Turkish Folk Dancing

Horon, or the round dance, is a traditional Black Sea folk dance. The ancient koron-horon, which originated in pagan worship, was a sacred ritual dance performed solely by men. The Horon is typically danced by a chain of men or women in a line or semi-circle. The Horon has a fast shoulder shimmy (tremoulo) and a trembling of the entire body and sudden squats, with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk dancing the Zeybek in Bursa at the last ball he ever attended before his death eight months later.

Horons are danced to the music of the cura zurna, the cura davul, the tulum, the kemence, the koltuk davulu, and even the accordion. Long sea voyages, merchant exchanges, and troops en route to the Holy Land are said to have been exposed to these dance styles. The Irish jig and even its modern incarnation, the River Dance, are thought to have their origins in the Horon. The Horon, though modified from its Pagan origins, is still performed and distinguished by its music, raised arms, shimmy's, and kicks.