Teen
(Armenia (Kurdish))

[Full notes] [Summary notes] [Other dances &the source code]

Formation Short lines with leader on the right. Fortress hold with fingers interlaced or close V-hold.
Dance Structure Short sequence repeated throughout the music.
Music Khumkhuma ('kh' is pronounced 'k-h').
Music Structure 8 counts/bar, 2 bar phrases.
Music Speed 120 counts/min but can be done accelerating.
Source Dalila Heath (who learnt it from Tom Bozigian) at the 2001 Eastbourne International Folk Festival. Tom Bozigian at Doe Dans 2005 in the Netherlands.

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 but the choreography and/or collection were by other people and so their copyright might apply to the dance itself. Better than using notes, go to a dance class where it is taught by Dalila Heath or Tom Bozigian.

A popular & distinctive Armenian dance. It feels & looks quite dramatic because of the music and steps but it is actually quite a simple sequence.

The most distinctive features are the drops onto the L leg whilst travelling & the swivelling (or kicking) steps backwards. It can be done gently with smaller travelling steps & token drops missing out the swivelling but it does not look nearly as good like that.

The main version written here is the version is how it is ubiquitously danced in the UK & Netherlands. I wrote it down when taught it by Dalila who specialises in Armenian dances but have had the same version lead by many other teachers. However, when Tom Bozigian came to teach Armenian dances at Doe Dans and saw hundreds of us (mostly Dutch) were doing that version in evening parties, he chastised us in the following day's workshop and told us how we should be dancing it. His version had essentially the same steps but a different styling & considering that he is the authority who collected & promoted the Armenian folk dances, including this particular one, from the Armenian diaspora in the USA his styling is probably more authentic. On the other hand, it is the other version that is still done & very popular in the UK.

The words of the song, according to Tom Bozigian, are about being too drunk. They are sung in first person and the moving backwards section (bar 2) represents how there is an attractive woman whom the male singer/dancer cannot get to because of their drunken lurching state. (It is probably best not to mention this when leading this dance for meditatively inclined Sacred/Circle dancers :-) .)

Style: Staccato. Large steps whilst travelling to the R, rigid whilst slipping back. Keep back upright even when bending down with knees.

Introduction

None. Either start as soon as the music does or join in at the beginning of a sequence whenever your line is ready.

Whole Sequence (Usual Styling)

Summary: To the R in a triple step & dropping onto the L foot twice, double hop, step, touch, 7 steps back swivelling feet & stamp.

Start Facing about 45 deg cw of the centre direction.
1
1&2 Triple step (R forwards, L close, R forwards) to the R (i.e. in the direction of the line) travelling fast by taking big steps.
3 Drop onto L foot across infront (i.e. step L across infront and simultaneously bend the knees as if one is crumpling into that step without leaning ones torso forwards). The style is not a limp but a dramatic drop down.
4 R to the side straightening the knees to stand up again.
5 Repeat count 3 (drop on L across infront).
6& Straighten up the L knee with such force that it becomes a hop. Immediately hop a second time. (This double hop is useful in absorbing the travelling momentum.)
7 R to the side.
8 L close without weight transfer.
2
1 L backwards.
& Swivelling the R heel in by pivoting the foot on its ball. (This step is common in English Cotswold Morris dancing, other than that the swivelling is usually simultaneous with the stepping, where it is called a 'slipback'.)
2& Repeat counts 1-1& on the opposite feet (R slipback).
3&4& Repeat counts 1-2& (L & R slipbacks).
5&6& Repeat counts 1-2& (L & R slipbacks).
7& Repeat counts 1-1& (L slipback).
8 R close with stamp without weight transfer.

Optional Shouts

One can shout "Hey!" loud and brief on the first 4 swivelling backwards steps. The shouts are syncopated to the music as they are on the swivels not the steps (i.e. bar 2, counts 1&, 2&, 3& and 4&).

Authentic Styling

There were many stylistic points specified by Tom Bozigian. The ones I noted down were as follows.

Summary: Kicks forward with the free foot instead of swivelling. Move diagonally out in the Triple Step. R forwards instead of to the side in bar 1 count 7. Flick foot up behind before stamp.

1
1&2 The Triple Step to the R is done travelling diagonally outwards.
3-5 The drops on counts 3 & 5 were called 'plies' which sounds gentler but they looked similar.
7 R forwards instead of to the side (thereby compensating for the moving out in the Triple Step).
2
1-7 Not heel turning slipbacks but normal steps backwards done staccato with the freed foot kicked forwards on each step (knee straight, foot horizontal about 5 cm or less from the ground).
7& Flick the R foot up behind in preparation for the stamp by flexing the knee.
8 The stamp is very firm.

When he was asked as to where the shouts should be, he replied that there should not be shouts, syncopated or otherwise, but one should learn the words of the song and sing them properly!

Notes by Andrew Hardwick.
Written 2002/7/21. Updated 2005/9/20 & 2007/8/29. Typo corrections 2008/7/13.
Contact (email:info@duramecho.com).
Available on-line at http://duramecho.com.