Hora
For the Greco-Roman goddesses of the hours, see Horae.Hora is the name of a
circle dance in a number of countries. The name is cognate with the
ancient Greek art form
Chorea.
Hora is a
Romanian (hora-singular; hore-plural), traditional circle
dance which gathers all people present in a big closed circle. The dancers hold each other by hands and the circle turns on itself usually clockwise as each participant follows a sequence of taking three steps forward and one step back.The dance is usually accompanied by musical instruments such as the
cymbalum, the
accordion, the
violin, the
viola, the
double bass, the
saxophone, the
trumpet or even the
panflute.
Hora is popular during wedding celebrations, popular festivals, and it's an essential part of the social entertainment in rural areas. One of the most famous horas is the Hora Unirii. The hora was also danced by the
Vlachs (
Romanians) of Bulgaria, hence it has been introduced into the folklore of Bulgaria under the name of
horo (singular),
hora (plural).
Variants:
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PerinitaA similar dance is popular in
Montenegro, under the name "
Oro" where the dancers dance in circles while the
gusle is being played and end with the dancers standing on top of the other dancer's shoulders and a toast from the head of the household.
During their living in the
Romanian Pricipalities, Jews were heavily influenced by the traditional Romanian folklore, in music (see
klezmer), and in dances. The Hora is now the unofficial king of
Israeli
folk dances.
Everybody gets in a
circle, holding hands and starts stepping forward toward the right with the left foot, then followed by the right foot to match. Bring the left foot back again followed by the right foot. All this is done while holding hands and circling together in a fast and cheerful motion to the right. In large groups you can create several circles while the smaller circles are inside the bigger circle and so on..
In the early days, Hora was popular mainly in the
Kibbutzim and small communities, later on becoming a "must" in weddings, celebrations and group dancing all over Israel. At Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, it is custom to raise the honoree and his or her family members on a chair during the hora. This is also often done at Jewish weddings.
The Hora dance could be performed to many of the traditional
klezmer and Israeli folk songs. Typically, Hora is danced to the music of
Hava Nagila, a popular, well-known song in Israel and throughout the world.
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Horo*
Khorovod*
Hava Nagila*Hora
can also refer to the horagai, a Japanese conch shell trumpet.*
The history of sacred dances: Choros, Hora, Calusul and Morris dance*
How to dance the Hora*
A history of Jewish Hora (in Romanian, written by Romanian Jews)
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Description and history of Romanian Hora (in French)
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Hora MusicHow do you dance the Hora in Israel
