The annual celebration of designated days in villages is a widespread custom in southeastern Europe and beyond. In Christian locations these are often linked to the day of the patron saint of the village church. In Romanian Banat these are usually called ruga, plural ruge (literally prayer). Alternately the day …read more
The căluș ritual of southern Romania (also found in certain villages in northern Bulgaria) takes place every year at the time of Rusalii (Pentecost, 50 days after Orthodox Easter). The căluș has drawn the attention of many researchers, from a range of backgrounds and disciplines including folklorists, religious historians (spiritual …read more
The “Balkan dance” scene emerged as a sub-scene of the recreational “international folk dance” scene in the post second world war period in the US, UK, Netherlands and other western European countries, as well as in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. However the history of interest in dances …read more
Regiunea Banatului poate fi împărţită în linii mari în trei zone etnografice – câmpia Banatului, dealuri şi munţi. In toate cele trei zone, Hora este cel mai inclusiv dans din comunitate. Hora este folosită pentru a deschide evenimente şi este un element esenţial în ciclul vieţii si la obiceiuri si …read more
This chapter explores Romanian dancers’ participation in organized dance competitions, both within Romania and internationally, and investigates the informal competition that exists between the members of the Banat Romanian dance community. It includes three themes. The first traces a historical trajectory on the changing importance of performances of local, regional, …read more
This chapter discusses the relationship between local dance groups at festivals and sustaining local dancing in the community. Festivals in south east Europe traditionally include food, drink, music and dancing, and in Timișoara this format is used for many events from the village Saint’s day to the large international folk …read more
The UK “Balkan dance scene” is an urban based activity. Although it built on longer term connections between the UK and dances from the Balkan area, the majority of the participants were born and grew up in the “West” and have no genealogical connections to southeastern Europe. Drawing on anthropological …read more
Twenty five years since the changes in regimes in southeastern Europe, local dance is still thriving and has even taken on a new vibrancy both within this area and among southeast European economic migrants. This paper evaluates these trends by focussing on two examples, recreational dance groups for adults in …read more
The paper aims to situate the dance practices in contemporary Svinița (Serbian: Svinica) within the surrounding regions. During the short time the research group spent in Svinița, we attended and participated in two evening dance events. These events were in many ways typical of community festival occasions found across the …read more
This paper concentrates on the joc de pomană in Svinița that formed one of the focal points of the May 2013 fieldwork by the visiting researchers from the ICTM Sub-Study Group on Field Research Theory and Methods. My broader concern is with rituals for commemorating the dead that include dance …read more