Te lumshin kembat!

I hope you had fun figuring out what a gomar is. Being that I live in a small village I see them almost everyday. So why did I want you to think of a one legged crab with the rhythm of a gomar? Because that's exactly how I dance when I'm sober. I know this because in our cross culture classes we've been learning traditional Albanian circle dancing, and I figured today's post would be about this phenomenon. I know that I won't be able to talk about this in too much detail just because I haven't done much research on it but I thought ya'll could look up more about it if it tickles your fancy.

So circle dances can occur pretty much whenever people want to dance. Outside of my classes I've witness people do it at a bar in Elbasan last Friday and at a wedding I crashed my first week of being here. In Albania, weddings can last for days and for a good chunk of that time the bride and groom lead the party in a circle dance. During that dance guests stuff the bride's dress and the groom's suit with money to help them begin their new lives together. At one point a few minutes before they cut the cake, the bride and groom perform a couples dance. During this dance the husband twirls a handkerchief which is eventually set on fire to show that he is now a man. The couples dance is interesting because from what I could understand in class there are no real assigned moves and it is almost an interpretive dance the shape of which depends on the dancer.

The group dance's on the other hand do have specific moves which everyone must follow or else the circle will end up looking like a slinky. There are multiple styles to choose from. A few are slightly akin to the hokey pokey in that you take a few steps and then push a leg out into the middle. Other versions include leaps and turns are can be quite beautiful depending on the dancer. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that I will probably never attempt such dances as if I did I'm sure I'd end up breaking someone's nose on accident.