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Oro, also known ashoro andhora, is a type ofcircle dance traditionally performed inSoutheast Europe. Circle dances with similar names are found inBulgaria,Romania,Moldova,North Macedonia,Greece andTurkey, and amongethnic minorities such as theAshkenazi Jews[1] (Yiddish: האָרעhore),Sephardic Jews (Ladino: הורוhoro) and theRoma.
The name, spelled differently in various countries, is derived from theGreekχορός (khorós): "dance",[2] which is cognate with theAncient Greek art form ofχορεία (khoreía). The original meaning of the Greek wordχορός may have been "circle".[3]
Also, the wordshora andoro are found in manySlavic languages and have the meaning of "round (dance)"; the verboriti means "to speak, sound, sing" and previously meant "to celebrate".
TheGreekχορός (khorós) is cognate withPontic Greekχορόν (khorón), and has also given rise to the names ofBulgarianхоро (horo),Macedonianоро (oro),Romanianhoră, theTurkish formhora and inHebrewהורה (horah). TheKhorumi dance ofGeorgia also might be connected to theHoron dance in the neighboring Turkish regions, as it rose out of theAdjara region, whereKartvelianLaz people co-existed for centuries with GreekPontians.
Horă (plural: hore) is a traditionalRomanian andMoldovan 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 thecymbalom,accordion,violin,viola,double bass,saxophone,trumpet or thepan 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 whenWallachia andMoldaviaunited to form thePrincipality of Romania in 1859. During the 2006/2007 New Year's Eve celebration, whenRomania andBulgaria joined theEuropean Union, people were dancingHora Bucuriei ("Hora of Joy") over the boulevards ofBucharest 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 theManaki brothers inPindus, Greece, and performed by localAromanians.
The traditionalBulgarian dancehoro (Bulgarian:хоро) comes in many shapes. It is not necessary to be in a circle; a curving line of people is also acceptable. The steps used in a horo dance are extremely diverse. The horo may vary between three and seven or eight steps forward and one to five or six steps back, depending on the specific type.
In Bulgaria, each region 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 theBulgarian 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 theCyrillic spelling oforo. 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.
Thehoro is also popular among theRoma ofSoutheastern Europe, and the dancing is practically the same as that of the neighboring ethnicities. Roma Horos, andRoma music in general, are very much appreciated among the non-Roma in theBalkans, as they also have a reputation as skillful performers of other people's folk music.
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Inklezmer music, the horah refers to a circle dance. The horah has a slow, limping gait in triple meter, often three/eight time (3
8), and generally leads into a faster and more upbeat duple meter, usually afreylekh or abulgar. Among Yiddish-speaking Jews, the triple-meter horah has also been calledzhok (Romanianjoc, 'dance') orkrumer tants (Yiddish: 'crooked dance').[1]
Thehorah (הורה), which differs somewhat from that of some of the Eastern European countries, is widespread in theJewish diaspora and played a foundational role in modernIsraeli folk dancing. It became the symbol of the reconstruction of the country by the socialistic-agricultural Zionist movement.[4] Although horah wasculturally adopted from Southeast Europe, it became even more popular with the Jewish diaspora due to the Hora Agadati dance. In 1924, the dancer and choreographerBaruch Agadati choreographed a dance based on the RomanianHora dance that became known as "Hora Agadati".[5][6] It was performed by theOhel Workers' Theatre, which toured pioneer settlements in theJezreel Valley. According toGurit Kadman, the original melody was aMoldavian folk tune (Baruch Agadati was born in theBessarabia Governorate) and Gurit askedUriya Boskovitz to write a new one. About the same timeZe’ev Havatselet wrote lyrics to the tune[7] (found, e.g., in theLibrary of Congress[8]). Now the dance is usually performed toIsraeli folk songs, and sometimes to Jewish songs, often to the music of "Hava Nagila".
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 severalconcentric circles, or a large spiral formation.
In the early days, horah was popular mainly inkibbutzim and small communities, often continuing for hours.[9]
The horah became popular in group dances throughoutIsrael, and at weddings and other celebrations by Jews in Israel, theUnited States,United Kingdom, andCanada. The dance appeared in North America in the early 20th century, well before the modern creation of the state of Israel, 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 atb'nai mitzvah, where the honoree and sometimes his or her family members are also raised on a chair, copying the wedding tradition.
The song "Hora", sung byAvi Toledano, who represented Israel in theEurovision Song Contest 1982, is based on this dance.
Horon in several variants is danced inBlack Sea Region /Pontos of modern-dayTurkey.[citation needed]
Theoro (Serbian Cyrillic:оро) circle dance should not be confused with theMontenegrin Oro dance ofMontenegro andHerzegovina, which is a paired courtship dance. Its name comes from theSerbianоrао, meaning "eagle".
Perinița is a traditional Romanian wedding folk dance. The dance is typical in theMuntenia region.[10][11]
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