Re: definitions

[Pete Rushefsky <klezbanjo...>]

Could one deal with dances using a similar taxonomy to
what Zev Feldman devised for klezmer tunes.  Please
excuse me for jotting these down in a rather imprecise
fashion but basically there are 4 (see Zev's oft-cited
"Bulgar" article for a much more thorough discussion):

1. Core (i.e., recognized as uniquely "Jewish" by
practitioners & non-Jewish observers)

2.  Transitional (i.e. forms that were appropriated by
Jews and then modified into a Jewish form-- e.g., the
instrumental forms of horas, doinas, bulgars).

3.  Coterritorial-- repertoire of coterritorial ethnic
groups (e.g., Polish obereks, Ukranian kolomeykas,
etc.)

4.  Cosmopolitan-- repertoire of cosmopolitan status:
(e.g., German waltzes)

Of course the taxonomy is highly time dependent-- the
history of the sher might be a good example (and I'm
no expert on the sher's history)-- the sher may have
been first performed by Jewish dancers as a
cosmopolitan French quadrille then adapted to a
transitionally Jewish form.  As the Jewish sher's
music and steps evolved by the late 19th/early 20th
century it could perhaps be seen as a "core" Jewish
form.

Pete Rushefsky




--- Helen Winkler <winklerh (at) hotmail(dot)com> wrote:
> I've been thinking about the discussion re:  what to
> call the dances that we do to klezmer music (Yiddish
> dancing? klezmer dancing?) and also about the
> discussion of whether Yiddish dancing sometimes is
> freestyle and sometimes is lead by a dance leader. 
> When you look at the whole variety of dances that
> are done to klezmer music, it's clear that although
> some are more Jewish in character, others are shared
> experience dances (Jews did them and so did the
> non-Jewish neighbours down the road; e.g., sirba). 
> Still others were ballroom dances (Steve Weintraub
> and I have been looking into Pas d'espagne for
> example).  I find it interesting to include dances
> from all categories when teaching sessions.  They
> all carry with them interesting bits of history and
> the contrast in styles  are fun to juxtapose.  So,
> whatever we want to call this dance genre, I would
> vote for keeping a fairly open definition.
> Helen
> 
> Helen Winkler
> winklerh (at) hotmail(dot)com
> Helen's Yiddish Dance Page
> http://www.angelfire.com/ns/helenwinkler
> Calgary Folkdance Fridays
> http://www.cadvision.com/winklerj/cff.html
> 


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