friendly" line.
The dominant instruments in the music are the bagpipe and the cimbalom. Sirba Pe Loc is a favorite among international folk dance groups worldwide.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
"Winter is dead.
A. A. Milne
Spring will be here soon! Today's post features songs and dances about Martisor, celebrated on March 1 in Romania.
Martisor is also a red and white decoration such as a bracelet or brooch worn during the month of March, to celebrate the arrival of spring. There is a similar holiday in Bulgaria on March 1, Baba Marta Day. The main difference is that the Romanian holiday was originally a New Year celebration (the ancient Romans celebrated the New Year on March 1). The Bulgarian celebration honors a mythical figure, Baba Marta, and people wear adornments called Martenitsa in order to please Baba Marta so that spring will come early. These are given to friends and relatives for good luck and health.
The first video is of a children's group, who perform two songs and a dance in honor of Martisor. The dance is called Hora Martisorului. Notice the stigaturi (shouts), these are typical of Romanian folk dances.
Video #2 is a pop-folk song with all the ladies dressed in red and white, titled Martisor, which is another one of those earworms that will take up residence in your head for hours. If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you have listened to lots of them. The song is lively and cheerful, and although I couldn't find the lyrics or a translation it's well worth a listen. From what I can gather it's about the arrival of spring (primavara in Romanian).
Not only are they dressed for the holiday, they're carrying bunches of flowers as well. The costumes are a bit on the sexy side...eye candy for the guys?
Video is a group of young dancers from Calarasi, in southern Romania, dancing a sirba in honor of spring, followed by a medley of other traditional dances. The "embroidery" on the screen behind the dancers will get your attention.
You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.
Bob Hope
Today's post celebrates the birthday of Aneta Stan, Romanian folksinger. Next week, February 2, she will be 72.
When people get past a certain age, too many candles on the cake can activate the smoke detector. That is why number candles are popular with those who have double digit birthdays.
Here's a birthday greeting in Romanian from Talking Tom. Tom is about to give himself a lactose attack. He's a virtual cat so maybe milk doesn't have that effect on him. Maybe he would be better off eating cake?
Video #1 was taken recently during a TV progam honoring Aneta Stan. It's a folklore show from Romania that reminds me of the Bulgarian program Ide Nashenskata Muzika. The name is Noi suntem români (We are Romanians). Everyone on stage is dressed in elaborate embroidered costumes and flags are everywhere because it's a Romanian national holiday.
The song translates to Happy Birthday Beautiful Country. The dance to this is geampara, closely related to Bulgarian rachenitsa (apple-apple-pineapple).
Video #2 is Sarba din Oltina. Sarba or Sirba is a very popular dance in Romania and this one is from Oltina, a village in the Dobrogea region.
Music from the Romanian region of Dobrogea is characterized by odd rhythms that are similar to those on the Bulgarian side of the Danube, River of Many Names. This song is in cadeneasca rhythm, similar to Bulgarian daichovo.
Video #3 is one of Stan's earlier videos taken 1974 during the bad old days when Nicolae Ceaușescu ruled the land. Romania didn't have color TV broadcasts until 1983, and during that period programs were on for only two-three hours a day because Romania cut back its use on electricity in order to pay back foreign debt.
The song translates to Young Men in Dobrogea.
Aneta Stan is a native of Dobrogea, and her home town is Cernavoda, the town with a nuclear power symbol on its coat of arms.This song is a tribute to her native city. What is really cool is the bagpipe (cimpoi) solo in the introduction. By the way, you can dance to this as well, it's a sirba.
“Those move easiest who have learn'd to dance”
Alexander Pope
Today's post features men who are very good dancers. It is unfortunate that men in the United States think of dance as primarily a female activity. If they saw how dancers are viewed in other cultures, they might change their minds.
Traditionally, in the Balkans, dances were places for young people to find marriage partners, and the men's dances were especially flamboyant because they were showing off for the women. The best dancers got the prettiest girls.
Here's a group of guys at a wedding, and what you see is testosterone in action. I don't know where the wedding took place. The title is in Bosnian and roughly translated means "Have you seen these men dance?"
The dances shown here are from the Shope region of Bulgaria. They start with Shopska Rachenitsa, then Graovsko Horo at 1:45 and finish the with the rachenitsa. What energy!
Here's some eye candy for the ladies: three young shirtless men from Romania dancing sirba. This particular sirba is a fast, difficult dance. I would definitely have an interest in them if I were young and single..They certainly weren't ashamed to have this posted on YouTube. If they were advertising for potential mates, I'd say they were doing an excellent job. Men who dance like this are sexy!
For more on the Romanian dance sirba, there is a link below with more information.
I just love bossy women. I could be around them all day. To me, bossy is not a pejorative term at all. It means somebody's passionate and engaged and ambitious and doesn't mind leading.
Amy Poehler
Today's post, for International Women's Day, will feature men's dances from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Greece, led by women.
In the Balkans, traditionally, there were dances for women and dances for men. Nowadays, no one really cares if a female leads what was once considered a men's dance. In the old days, however there was gender segregation. There would be two different lines, one for the women and one for the men. The men performed the fancy moves and jumps, and the women's version was more dainty.
The first dance is from the Pirin region of southwestern Bulgaria. I don't know the name of it (can someone help me here?) The female leader it does it with style; this is music with a hypnotic rhythm played on a tupan (double-headed drum) and a zurna (a wooden horn with a double reed and finger holes). Most of the dancers are women, you can see a couple of men near the end.
What is even more amazing is that this performance goes on for over six minutes and the music gets progressively faster.
Sirba Pe Loc, from Romania, was most likely a men's dance. It's fast, and done in a shoulder hold with stamps and heel clicks for emphasis. Sirba dances are very popular in Romania, and there are many. They are usually named by the town or region, but this one translates to "dance in place."
Sestorka, from Serbia, is a very fast dance, usually performed by men holding on to each other's belts. The rules have been changed here, with some interesting results. This is an all-female group dressed in traditional Serbian folk costumes (that means skirts). There is a point in the dance where they are supposed to shout ooh-ha, but I can barely hear them. Raise your voices, ladies!
The,Hasapiko was the dance of the butcher's guild in Greece during the Middle Ages, and back then was performed only by men. Times have changed. This group, like the previous one, is all female.
A wedding is a funeral where you smell your own flowers.
Eddie Cantor
Weddings are a fascinating insight into a culture. The joining of a couple involves elaborate rituals, which seem to be more for the benefit of the guests than for the couple. There are a number of key ingredients to a good wedding reception: music, dance, food, plenty of booze, and of course, the bride and groom.
A friend from Romania, who now lives in the
States, sent me these videos via e-mail. There were so many that I had a difficult
time deciding which ones to include in this post.
The first video is of a Sârba, (or Sirba) a very popular dance, done especially at weddings. Notice that there are two lines; one for men and one for women ("heel friendly", as my friend described it). The men use a back basket hold and the women just hold hands.
The bride leads a dance, and a fast one, too. She has no problem, despite having to hold up that long dress. Several of the women are dancing barefoot. Shoes, especially those high-heeled torture devices, get in the way. Whoever invented them had to be a man, and as punishment, should be made to walk wearing them several miles over cobblestones. Ouch!
In the next video people stuff money down the bride's bodice while she gets her crown and veil adjusted. It is a major project.
The bride must have spent hours at the hairdresser's, so the crown has to be placed just so. Can't mess up the hair. Don't forget the hairspray, the perfume,and the pastry! The bride looks like she'd rather be somewhere else...I hope they gave her something alcoholic to calm her down.
If you want to skip to the dancing, it starts at 8:07.
If you are a regular visitor to this blog (and I hope you are) you will recognize the rhythm to this dance. In Romania it's geampara, on the other side of the Danube, it's rachenitsa. Somewhere in the middle it changes to sirba. Rhythm changes during dance sequences are very common in the Balkans. Check out the costumed dancers at the beginning of the video, they are a goat and a horse.
This group of men dances Căluşari which in its original form is performed by costumed dancers around the springtime holiday of Pentecost. It is a dance for men only and has pagan origins.
Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane.
H.P. Lovecraft
May is Dance Month on The Alien Diaries, and today's post focuses on different "flavors" of the Romanian folk dance, Sirba or Sârba, as it is spelled in Romanian. The hora and the sirba are the two of the best known Romanian folk dances. There are many varieties of hora; with regional differences, and they are usually done in a circle. The hora is especially popular during festivals and weddings, big communal celebrations in which everyone is expected to get up and dance.
The sirba may have had Serbian origins because the name means "Serb like." This proves that the Balkans are a multicultural mish-mosh. Dances (as well as dancers) are notorious for crossing existent and non-existent borders. Sirba can be done in either a circle or a line, depending on the preference of the leader, and the dance is often punctuated by stamps and shouts.
The first group, from Denmark, performs Sirba din Cimpoi.Cimpoi is Romanian for bagpipe (also known in Slavic-speaking countries as a gaida). They like the bagpipe in Romania, too, almost as much as their friends across the Danube, the Bulgarians. The in and out step with the arm swinging reminds me of a dance very popular in Bulgaria, Dunavsko Horo.
The next video is of Sirba Pe Loc, also played on a bagpipe, and a staple in the repertoire of folk dancers around the world. It translates into "dance in place." Most of the steps here are stamping and heel clicks; there's just a little bit of lateral movement. Notice the shoulder hold, this is very common in Romanian folk dances.
These guys take sirba to a whole new level. Since this is a male only group at a party, they, of course, want to show off. My guess is that they have been hitting the bar as well, which fuels the energy here.
The shouts you hear are called strigaturi, and they are a common feature of Romanian folk dances. If I were there I would have joined the circle, the men have more fun. Notice that the men try to outdo each other, it's most likely a contest to attract the women with their physical prowess; in that respect sirba is similar to Bulgarian rachenitsa.
The music here is also different, a brass band with accordion, accompanied by a singer. Despite all the distractions (staff bringing plates to tables and little kids running around), these men are totally focused on the dance. Maybe it's the booze.
This integrated (male-female) group dances an extremely lively and animated sirba at a wedding. My guess is that the craziness is related the the amount of alcohol consumption. This dance has lots of stamping (bataie), and everyone circles around the accordion player. Some people consider the accordion an instrument of torture. In Eastern Europe, however, they love it almost as much as the bagpipe.
Bagpipes are the missing link between music and noise. E. K. Kruger
The Eastern European gaida, or bagpipe, is an instrument that gets around the Balkans. It's extremely popular in Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Greece. Believe it or not, the Romanians like it too.
Romanian music is usually associated with panpipes (also called panflutes), and with another unusual folk instrument, the cimbalom. A cimbalom is also known as a hammered dulcimer, and belongs to the percussion family of instruments.
In this video is some traditional Romanian music played by a bunch of Dutch guys in Amsterdam on clarinet, accordion, violin, cimbalom and panpipes, and they are pretty damned good. This instrumentation is typical for folk ensembles in Romania.
I don't know if the Romanians got their liking for the bagpipe from their Bulgarian neighbors across the River of Many Names, but you'll find that the music of southern Romania is very big on the cimpoi (Romanian for bagpipe). Don't confuse it with the cimbalom, the cimpoi is a totally different animal. (Just so you know, the cimpoi is made from either goat or sheep hide). Both panpipes and bagpipes have been used as instruments of torture on susceptible people (but not on Bulgarians). I'm sure that the Bulgarians are flattered that their friends across the Danube have taken up the gaida.
Last year, I wrote about the bagpipe in Bulgarian folk music, you can read the post here:
Now it's time to hear those bagpipes in action, along with cimbalom and panpipes, the "unholy trinity" of instruments of torture :) This dance is Hora de Mina. Hora means "dance" in Romanian, and can be easily confused with horo, the Bulgarian name for the same thing.
Sârba pe Loc, a dance from the region of Muntenia in southern Romania, is another example of the gaida (oops, cimpoi) in action. Sârba is a generic name for energetic dances from Muntenia and Oltenia (another province in southern Romania) with lots of stamping. This dance is extremely popular among folk dance groups, probably because it's a socially acceptable way to get your frustrations out.
This hora from the Oltenia region of Romania is titled simply Cimpoi. You'll understand why when you hear it.
If you're interested in more interesting and unusual Eastern European folk instruments, including the kaval, the gadulka, and the panpipes you may enjoy this post:
If you love Balkan music and dance you have come to the right place! The Alien Diaries began in February 2010 and is updated at least twice a month.
This blog is dedicated to the memory of my cat Fatso (see avatar), who passed away on April 9, 2011 from congestive heart failure. He was the inspiration for several of my early posts.
Don't forget to check out my second blog, Light and Shadow, for some humor, satire, photos and poetry!
