Cultural Dance Trends Episode 8 by World Dance Apparel

Written by Karol Moreno

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Posted on November 10 2022

Cultural Dance Trends Episode 8 by World Dance Apparel

World Dance Apparel presents the 8^th episode of the Cultural Dance Blog Series. In this specific episode, we’ll cover all the country's names starting with the ‘M’ alphabet. We are damn sure, as in our previous episodes you’ll love this! So, without wasting any time let’s explore the cultural dance of Macedonia.

Cultural Dance of Macedonia (North Macedonia)

Osogovka Dance

Osogovka is a Macedonian folk dance whose music, rhythm, costumes, and geography come from the villages of Osogovo Mountain. The dance costumes are immaculate white and the music is performed by a bagpipe band followed by a folk orchestra.

Teshkoto Dance

Teškoto or Teshkoto is one of the most beautiful folk dances from Western Macedonia, especially from the ethnographic region of Mijak. The dance represents the difficult life that people lived in this region. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you that it originates from the period when people left their country of origin to go out of the country for a better life, but over the years it has also become a symbol of all the pain this region has caused in the past. This folk dance has inspired many artists and poets.

Kopacka Dance

Kopačka is a traditional Euro-Macedonian dance, a folk dance from the Pijanec region, a group of mountains in eastern Macedonia. Kopačka is traditionally performed by male dancers. It is a fast dance with fast movements of more than half a meter, characterized by wide jumps, sideways movements, and scissors movements. The dancers hold their belts with their left hand over the right and begin their dance in a semicircle position. The dance is based on a mix of two songs: Dimna Ghoda for the slow and marching part of the dance, and Dervesco dosu (Fishko) for the fast part of the dance.

Tresenica Dance

Tresenica or Shaking Dance in English is an Oro-Macedonian language from the Mariovo region. It is a typical female dance with regular and proud movements and a delicate body balance. The dancers hold hands and begin their dance in a semicircle.

Berovka Dance

Berovka is a Euro-Macedonian traditional dance, a folk dance from the town of Berovo in the Malyshevo region. It is a female dance with fast movements on a half foot with many jumps. The dancers hold hands and begin their dance in a semicircle.

Bufcansko Dance

Leventikos, also known as Litós, Kucano, Nešo, or Pusteno, is a Western Macedonian dance mainly performed by Macedonians and ethnic Greeks in the city of Florina, Greece, and in the regions of Resen and Bitola, in neighboring North Macedonia. Shows the dance steps: slow - fast - fast - slow - fast, the scale consists of five beats of different lengths, but these lengths come in different forms.

Lesnoto Dance

Lisno or Lisno, is the name of a family of simple and popular folk dances from North Macedonia, which are also performed in Bulgaria and parts of neighboring Balkan countries. The dance is also referred to by many local names. In Macedonia: bravoto and ramnotu, za ramo ("of the shoulders", referring to carrying the shoulder of men), or tesko ("heavy" meaning slow and deliberate). It is often referred to as the folk melody that is danced to. In Bulgaria, it is sometimes simply called Makedonsko horo.

Pembe Dance

Pembe is a Macedonian circle dance (Oro) from the Veles region. It is a mixed dance between men and women with regular movements on all feet with a clear movement of the heels and the regular dance shoes. The dance starts off slow and picks up speed towards the end. The dancers raise their hands to shoulder height. They start their dance in a semicircle.

Potrculka Dance

Potrčulka (English: pressed dance) is a traditional Euro-Macedonian dance, a folk dance from the town of Kočani. It is a female dance with moderately fast movements, small steps and small jumps on half a foot. The dancers hold their belt with the left hand over the right hand and start their dance in a semicircle position.

Skudrinka Dance

Skudrinka is a traditional Euro-Macedonian folk dance, originating from the Dolna Reka, a region along the Radika River in the western part of Macedonia. It is a dance with regular movements on half a foot with jumps and turns. The dancers hold a stick between the dancers and keep their hands horizontal. They start their dance in a semicircle.

Sopka Dance

Šopka is a Macedonian euro from the Kratovo region. It is an animated female dance with small quick steps and small jumps. The dancers hold onto the straps and begin their dance in a semicircle.

Cultural Dance of Madagascar

Hiragasy Dance

Hiragassi or Hira Ghazi is a musical tradition in Madagascar, especially among the Merina ethnic group in the highlands surrounding the capital Antananarivo. It is a one-day spectacle of music, dance, and cabaret sermons, performed by a group or as a competition between two groups.

Cultural Dance of Malaysia

Joget Dance

Joget is a traditional Malay dance that originated in Malacca. It was influenced by the Portuguese dance of Branyo which is believed to have been spread to Malacca during the spice trade. In Malacca, it is better known as Chakunchak. The dance is one of the most popular folk dances in Malaysia and is normally performed by couples at cultural festivals, weddings, and other social functions. Joget also grew in popularity within the Malay community in Singapore after its introduction in 1942.

Cultural Dance of Martinique

Bélé Dance

A belé is a popular dance and music from Martinique, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Haiti, Grenada, Guadeloupe, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is arguably the oldest creole dance in the French West Indies and strongly reflects the influences of African fertility dances. It is usually performed during full moon nights, or sometimes while the funeral is awake.

Dancing is also popular in Saint Lucia. In Tobago, plantation-class women are believed to perform at social events in large plantation houses. The dance style and dance dresses were copied by the slaves who worked in or around these houses.

Cultural Dance of Mauritius and Réunion

Sega Dance

Sega is one of the major music genres in Mauritius and Reunion. Other common species in Mauritius are the fusion type Seggae and Bhojpuri while in Reunion there are also Seggae and Maloya. It has its origins in the music of slaves and their descendants of the Mauritanian Creole people and is usually sung in Mauritanian Creole or Reunian Creole.

Sega is also popular in the islands of Agaléga and Rodrigues and in Seychelles, although the music and dance are different and are sung in the creole languages of these islands. Sega danced without leaving the ground. Instead, the rest of the body moves.

Cultural Dance of Mexico

Jarabe Tapatío Dance

The tabatio jarabi, often referred to as the Mexican hat dance, is the national dance of Mexico. It originated as a courtship dance in Guadalajara, Jalisco, in the 19th century, although its elements date back to the Spanish zambra and jarapi gitano, which were popular during the viceregal era. The dancers traditionally wear the Chinese poblana costume, while the male dancers dress the charos costume.

Cultural Dance of Moldova

Hora Dance

Hora, also called horo and oro, is a form of circle dance that originated in Jewish communities and in the Balkans, but also occurs in other countries. The name, which is spelled differently in different countries, is derived from the Greek word χορός: "dance" which resembles the ancient Greek art form χορεία. The original meaning of the Greek word may have been "circle".

Cultural Dance of Mongolia

Biyelgee Dance

Bielgee or Bii is a unique dance form, that originated from the Bedouin way of life. Almost all regions inhabited by different ethnic groups in Mongolia have their own forms of Bilgi. The Western Mughals are especially famous for the Bilgi dance. In Bilgi, music plays an important role in the art of the Mongolian kurigul.

Many folk dances are performed to the accompaniment of tovchur, maureen khor (horse head violin), echel, sometimes in combination with other instruments. There are also dances performed solely to accompany the human voice, for example, the Buryat Yohor dance.

Cultural Dance of Morocco

Gnawa Dance

Gnawa music is a collection of Moroccan and West African Islamic religious songs and rhythms. Its well-preserved heritage combines ritual poetry, traditional music and dance. Music is played in the evenings, community celebrations dedicated to prayer and healing led by Professor Gnaoua, or master musician, and the group of musicians and dancers.

While many of the influences that shaped this music can be traced back to West African kingdoms, the traditional practice is concentrated in Morocco. Gnaoua music has spread to many other countries in Africa and Europe such as France.

Reggada Dance

Reggada is a Moroccan Berber music genre and traditional war dance of the Beni Zanassen/Ait Iznasen tribes in northeastern Morocco. The dance features the masters (locally called the sheikhs). These masters perform music and dance using many traditional instruments such as the bandari, the gita and the piper, a type of two-horned flute common in Africa. The dancers move their shoulders, a gun, or a stick and hit the thigh on the floor to the beat of the drums.

Cultural Dance of Mozambique

Tufo Dance

The tufo is a traditional dance from northern Mozambique. The dance is performed by groups of women and can be found in the provinces of Maputo, Cabo Delgado and Nampula, as well as on the island of Mozambique. The dance is of Arab origin and is performed to celebrate Islamic holidays and festivals. The dance is traditionally performed by dancers who move only the upper half of their bodies and are accompanied by singing and tambourine-like drumming.

Last Words

The objective of this series is just to have some knowledge for those who want to explore new and unique things. And when we talk about Fashion, then 90% of people love to know in what region, people follow what type of fashion. Except for World dance Apparel, nobody even tried yet to explore dance cultures and specific dance outfits around the globe.

We already have covered many countries. The links can be found below. In our next episodes, we’ll cover more. So just enjoy this series and share your feedback!