Folk Dance

Lezginka
 

Lezginka or Lezghinka is a national dance of many people in the Caucasus Mountains,
It derives its names from the Lezgin people; nevertheless, Georgians, turks,Chechens,
Lezghins, Ossetians, Circassians, Karachays, Balkars, Abkhazians, Kabardins, Ingush,
Ingilos, Azerbaijanis, Iranian Azerbaijan, Mountain Jews, the Russian Kuban and Terek
Cossacks and the various ethnicities of Dagestan such as the Avars, Dargins and
Kumyks have their own versions. Lezginka can be a solo, couple or group dance. Men
and women are dressed in traditional costumes; men wear a sword adorned on their
side and women in long, flowing dresses. The man, imitating an eagle, dances in quick,
concise steps; falling to his knees and leaping up quickly. The woman dances quietly,
taking light, small steps—giving the appearance of her floating around the floor. When
the dance is performed in pairs, the couples do not touch; the woman acknowledges
the man, and dances discreetly about him.

Halay

This folk-dance, is a part of Turkish dance and is performed to a large extent in the
Eastern, South- Eastern and Central Anatolia and it is one of the most striking dance.
It has a rich figure structure of simplicity is the symbol of creation and originality
of the folk. The rhythmic elements of halay dances are very rich and are mostly
performed with drum-zurna combination as well as with kaval (shepherd's pipe), sipsi
(reed), cigirtma (fife) or baglama (an instrument with three double strings played whit
a plectrum) or performed when folk songs are sung. You may experience all the measures
of the Turkish folk music in the halay melodies

Zeybek

Zeybeks are, in general, the widespread folk dances of the Western Anatolia. It is rendered
by one person or two or by a group of people and its name changes for example as 'seymen'
in the central parts of Anatolia. Zeybek dances are formed, in general, of 9/8 measures and
have a variety of tempos such as very slow, slow, fast and very fast. Very slow zeybek dances
have the measure of 9/2, slow ones 9/4 and some others 9/8. Very fast dances, for instance,
teke (goat) dance seen in Burdur - Fethiye region can be regarded as dances of zeybek
character, they have the traditional measure of 9/16 There is another folk dance named as
BENGI in the zeybek region. It is performed more differently than zeybek and has got a
different musical feature and the most characteristic measure of bengi dance is 9/8.
Particularly in slow zeybeks, the traditional instruments is drum- zurna combination. The
use of 2 drums and 2 zurnas in combination is a tradition, function of one of the zurnas is
accompaniment, in other words, it accompanies the melody with a second constant tune.
Apart from drum-zurna, a three-double string instrument baglama, reed, marrow bow etc.
are used for fast zeybek dances. In particular, the traditional instrument of the teke (goat)
dance region is reed

Karsilamas

Karsilamas (From Greek: ?a?s??aµ??, Turkish: karsilama), is a Turkish folk dance
spread all over Northwest Asia Minor and carried to Greece by Asia Minor refugees.
The term "karsilamas" comes from the Turkish word karsilama" meaning "face to face
greeting" The dance is still popular on Northwestern areas of Turkey, especially on
wedding parties, festivals and so on. In Greece and Cyprus there is a similar dance named,
Antikrystos. Antikrystos, translates also, as "anti-face", i.e., face-to-face. Karsilamas is a
couple dance that is still danced in what was the Ottoman Empire, from Persia to Serbia,
and in the Macedonia and Thrace regions of Northern Greece. Figures of the dance may,
vary from region to region but main theme is two people face each other, and music
rhythmically controls their next moves. Traditionally people dance without any figure
on their minds, just figures they have seen from their elders. The meter is 9/8, and the
basic move is danced in four small steps with durations 2,2,2,3 respectively. The style
and mood (bouncy, smooth, lively, etc.) vary depending on the region. Cyprus Antikrystos
Rumeli Balkan karsilamas, Thrace (Greece) Antikrystos, Merzifon Karsilamasi, Edirne
Karsilamasi, Komotini (Greece) Karsilamas - Aptalikos, Giresun Karsilamasi, Tarakli
Karsilamasi, Bilecik Karsilamasi, Old Karsilamas  Pigi Karsilama  Ayse Karsilama
(Iskender bogazi)

Kolbasti

Kolbasti is a popular Turkish dance. It was originally created in the 1930s in the seaport of
Trabzon on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey. Loosely translated, 'kolbasti' means '
caught red-handed by the police.' According to legend, the name comes from nightly police
patrols of the city to round up drunks, who made up a song with the lyrics: 'They came, they
caught us, they beat us' (in Turkish: 'Geldiler, bastilar, vurdular'). In the past few years this
dance has grown very popular and is spreading in popularity outside the region. These days
this dance is mostly used for weddings or by youngsters who like to show off and attract girls.
Kolbasti never disappeared from Trabzon. It's always been part of local culture. What's new,
though, is that people from outside the region have taken to the dance.

Ciftetelli

The Tsifteteli (Greek ,Turkish: Çiftetelli), is a rhythm and dance of Anatolia and the Balkans
with a rhythmic pattern of 2/4.[1] The dance is probably of Turkish origin and in the Turkish
language it means "double stringed", taken from the violin playing style that is practiced in this
kind of music. However, there are also suggestions that the dance already existed in ancient Greece,
known as the Aristophanic dance, Cordax.[2] However it is widespread in Greece and Turkey, but
also in the whole former Ottoman Empire region.

Belly dance

Turkish belly dance today may have been influenced by Arabs before the Ottoman Empire as much
as by the Egyptian and Syrian/Lebanese forms. Turkish law does not impose restrictions on dancers
as they do in Egypt, where dancers must keep their midriffs covered and cannot perform floor work
and certain pelvic movements. This has resulted in a marked difference in style - Egyptian bellydance
is noted for its restraint and elegance, whereas Turkish bellydance is playful and uninhibited.
Many professional dancers and musicians in Turkey continue to be of Romani heritage, which is the
great part of a varied fusion in this dance. (There is also a distinct Turkish Romani dance style which
is different from Turkish Oriental.) Turkish dancers are known for their energetic, athletic
(even gymnastic) style, and their adept use of finger cymbals, also known as zils. Connoisseurs of Turkish
dance often say a dancer who cannot play the zills is not an accomplished dancer. Another distinguishing
element of Turkish style is the use of the Karsilama rhythm in a 9/8 time signature, counted as Famous
Turkish belly dancers include Tulay Karaca, Nesrin Topkapi and Birgul Berai and Didem