Hora De Ny

[Lorin Cupples]

Horaalso known as horo and oro, is a type of circle dance originating in Aromanian and Romanian communities, especially in Romania and Moldova. It is also found in other South East European countries (such as Bulgaria and North Macedonia) and culturally adopted by ethnic minorities such as the Ashkenazi Jews[1] (Yiddish: האָרע hore) and the Roma.

The name, spelled differently in various countries, is derived from the Greek χορός (khors): "dance",[2] which is cognate with the Ancient Greek art form of χορεία (khorea). The original meaning of the Greek word χορός may have been "circle".[3]

Horă (plural: hore) is a traditional Romanian and Moldovan folk dance where the dancers hold each other's hands and the circle spins, usually counterclockwise, as each participant follows a sequence of three steps forward and one step back. The dance is usually accompanied by musical instruments such as the cymbalom, accordion, violin, viola, double bass, saxophone, trumpet or the pan pipes.

The hora is popular during wedding celebrations and festivals, and is an essential part of the social entertainment in rural areas. One of the most famous hore is the "Hora Unirii" ("Hora of the Union"), which became a Romanian patriotic song as a result of being the hymn when Wallachia and Moldavia united to form the Principality of Romania in 1859. During the 2006/2007 New Year's Eve celebration, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, people were dancing Hora Bucuriei ("Hora of Joy") over the boulevards of Bucharest as a tribute to the EU anthem, Ode to Joy (Romanian: Odă bucuriei). Some of the biggest hora circles can be found on early 20th century movies filmed by the Manaki brothers in Pindus, Greece, and performed by local Aromanians.

Bulgarians believe that each village has their own type of horo. They differ by the rhythm of the music and the steps taken. There are no two horo dances with similar steps. There are probably over one hundred types of horo dances in the Bulgarian folklore.[citation needed]

In the past, the horo dance had a social role in Bulgarian society. It was mainly for fun, as a contest of skills, or for show, leading to the development of the variety of horo dances. There are hora for people with little skill that can be learned in five to ten minutes, but there are also very sophisticated dances that cannot be learned unless one is fluent in many of the simpler dances.

North Macedonia uses the Cyrillic spelling of oro. The origins of the word oro vary from its use in socializing and celebrating to historical dancing before going into battle. Teshkoto, translated as "The difficult one", is one of those, danced by men only, the music of which reflects the sorrow and mood of war. The oro is danced in a circle, with men and women holding one another by hand. They are used to celebrating occasions such as weddings, christenings, name-days, national and religious holidays, graduations, and birthdays.

The horo is also popular among the Roma of Southeastern Europe, and the dancing is practically the same as that of the neighboring ethnicities. Roma Horos, and Roma music in general, are very much appreciated among the non-Roma in the Balkans, as they also have a reputation as skillful performers of other people's folk music.

To start the dance, everybody forms a circle, holding hands or interlocking arms behind their backs or on their shoulders,[4] and steps forward toward the left with the right foot, then follows with the left foot. The right foot is then brought back, followed by the left foot. This is done while holding hands and circling together in a fast and cheerful motion to the left. Large groups allow for the creation of several concentric circles, or a large spiral formation.

The horah became popular in group dances throughout Israel, and at weddings and other celebrations by Jews in Israel, the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. The dance appeared in North America in the early 20th century, well before modern Israeli independence, brought directly from Eastern Europe by Jewish immigrants.

At Jewish weddings during the horah it is customary to raise the bride and groom, each on their own chair and holding a handkerchief between them, following Jewish tradition. This is also done at b'nai mitzvah, where the honoree and sometimes his or her family members are also raised on a chair, copying the wedding tradition.

Some klezmer bands have somebody specifically designated to get into the fray, encourage your guests to join in and show everybody what to do. This is a really great investment for creating an amazing atmosphere. However, if that stretches the purse strings a little too much, try appointing some more experienced friends and family members to lead the hora dancing when the time comes.

The best thing to do is to have your band or DJ judge the lay of the land on the night, as people might be totally up for a bit more of a dance than you realise, or might tire quicker than you anticipated.

Tempus volat, hora fugit is, first and foremost, an immersive exercise in color and form that is clearly constructed by an artist whose background is in painting. It is also, however, an exercise in confronting and contemplating the vastness of the universe, and our place within it. Visitors are invited to slow down, to open up to new ways of experiencing artistic practice, and to dare to consider the sublime vastness of time.

And yet I assert that not all horas are created equal! The hora can be a vehicle through which the guests can physically express the intensity of their joy over the union of the bride and groom (or bride and bride, or groom and groom).

But even the best-laid hora plans often beget lackluster horas. The missing ingredient is a nugget of Jewish wisdom grounded in a long and rich history of Eastern European community dance that modern Jewish America seems to have largely forgotten. So I must now mount my soapbox to correct the misconception that has kept countless horas from fulfilling their potential:

Figure A illustrates the classic circular hora. As more guests join the circle, space constraints force them to pack together, limiting the size of their steps and thus slowing circulation, sometimes to a total standstill. To a certain extent, this congestion can be relieved by forming an inner circle. However, the more elegant solution is illustrated in Figure B: the spiraling line.

In the spiraling line configuration, a single line leader (red) trails a long line of dancers from his or her right hand and circles the center moving leftward, naturally forming as many layers of dancers as necessary to accommodate everyone who wants to participate. New dancers may insert themselves into any position in the line except the front, but the ideal insertion point is the end of the line, where new dancers may be added without slowing anyone else down. The pace of circulation is established by the leader, and since the inter-dancer spacing remains sufficient to allow for big steps, this pace may be very fast indeed.

I have already pointed out the importance of appointing dance leaders in advance. Make sure these people understand the principle of the hora line. At the leading end of a line, your leaders have the influence and flexibility they need to get the dance started, model good technique, and set the speed, trajectory, dramatic arc, and ultimately mood. At my own wedding (a wedding without any particular concentration of wedding dance enthusiasts), I took this role upon myself, and our guests are still talking about that hora four years later.

True, our own modern associations with the ancient Greek chorus have nothing to do with horas. They come from the performances that we have seen of Greek tragedy, in which the chorus consists of several actors who comment on the dramatic events taking place. On the ancient Greek stage their lines were commonly sung rather than declaimed, which is why a chorus, or choir in modern European languages, is an ensemble of singers.

But dramatic tragedy and its chorus were late features of ancient Greek culture. A khoros was originally a dance, generally performed in honor of the gods at religious celebrations. The great plays of such tragedians as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were an outgrowth of the much simpler Attic drama, itself a development of the khoros kyklikos, the annual circle dance performed in Athens at the festival of the god Dionysus. In the beginning, Attic drama had only one actor who spoke or sang, which he did at moments when the dancing stopped. It was only gradually that the entire khoros assumed this role.

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