Circle dance

Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle or a wavy line to background music, which has a beat and singing (sometimes just a beat without singing). It is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need for a partner.

Syrtos (Greek) dance

Unlike line dancing, circle dancers connect with each other made by hand-to-hand, finger-to-finger or hands-on-shoulders, where they follow the leader around the dance floor. From gentle to energetic, the dance can be a fun group experience or part of a meditation.

Background

Being probably the oldest known dance style, it is common to many cultures for celebrating special occasions, religious ceremonies, and for encouraging togetherness. Circle dances are performed to many different styles of music and rhythms. Modern circle dance mixes traditional folk dances, mainly from European or Near Eastern origins, with recently created ones to a variety of music both ancient and modern.^[1]

Distribution

Modern circle dancing is found in many cultures, including Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Israeli, Assyrian, Kurdish, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Maltese, and Balkan.

Circle dancing also has a historical importance in Brittany, Catalonia and Ireland to the west of Europe, and also in South America (Peruvian), Tibet, and with Native Americans. It is used, in its more meditating form, in worship in various religious traditions including the Church of England^[2] and the Islamic Haḍra Dhikr (or Zikr) dances.^[3]

Types

Some famous circle dances include Hora (Balkan), Kolo (Slavic), Sardana (Italy), Syrtos (Greece), An Dro (Breton), Dabke (Levant), Khigga (Assyrian), Kochari (Caucasus, Balkan and Anatolia), Tamzara (Caucasus, Anatolia and Greece).

Related pages

• Line dance
• Street dance