Freilekhs or Bulgar?

[MaxwellSt <MaxwellSt...>]

OK, how about one of you erudite klezmer scholars who is not busy changing 
over dishes sharing your opinion:

After all this time, I still have some confusion concerning definitions of 
certain dances.  Is it a Freylekhs?  Is it a Bulgar?  A Honga? (No, you fool, 
it's a Sherele!)  

Let's say Der Shtiller BULGAR--that seems obvious.  It's slowish and sort of 
roly-poly, more of a community dance than chassidic madness.  Does that make M
azl Tov, Mechotunim a bulgar?  Then, there's A Lebedige HONGA.  Has the same 
feel as most of the march-y stuff like Freitog Nochn Tzimmis--but they're NOT 
Hongas.  Tantz Istanbul is a Tantz; how about Fun Taslich, which seems to 
have the same rhythm?  Are Khosidls variable?  Does it have to sound like Frey
lechs fun der Hupe to be a Khosidl, or can it be a slow Chassidic dance like 
Yismechu?

To make matters more confusing, my dance instructor friends tell me that many 
of the dances which are named "Sher" or "Bulgar" actually don't work for that 
purpose. They say that the form of the Bulgar (for example) requires that 
certain sections be repeated that are not found on most recordings. And those 
manic things that Brandwein does...they are obviously being played at 
performance rather than dance tempos.  So is the Heyser Bulgar still a Bulgar 
if you can't dance a Bulgar to it?  What about Serbas?  Does this all come 
down to the idea that many dances share the same sort of rhythm but have 
different dance steps depending on the country of origin?  (Serba = Serbia, 
Honga = Hungary, Bulgar = Bulgaria, etc.)

Some other dances I'd love to know the true designation of include: 

Di Zilberne Chassene
Der Rebns Husid
Ot Azoi 
Unzer Toyrele
Zol Zayn Gelebt
Leben Zol Palestina

Please share your insights--or send me to the right book! 

Happy Pesach to All.  If you're in a high rise, don't forget to buzz up 
Eliyahu!

Lori in Chicago

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