Ketri Ketri (Gypsy (Macedonia))

Ethnicity	Macedonian Gypsy/Roma.
Formation	Open circle. V-hold.
Dance Structure	Short sequence repeated throughout the music.
Music Structure	4 counts/bar, 4 bar phrases (dance crosses music).
Music Speed	100 counts/min.
Source	At many dance event but I first learnt it from Sally Fletcher & Jan Savage in Ipswich, UK. Origin information from Jan later.

Disclaimer: Mistakes are quite likely in the notes and no guarantees are made as to accuracy. There may be other versions of the same dance or other dances with the same name. Music may differ, particularly in speed, introduction and duration, between performers. The division into parts, bars & counts might not be standard. These notes of the dance are freely distributable (under GPL or CC-by-sa) in so much as the note's author's contribution and I think the dance itself is traditional.

A simple traditional dance with sultry Gypsy-style hip movements. It is a one of the many Čoček related dances and is very similar to style to Jeni Jol (a.k.a. Rumelaj) but with lifts instead of touches and different travelling.

Its ethnicity is rather mixed. I've filed it as Macedonian Gypsy as that is where the steps came from. Albeit was from near the border with Albania so the steps are considered more Albanian by some. The music commonly used for it was from that area but arranged by the Hungarian band 'Kalyi Jag' who added a degree of Hungarian musical styling. The combination of that particular music & steps, which became the standard in the UK, was by Steve Kotansky in the USA. Some of the hip action has reportedly been from subsequent influence from South American Belly Dance. Sally's solution was to simply list it as 'Balkan Gypsy' but I've been filing dances by geographical region so I'm (currently) classifying it as Macedonian for simplicity rather than as "A dance done in the UK that was created in the USA from a Macedonian (meaning FYRO Makedonia / North Macedonia not Greek Macedonia) Gypsy (who should be called Roma) dance based on Albanian steps to music adapted by a Hungarian (which should be called Magyar) band, with additional styling from Turkey via Latin America and has a name that sounds Armenian."!

The most distinctive styling part is the hip action in the lifts. Each lift in the dance consists of raising a foot (about 20 cm or less) with the foreleg remaining vertical by flexing the knee and hip joint and raising the hip attached to that leg by tilting the pelvis up at that side as far as one can. The raised foot is tilted down a bit. Lower the hip during the next step. The hip lifts can be made staccato. This is possibly a hammed up Western European exaggeration of the styling but it suits the dance which would be nondescript without it. It might also be just the women's styling but, if there was a different men's styling, I have never been taught it so I just do this.

Introduction

Summary: None.

None. As it crosses the music, one can start at the beginning of any bar.

Whole dance sequence

Summary: Back out with 3 lift steps starting R foot. In place L, R. Travel in R with L lift step, R, L.

Start

Facing centre of the circle.

1	Lift R foot raising R hip.
2	R backwards.
3-4	Repeat counts 1-2 but with opposite feet (lift L foot raising L hip, L step backwards).

1-2	Repeat bar 1 counts 1-2 (lift R foot raising R hip, R step backwards).
3	L close.
4	R in place turning 45 deg cw to face 45 cw of the direction to the centre of the circle.

1	Lift L foot raising L hip.
2	L forwards (travelling diagonally acw around the circle & in).
3	R forwards.
4	L forwards (ending facing the centre of the circle ready to start the sequence again).