The Phoenix herald., 1879-05-31
Some National Dances.

people. They deserve to be studied, | not for these reasons alone, but also as relics of ancient customs connected with the home as well as with the pub | lie life of nation. We begin with the dance of the Ghaziehs in Egypt. The professional dancers of modern Egypt belong to the tribe of the Ghawazi, a kind of Eastern gypsies. They form community among themselves, and live in secluded parts of the towns, or under tents. Since 1884 they are no longer allowed to perform in public, but on festive occasions they are invited to the houses or country seats of the rich. One section, the Ghaziehs, are dancers another section, the Almehs, make sing ing their profession. Among both the handsomest women of Egypt are found, and 1t is weird sight to see them per form their peculiar dance by torchhght at 8 country seat of some pacha, to which European travellers are some times admitted. They commence by advancing toward one another with outstretched arms, the fingers pointing to the ground, in a peculiar, slow and shufling step. They then assume a leaping step, chasing around in cir cle and clapping the castanets, and ultl- mately place their arms aklmbo and
 whirl around, moving the upper half
 of the body from the waist from one
 side to the other to a slow and meas
 ured cadence. As the music grows faster the dancers suddenly resume the shuffiing step of the beginning, as If
 their legs had been tied together, after which the whole body is moved in a
 peculiar manner. It is difficult to de-
 scribe the strange gyrations of the Cha
 ziehs, 1t is even more difficult to imi-
 tate them. The two halves of the body
 separated by the waist seem to move
 independently of each other, following
 the stormy rhythm of the music pro-
 duced by violins, dulcimers and flutes.
 With the ancient Greeks, dancing and
 gymnastics formed an essential part of
 their education to develop personal
 grace and beauty of form. Both arts
 were not only practiced on festive oc-
 casions, but extensively introduced into
 their religious rites and stage perform
 ances, and celebrated poets, statesmen,
 generals and philosophers, like Plato,
 Sophocles, Epaminondas, and even | Socrates, recommended and cultivated the terpsichorean art. Merusius de-
 scribes one hundred and eighty-nine
 dances of the ancient Greeks but of | far the greater number only the name
 Is known in modern times, although
 numerous sculptures, especially bas-
 reliefs, are extant, from which the an-
 cient dances might be studied. Among
 the most celebrated was the Pyrrhic
 war dance, the circular dances called
 S Hormos" and " Geranos," and bac-
 chanalian dance known under the name
 of ssCordax" The love for dancing
 remains unaltered in modern Greece.
 On every festive birth, mar
 riage, and even death-symbolical and
 rhythmical dances play a part, and the
 Greek peasant girls are as fond of their
 country dances as in olden times. The
 men perform pantomimic tableaux like
 the Albanian robber dance, and the
 women often assemble on the seashore
 or village green to dance the " Romai
 ka." In Attica and in the island of
 Crete picturesque dress, a glorious sky and magnificent landscape sur
 roundings combine to make 6 Romai-
 ka," danced by girls as handsome as
 they are merry, sight never to be for
 gotten. In a grove of oaks, laurels and
 oleander, open toward the shore, they form two chains, and follow the grace
 ful turnings and windings of two lead CTS, who, tambourine in hand, mark the time to the accompaniment of the lute, chasing and opposing one another with playful caprice, supported by the chain of their followers. If the leaders are tired, they throw scarf to one of their companions, and the dance begins anew to the delight of the palikars, who flock round the charming group as spectators.
 The Kolotschey," performed in the streets of Wallachian towns by bands of men who join for the purpose, was almost unknown until the last war brought the manners and customs of the nationalities which inhabit the val | ley of the lower Danube under the 1 notice of Western observers. Like the | skakava in Bohemia and the English | hornpipe, the '' Kolotschey " is one of | the hopping or capering dances which | are in special favor in countries where the women lack the necessary grace and | agility to refine the terpsichorean art. ] To the tune of a shrieking violin, ac companied by the standard bearers | plaintive song, the leader, with the aid | of long pole, jumps about in antics, | which, however, are not without a cer- tain uncouth grace, and his compan. ions follow. The higher the jumps and the capers the more spectators are pleased. A special costume, with a EOW Ol JlAS11LS OS1lS 1dSbSn6Q O01OM bu0 knees, is worn as professional outfit by the Kolotschey dancers, and the collec- tor of money wears a Venetian mask and sleeveless jacket-for what reason we never were able to ascertain.
 The Hungarians are passionately fond of dancing, and the stirring tunes of the '' Czardas," played on the violin by gypsy musicians, never fail to eIectrify young and old. Six, eight, ten and more couples place themselves in cir cle, the dancer passing his arm round the waist of his partner. The music commences with an andante, and as long as this lasts the dancer turns the girl to the right and the left, clapping his spurred heels together, skipping his boots with the hands, and stamping the ground with heels and toes alter nately. His partner puts her hand on his shoulder, and at intervals jumps