Veska Jónsdóttir held a balkan dance event in Gerðuberg on December 7th 2024 in cooperation with Gerðuberg and Móðurmál, the association on bilingualism. When people in the Balkans gather to celebrate, dancing is an integral aspect of the festivities. Dancing breaks out spontaneously, sometimes accompanied by musicians, but when they are not there, people simply sing the songs to which they dance.
Most of the Balkan dances are “ring dances” (horo), although they are danced in a semi-circle rather than a ring. Music is at the heart of the dancers’ fascination with Balkan dances. In addition to the familiar 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 rhythms, the Balkan countries also use many complex rhythms which are fun and challenging to dance to, such as 5/8, 7/8, 9/16, or even combinations of two different rhythms in the same dance.
Balkan dance steps range from very simple walking steps, to very complex dances with fast, intricate steps.
The hand holds for Balkan dances include simple “V” hold, in which you join hands with your neighbour, with hands held down at your side, and the “W” hold, in which hands are joined at about shoulder height with elbows bent. Balkan dances may also use belt holds, front or back basket holds, shoulder holds, traditional couple dance formations, or no handholds at all.
This was a fun event and we hope to organize dance events more often.
