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Middle Eastern Dances
The traditional dances of the Middle East (Arabic: رقص شرق أوسطي) (also known as Oriental dance) span a large variety of folk traditions throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. For detailed information on specific dances of the region, see the main entries as follows: * Arab dance: Ardah, Baladi, Belly dance, Dabke, Deheyeh, Fann at-Tanbura, Hosa, Khaleegy, Mizmar, Raqs sharqi, Shamadan, Tahtib, Tanoura, Yowlah * Assyrian folk dance: Khigga * Kurdish dance: Dilan * Persian dance: Classical Persian dance * Turkish dance: Çiftetelli, Halay * Jewish dance: Hora, Tza'ad Teimani, Israeli Folk Dances Western dance is also incorporated in the Middle East. See also * Sufi whirling * Zaffa In Arab culture, the ''zaffa'' ( / ALA-LC: ''zaffah''), or wedding march, is a musical procession of bendir drums, bagpipes, horns, belly dancers and men carrying flaming swords. This is an ancient Egyptian tradition that predates Islam. Whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic, including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic. This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as ( "the eloquent Arabic") or simply ' (). Arabic is the List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language, third most widespread official language after English and French, one of six official languages of the United Nations, and the Sacred language, liturgical language of Islam. Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sufi Whirling
Sufi whirling (or Sufi turning) ( borrowed from Persian Sama-zan, Sama, meaning ''listening'', from Arabic, and zan, meaning doer, from Persian) is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufism, Sufi groups, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi Order, Mevlevi order and other orders such as the Rifa'i-Marufi. It is a customary meditation practice performed within the Sama (Sufism), sema, or worship ceremony, through which dervishes (from the persian Darvish Persian language, Persian also called ''semazens'', from Persian language, Persian ) aim to reach greater connection with Allah. This is sought through abandoning one's nafs, Ego (Freudian), ego or personal desires, by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning one's body in repetitive circles, which has been seen as a symbolic imitation of planets in the Solar System orbiting the Sun. The Mevlevi practice gave rise to an Egyptian form, ''tanoura'', distin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Israeli Folk Dancing
Israeli folk dance () is a form of dance usually performed to songs in Hebrew, or to other songs which have been popular in Israel, with dances choreographed for specific songs. Israeli dances include circle, partner and line dances. As almost all dances are intentionally choreographed. The choreographers are known and attributed, the reference to these dances as "folk dances" is sometimes controversial among the general folk dance community. The recent trend of dances becoming more complex and "professional" has led some to use the alternative term "Recreational Israeli Dancing." History The Jews have a long dance history within and outside the land of Israel. The Bible and Talmud refer to many events related to dance, and contain over 30 different dance terms. During the dispersion, the dancing associated with the normal activities of a nation in its own country ceased. The need for community dances first arose among the halutzim (pioneers) of the First Aliyah in 1882, con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yemenite Step
The Yemenite step is a dance step widely practiced by Yemeni Muslim men and Yemeni Jewish men and women. It originates from the dancing of Yemenite Jews. Description Yemenite step (''tza'ad Temani'') is a popular dance performed Jews during weddings and other Jewish occasions. The basic Tza'ad Temani step provides a swaying movement that changes the dancer's direction of motion, although the dancer may face forward throughout the step. It is usually a sideways movement, but may be done moving backward and forward (or vice versa). It consists of three steps, with a short pause on the final step for a "quick, quick, slow" tempo. The most common variations are known as a right Temani (or Yemenite right), and left Temani (or Yemenite left). (The alternate form of each name—placing the adjective after the noun—is due to a common preference among dance teachers to emphasize the name of the step rather than its direction.) Each of these names specifies both the direction of the firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hora (dance)
Hora, also known as horo and oro, is a type of circle dance traditionally performed in Southeast Europe. Circle dances with similar names are found in Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey Acculturation, culturally adopted by Minority group, ethnic minorities such as the Ashkenazi Jews (Yiddish: האָרע ''hore''), Sephardic Jews (Judaeo-Spanish, Ladino: הורו ''horo'') and the Romani people, Roma. Etymology The name, spelled differently in various countries, is derived from the Greek language, Greek (''Choros (dance), khorós''): "dance", which is cognate with the Ancient Greek art form of (''Choreia, khoreía''). The original meaning of the Greek word may have been "circle". Also, the words ''hora'' and ''oro'' are found in many Slavic languages and have the meaning of "round (dance)"; the verb ''oriti'' means "to speak, sound, sing" and previously meant "to celebrate". The Greek language, Greek () is cognate with Pontic Greek (), and has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jewish Dance
Jewish dance is dance associated with Jews and Judaism. Dance has long been used by Jews as a medium for the expression of joy and other communal emotions. Dancing is a favorite pastime and plays a role in religious observance. Dances associated with Ashkenazi and Sephardi traditions, especially Jewish wedding dances, are an integral part of Jewish life around the world. Folk dances associated with Zionism and the formation of the State of Israel became popular in the 1950s. Jewish vernacular dance Among Ashkenazi Jews dancing to klezmer music was an integral part of weddings in ''shtetls''. Jewish dance was influenced by local non-Jewish dance traditions, but there were clear differences, mainly in hand and arm motions, with more intricate legwork by the younger men. Jewish religious law frowned on mixed dancing, dictating separate circles for men and women. Hasidic dance In Hasidic Judaism, dance is a tool for expressing joy and is believed to purify the soul, promote s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halay
Halay is the national dance of Turkey and refers to a broad category for all circular and line dances performed throughout the country. Today, it is danced by Turks, Kurds, and Greeks, among others. Halay and similar dances are parts of multiple ancient folk dance traditions and cultures throughout the Middle East and regions in proximity. These dances are commonly performed at weddings and festive gatherings, traditionally accompanied by the '' zurna'' and ''davul'', or sometimes by the singing of the dancers themselves. In the recent years, electronic instruments have increasingly been used in place of traditional musical instruments. Halay dancers typically form a circle or a line, holding each other by the fingers, hands, or shoulders. The first and last dancers may also hold a handkerchief known as a ''mendil''. These dances usually begin slowly and gradually speed up in tempo, and their name, style, and musical characteristics vary from one town or village to another. Histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Çiftetelli
Tsifteteli () or Çiftetelli, is a rhythm and belly dance of Anatolia and the Balkans (particularly Greece). In Turkish the word means "double stringed", taken from the violin playing style that is practiced in this kind of music. There are suggestions that the dance existed in ancient Greece, known as the Aristophanic dance Cordax, even though such claims have yet to be confirmed. Furthermore, it is historically never spotted in Greece before the Greek-Turkish population exchange of 1923, and no dance in native Greek tradition shows similarities with the specific dance. Despite this, it has established itself as the most popular and most common Greek dance together with Zeibekiko. Nowadays it is found not only in Greece and Turkey, but also in the entirety of the Southeastern Mediterranean region. The characteristic rhythm is in 8/4 time, arranged as either 3/3/2 eighth-notes followed by 2/2/2/xx (the last beat being silent), or sometimes the first measure is played as 2/2/ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkish Dance
Turkish folk dances are the folk dances of Turkey. Facing three seas, straddling important trade routes, Turkey has a complex, sophisticated culture, reflected in the variety of its dances. The dominant dance forms are types of line dance. There are many different types of folk dances performed in various ways in Turkey. Zeybek, Teke Zortlatması in Aegean region, Bar in Erzurum province, Halay in the central, southern, eastern, and southeastern parts of the country, Hora in Thrace, Horon in the eastern Black Sea region, Spoon dances in and around Konya, and Lezginka in Kars and Ardahan are some of the best known examples of these. Types of dance Bar With their structure and formation, they are the dances performed by groups in the open. They are spread, in general, over the eastern part of Anatolia (Erzurum, Bayburt, Ağrı, Kars, Artvin and Erzincan provinces). The characteristic of their formation is that they are performed side-by-side, hand, shoulder and arm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classical Persian Dance
Classical Persian dance is a style of concert dance which evolved from courtroom dance. The Qajar dynasty, which reigned from 1795 to 1925, had an important influence on Persian dance. In this period, a style of dance began to be called "classical Persian dance". Dancers performed artistic dances in the court of the Shah for entertainment purposes such as coronations, marriage celebrations, and Norouz celebrations (Iranian new year). The rise of the Qadjars liberalizes people's attitudes toward dancing, although it remained in the royal court and among the elite and bourgeois families. The court dancers elevated respect for dance to an art form. Costuming generally consisted of loosely fitted long dress with long sleeves, worn with a jacket. The jacket extended over the sides of the hips and was either worn open or closed. The Qadjar dancers wore pants under the dress. Persian pant was cut narrow, loose the bottom and was cuffed. Sometimes a Turkish harem pant was worn, extremely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persian Dance
Dances in Iran or Iranian dances (Persian: رقص ایرانی) are dance styles indigenous to Iran. Genres of dance in Iran vary depending on the area, culture, and language of the local people, and can range from sophisticated reconstructions of refined court dances to energetic folk dances. The population of Iran includes many ethnicities, such as Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Arabs, Baluchis, Turkmen, Armenian, Georgian peoples, in addition to numerous Iranian tribal groups which can be found within the borders of modern-day Iran. Each group, region, and historical epoch has specific dance styles associated with it. Raghs (also spelled as Raqs) is the Arabic word for dance, and is almost exclusively the word used for dance in Persian, as the Persian word for dance, paykubi, is no longer in common usage. It is also the word in Azerbaijani for dance (''Reqs''). The Kurdish word for dance is Halperke, and the Lurs from Lorestan use the word Bākhten (or Bāzee) for dance. Prehistor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurdish Dance
Kurdish dances (; , , , , ) are a group of traditional dances among Kurds. It is a form of a circle dance, with a single or a couple of figure dancers often added to the geometrical center of the dancing circle. At times musicians playing on a drum or a double reed wind instrument known as a zurna, accompany the dancers. Often there are dancers twirling handkerchiefs who lead the half-circled group of dancers. The dancers, generally women, but also, on occasions, men, wear traditional Kurdish clothes. The Kurds dance on several occasions such as Kurdish festivals, birthdays, New Years, Newroz, marriage and other ceremonies and the dances have several names which often relate to local names and traditions. Its noteworthy that these folkloric dances are mixed-gender which distinguishes the Kurds from other neighbouring Muslim populations. On March 3, 2023, Iranian police shut down a sports centre over mixed-gender Kurdish dances. See also * Kurdish culture Kurdish cultur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
