Here are dance steps/notes for some Balkan (& similar) dances.
These are my notes for dances I have taught or lead since 2006. I wrote the notes originally for my own reference then augmented and proofread those of dances I lead for those who wanted them after the dance sessions. Although it is unlikely that many other people will want notes for these particular dances out of the tens of thousands of Balkan etc. dances in circulation in the English-reading world, they might be of use to someone so I've put copies on the WWW here. There are not many dances here because I am not a regular dance leader, just a sort of very occasional stand-in.
Please note that I did not invent these dances, I merely wrote down the steps I learnt from others, and I may have made some mistakes. It is also very likely that there are other versions of many of these dances and even completely different dances with the same names so do not treat these as definitive. The full notes are verbose & often include multiple descriptions of the same steps; that is a deliberate attempt to reduce the ambiguity from using normal text, rather than specialist dance notation, to describe complex body movements.
Also note that is far better (& more fun) to learn dances by dancing them with someone who knows them than by reading notes!
| Dance Name | Alternative Names & Spellings | Region | Full Notes | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A, ya po lugu | А я по лугу; A ya po lugu; A ja po lugu; A, ja po lugu; A ya po luhu | Russia | A, ya po lugu steps | A, ya po lugu summary |
| Arap | Bulgaria | Arap steps | Arap summary | |
| Arcanul Bătrînesc | Arcanul Batrinesc | Romania | Arcanul Bătrînesc steps | Arcanul Bătrînesc summary |
| Bulgarian Party | Bulgaria | Bulgarian Party steps | Bulgarian Party summary | |
| Çavreşlí | Cavresli; Charvreshli | Turkey | Çavreşlí steps | Çavreşlí summary |
| Damul | Damu; Damn All | Romania | Damul steps | Damul summary |
| Drumul Draclui | Romania (Hungarian) | Drumul Draclui steps | Drumul Draclui summary | |
| Džumbus | Dzumbus | Serbia | Džumbus steps | Džumbus summary |
| Ege Kaşılaması | Ege Kasilamasi | Turkey | Ege Kaşılaması steps | Ege Kaşılaması summary |
| For Jill | Greece | For Jill steps | For Jill summary | |
| Gaïda Gynekíos Makedonikos | Gaida Gynekios Makedonikos; Gaïda Floyéras | Greece | Gaïda Gynekíos Makedonikos steps | Gaïda Gynekíos Makedonikos summary |
| Gîrliceanca | Girliceanca | Romania (Dobrogea) | Gîrliceanca steps | Gîrliceanca summary |
| Gnjilane | Serbia | Gnjilane steps | Gnjilane summary | |
| Hava Nagila | הבה נגילה | Israel | Hava Nagila steps | Hava Nagila summary |
| Hora de la cîmpie | Hora de la cimpie | Romania | Hora de la cîmpie steps | Hora de la cîmpie summary |
| Hovs Bashi | Armenia | Hovs Bashi steps | Hovs Bashi summary | |
| Imate Li Vino | Macedonia | Imate Li Vino steps | Imate Li Vino summary | |
| Kalgamačkata | Kalgamachkata; Kalgamackata | Bulgaria | Kalgamačkata steps | Kalgamačkata summary |
| Kareve Yom | Sacred-Circle | Kareve Yom steps | Kareve Yom summary | |
| Koko Samoa | Samoa | Koko Samoa steps | Koko Samoa summary | |
| Koshuu Bon Odori | Japan | Koshuu Bon Odori steps | Koshuu Bon Odori summary | |
| Krajdunavsko | Phillips | Bulgaria | Krajdunavsko steps | Krajdunavsko summary |
| Kratko Vlaško Kolo | Kratko Vlashko Kolo; Kratko Vlasko Kolo | Serbia | Kratko Vlaško Kolo steps | Kratko Vlaško Kolo summary |
| Leros | Dance from Leros | Greece | Leros steps | Leros summary |
| Mairam Govand | Govand; Gyovand | Armenia | Mairam Govand steps | Mairam Govand summary |
| March of the Mods | March of the Mods (Finnjenka Dance) | Disco | March of the Mods steps | March of the Mods summary |
| Mesjog gur | Mesyokh khur; Mesyoh hur | Armenia | Mesjog gur steps | Mesjog gur summary |
| Michanicos | Greek | Michanicos steps | Michanicos summary | |
| Miziisko | Miziisko Horo; Mizijsko | Bulgaria | Miziisko steps | Miziisko summary |
| Muiere, Muiere | Muiere Muiere | Gypsy (Romanian) | Muiere, Muiere steps | Muiere, Muiere summary |
| Na Pûrt | Na Purt | Bulgaria | Na Pûrt steps | Na Pûrt summary |
| Nyfiatikos (from Kozani) | Nyfiatikos | Greece | Nyfiatikos (from Kozani) steps | Nyfiatikos (from Kozani) summary |
| Oj devojko dušo moja | Oj devojko duso moja; Oy devoyko dusho mohya | Macedonia | Oj devojko dušo moja steps | Oj devojko dušo moja summary |
| Pentozalis (from Kos) | Pentozalis from Kos; Pentozalis | Greece | Pentozalis (from Kos) steps | Pentozalis (from Kos) summary |
| Preumblata | Romania | Preumblata steps | Preumblata summary | |
| Raca | Rahtsa | Serbia (Vaške region) | Raca steps | Raca summary |
| Signa | Bulgaria | Signa steps | Signa summary | |
| Silent Kolo | Mute Kolo | Croatia | Silent Kolo steps | Silent Kolo summary |
| Svekrvino oro | Mother-in-law's dance | Macedonia | Svekrvino oro steps | Svekrvino oro summary |
| Syrtós Kítrinou | Syrtos Kitrinou | Greece (Gypsy) | Syrtós Kítrinou steps | Syrtós Kítrinou summary |
| Şchioapa | Schioapa; Shkioapa; Shwarpa | Romania | Şchioapa steps | Şchioapa summary |
| Tankosava | Albania | Tankosava steps | Tankosava summary | |
| Teen | Khumkhuma | Armenia (Kurdish) | Teen steps | Teen summary |
| Valle e dardhes | Albania | Valle e dardhes steps | Valle e dardhes summary | |
| Vayiven Uziyahu | ויבן צוזיהו | Israel | Vayiven Uziyahu steps | Vayiven Uziyahu summary |
| Voronezhkye khorovodniye chastushky | Воронежкые хороводные частушки; Woronezhkiye chastushky; Хороводные частушки; Chorowodnije tschastuschki; Chorovodniye chastushki; Tschastuschki; Chatushki | Russia | Voronezhkye khorovodniye chastushky steps | Voronezhkye khorovodniye chastushky summary |
| Vrličko Kolo | Vrlicko Kolo; Verlichko Kolo; Mesmo Rekle | Serbia | Vrličko Kolo steps | Vrličko Kolo summary |
| Zorba 2001 | Zorba; Zorba Disco; זורבה | Israel | Zorba 2001 steps | Zorba 2001 summary |
| Žensko Svatbarsko Horo | Женско Сватбарско Хоро; Zhensko Svatbarsko Horo; Zensko Svatbarsko Horo; Žensko Svatbarsko | Bulgaria | Žensko Svatbarsko Horo steps | Žensko Svatbarsko Horo summary |
I did not write the notes directly in HTML as that would have
been too tedious to maintain. Instead I wrote them in a markup
language. The language is one I created just for this particular task
of writing Balkan etc. dance notes. It is basically plain text with
tags (each of which is a single character to speed up writing!)
denoting part, bar, count, summary, front matter, etc. blocks and
supporting nesting thereof. To convert it to the full & summary
HTML versions (and some others) I used a program I wrote in Perl for
the purpose.
If you want you can download both the programs I used to format dance notes and the source code versions of all the dance notes on this page in a zip file. As well as formating them as per this website, it produces versions with embedded stylesheets for emailing and combined summaries as plain text which I use on my old Palm V PDA.