Final: Presentations

 

 Shag

Colette, Riley, Rachel

What is shag?

 

• Popular dance associated with the beach towns of North and South Carolina

• Two-person dance; typically with a male lead

• Has one basic step but leaves lots of room for invention and imagination (six-count, eight-step pattern)

• Looks easy, actually quite complicated

• Typically done to jazz or swing music but more recently has been done to “beach music”

• Modern shag is filled with smooth steps

• Used as a social dance 

Clip from Shag the movie (8-10 minutes)

 

 

Background/Origin

 

• The earliest version was created by the African American community

• Started in the late 1930s- really rose to popularity in the 1940s

• Brought up and created as a very social dance at clubs and on beaches

• Was always known as a “distance cousin” of the Jitterbug (a flirty ballroom dance that came to life around the same time.)

• Named the swing dance of the South

Current Uses

 

• Currently kept alive through teaching it and competing it

• Still used as a social dance in the dance clubs of the carolina coasts

Carolina Shag Comp Performance (whole video)

 

How to Shag (1:15-3:30) 

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Hora

Colvin, Sam, Jaxson, Maria 

Horah Final Dance Project 

OUTLINE

 

Choose dance from your place of origin.

Introductions: (everyone)

Present on origin, development and currently (Maria)

 

• the hora was not originally a Jewish dance

• it used to be done with individuals twirling in circles, but is now done with everyone

   in a group circle

• The Horah traveled in the early 20th century to Palestine from Romania, where Zionist 

  pioneers, or halutzim, adopted it. 

• “Hora” comes from ancient Greek khoros, which also gives us such words as “chorus” 

  and “choir.” 

• Traditional circle dances get their names from khoros can be found all over the Balkans 

  and southeastern Europe. They include the Turkish and Romanian hora, the Bulgarian  

  horo,the Montenegrin and Macedonian ora, and the Russian khorovod, and they are all 

  very old and highly similar in the way they are danced

• The choreographer of the Horah was the Romanian Jewish dancer Baruch Agadati, 

  who got together in 1924 with a composer and writer of lyrics and created a hora for a 

  show put on by the Ohel Theater Company, which toured with it in the pioneering 

  settlements of the Valley of Jezreel. “Hora Agadati,’ as it became known, was an instant 

  hit.

(Sam)

 

• the hora was done at a whirling, breakneck pace, each dancer’s arms around the 

  shouldersof those flanking him, the circle spinning so fast that its members were 

  sometimes lifted clear off the ground

• the dancing often continued for hours on end 

  
  

  LINK:
  

  Hora: A History of the Most famous Jewish Dance
  

  
  

• typically danced to the music of Hava Nagila

• In religious families the men and women do the dance separately

• During the horah at one part the man and the woman or the guests of honor get hoisted 

  in a chair

• This is done so that in orthodox situations when the men and the women are 

  separated the bride and the groom can see each other. Sometimes they hold a 

  handkerchief up so the bride and groom can hold onto it together and be connected 

  that way  

• Regardless if the families are orthodox or not it is still customary to put your guests 

  of honor up in the chair 

• It can last as long as the couple desires. It can be a quick song or multiple hours with 

  different renditions. At more traditional weddings, the hora lasts even longer

Currently + how it's done (Jaxson)

 

• While historical horas were performed with individuals twirling in circles, these days they 

  are done in a group circle.

• Participants join hands and move in choreographed steps.

• In more traditional Jewish communities men and women dance separately in their own 

  circles, while in more modern communities men and women dance together in coed 

  circles with the couple in the middle.

• The hora dance is performed during the wedding reception. There is no set rule for when

   it should be completed, but most couples chose one of two options. “The hora dance 

  can be done as soon as the couple is introduced to the guests at the beginning of the 

  reception,” says Spirer. “Or it can be done after dinner and then immediately open the 

  dance floor for more dances with high energy.”

• All the guests join, and this is why at Jewish weddings it is recommended to have a large 

  dance floor and enough space in the ballroom to accommodate this dance.

• While the couple is always lifted on chairs, sometimes the couple’s immediate family 

  members, parents, and siblings are also lifted into the middle of the circle.

• The hora can last as long as the couple desires. It can be a quick song or it can last 

  multiple hours with different renditions. At more traditional weddings the hora lasts longer. 

  At some Jewish weddings, the guests only do circle dances at the reception.

• Every Thing You Need to Know About the Jewish Hora Dance 

   

Demonstrate the steps Colvin

 

Class Does Dance:

Conclusion: Colvin

 

The hora was not originally a Jewish dance but is now a large part of Jewish culture. 

As you can see this circle dance is a very joyous and uplifting experience for the guests and 

guests of honor at any occasion. It lifts the spirits of everyone at the event and can be really 

fun for all. We hope you all enjoyed our presentation and do the horah one day in the future!