Bulgaria.

The next traditional dance that I am going to talk to you about is in Bulgaria. Their traditional dance is called Hora. This is like a circle dance and it began in Balkans and it was also found in other countries. Its also called xopoc which is a Greek word which means 'circle'. This dance is normally seen at Jewish parties and religious occasions such as a weddings and Bah mitvas. You perform the dance by everyone holding hands in a circle, first stepping right with the left foot, then stepping left with the right foot. They dance to a song which is called the Hava Nagila. This song became very popular and widespread throughout Romanian, Russian Communities and American Jewish.

There are different types of Hora dances such as the Hora Mare (Large Hora), Hora dreapta ( straight Hora) whiv=ch is the most common out of all the different types, Hora lente (slow Hora) and Hora mare Bucovineasca. Those two have a very slow tempo and the rhythm is between 5/16 and 3/8.

India.

There are many traditional dances in India but I will be talking to you about Kuchipudi. Kuchipudi is very popular in south India but it originally came from the Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh. When they are performing it starts with a stage rites. Then the dancers come out onto the stage and introduce themselves with a dharavu which is a small composition of a song and dance. It introduces the character and the sets of mood. The dance is normally accompanied by a song which is called Carnatuc music. This dance is also accompanied by a violin, flute, mridangam and tambura.
This dance traces to Nayta Shastra, on the performing arts written between 200 BCE and 200 CE. It started during the bhakti movement which started in Tamil Nadu and got spreaded to the North and the East between the 7th and 10th centuries.
Kuchipudi dancers are scintillating and quicksilver and rounded and also fleet-flooded. The dancers perform with fluid movements and grace. The dance shares many elements that are common with Bharata Natyam. In solo exposition, it includes 'jatiswaram' and 'tillana' but nrityam it has several lyrical compositions reflecting the desire of a devotee to merge with God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1bcjenN6Uc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuchipudi

Spain.

The traditional dance in Spain is Flamenco. This dance originally came from the south of Spain in Andalusia. This dance includes guitar playing, singing (Cante), hand clapping and  finger snapping. It's known for its proud carriage, emotional intensity, the use of their arms and stamping of the feet. This dance was performed mostly at weddings and different celebrations in the 20th century. It is mostly associated in with the Romany people in Spain. The word "Flamenco" came to be synonymous with gypsy with Spanish Romany Argot. The music for the dance originates from Punjabi singing in India, Jewish synagogue chants, andalusion regional folk forms, classical andalusion orchestras of the Islamic Empire and  Persian Zyriab song form.
This dance is in 2/4 time, (meaning two beats per bar) and mixed with andalusion folk dance including Tambourines, finger cymbals and atypical theatrical costuming.Flamenco includes loads of hip shimmies, pelvis oscillations, torso undulations and rotations. Finally this dance completes antithesis of spring loaded, explosive, strong character of the traditional dance Flamenco,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqxJMCQxb_Q
http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/flamenco_history.htm

Ireland.

The traditional dance in Ireland would be Irish Dancing. This dance can be divided into performance dances and is also used for social dances. For this dance they have to have shoes and a costume. They wear two types of shoes. For the light dances they wear soft shoes which are also known as pumps. For the heavy dances they wear hard shoes which are similar to tap shoes except the heels and the tips are made of metal and the hard shoes are made of fiberglass. There are different types of dances in the hard and shoes. There are a reel, slip jig, treble jig, single jig and hornpipe and for the soft shoes they have a reel and a slip jig.
Irish Dancing got more popular in 1994 when the Riverdance came out. This dance is known for their fast leg and foot movment. This dance have competitions called a feis. Feis means festival in Irish. The competitions are divided into different age groups. They score the dancers by their style, technique and the rhythm to the dancing with the hard shoes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_dance

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Geograhy of Dance

Introduction


Hello my name is Emer and I'm doing my blog on the Geography of Dance.
I will be picking different countries from different continents around the world and tell you about their traditional dances. I hope you enjoy it and learn something new.