The celebration of the day of patron saint of the local church is a custom that is widespread among Christians in various parts of the world. In the plain and mountain areas of Romanian Banat this day is referred to as ruga (plural ruge), literally meaning to pray. These customary …read more
The annual celebration of the patron saint’s day for the local church is widespread. Within southeast Europe these celebrations mostly follow similar formats. These celebrations are known as ruga (plural ruge) in Banat, or in the Banat mountains also as nedeia (spelt in various ways). Ruge in Banat usually take …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
This paper considers perspectives from dancers within a particular genre of recreational dance known as “Balkan folk dance” in the UK. Through asking participants about their understanding of dancing I consider, firstly their preference to Bulgarian dances over Romanian dances, secondly their lack of relationship to Bulgarian dance groups in …read more
What we ‘see’ in a dance depends on who we are, but is this reflected in how we analyse the visual recording? When such video data is of a social activity, then the ‘context’ and ‘people’ are frequently part of anthropology papers, but dance is also about the moving. We …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 considers the ideas of ‘improvisation’ and ‘variability’ in the context of group dances where uniformity and community dominate, in contrast to more common discussion of improvisation considering the ‘individual’ and ‘creativity’. As a case study, this paper considers the chain dances of the Banat region which are notable …read more
This paper investigates connections between local conceptions of place and identity and participation in community music and dance events in the city of Timișoara, located in the Banat region of Romania. Every year the Timișoara cultural events calendar includes an increasing number of community events that include presentational performances of …read more
I examine dancing practices in the urban context of the city of Timișoara which supports a lively ‘local’ music and dance scene. In addition to the music and dance from the plain area around Timișoara, this ‘local’ scene includes music and dance that is displaced from its origins in the …read more