Circle dance
It also found in South Asia such as Nati of Himachal Pradesh, Harul of Uttarakhand, Wanvun of Kashmir, Jhumair of Jharkhand, Fugdi of Goa and Deuda and Dhan Nach of Nepal.
It is also used, in its more meditative form, in worship within various religious traditions including the Church of England[2] and the Islamic Haḍra Dhikr (or Zikr) dances.
Men and women are portrayed dancing together holding hands at shoulder level but occasionally the groups consist of only one sex.
However, a reference comes from Bulgaria, in a manuscript of a 14th-century sermon, which called chain dances "devilish and damned.
[10][11] One of the frescos (dating from the 14th century) in Tyrol, at Runkelstein Castle, depicts Elisabeth of Poland, Queen of Hungary leading a chain dance.
[14] In Poland as well the earliest village dances were in circles or lines accompanied by the singing or clapping of the participants.
[15] In the 14th century, Giovanni Boccaccio describes men and women circle dancing to their own singing or accompanied by musicians.
[16] One of the frescos in Siena by Ambrogio Lorenzetti painted in 1338–1340 show a group of women doing a "bridge" figure while accompanied by another woman playing the tambourine.
A fresco in Ørslev church in Zealand from about 1400 shows nine people, men and women, dancing in a line.
A long chain was formed, with the leader singing the verses and setting the time while the other dancers joined in the chorus.
The Hora is popular during wedding celebrations and festivals, and is an essential part of social entertainment in rural areas.
[23] The Kolo is a collective folk dance common in various South Slavic regions, such as Serbia and Bosnia, named after the circle formed by the dancers.
The dance is practiced for several hours with very short intervals, acquiring new vigour from the words of the accompanying song that starts with a battle cry invoking war drums, and which is of a piece with the movement and usually changed only once or twice during the whole performance.
[26] The ritual purifying fire (Zjarri) is traditionally used by Albanians, in particular singing and dancing around it, to gain protection and energizing from its supernatural power.
The dancers hold hands throughout the dance: arms down during the curts and raised to shoulder height during the llargs.
The leader can also be a solo performer, improvising showy twisting skillful moves as the rest of the line does the basic step.
[35] Colin Harrison and David Roberts and Janet Rowan Scott took the dances to other parts of the United Kingdom where they started regular groups in south east England, then across Europe, the US and elsewhere.
A small centrepiece of flowers or other objects is often placed at the centre of the circle to help focus the dancers and maintain the circular shape.
The dancers develop a synchronized movement and step, and when the singers finish their song the lawweeh breaks from the semicircle to dance on their own.
[39] Khigga is the one of main styles of Assyrian folk dance in which multiple dancers hold each other's hands and form a line or a circle.
The head of the khigga line usually dances with a handkerchief with beads and bells added to the sides so it jingles when shaken.
