Hora Oltenească

HORA OLTENEASCĂ
Romanian

PRONUNCIATION: HAW-rah ohl-teh-NEH-skuh

TRANSLATION: Dance of Oltenia

SOURCE: Dick Oakes learned this dance from Mihai David who learned it during the years 1963 to 1965, while he was a performer with his Brother, Alexandru, in the Romanian State Folk Dance Ensemble. Mihai taught the dance at the 1974 Louisiana Spring Folk and Ethnic Dance Festival in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

BACKGROUND: The ethnographic region of Oltenia is green and mountainous and has some of southeastern Romania's oldest surviving artifacts, edifices, and folklore, with little Turkish, Russian, or Greek influence. Oltenia, also called Lesser Wallachia, with the alternate Latin names Wallachia Minor, Wallachia Alutana, Wallachia Caesarea in use between 1718 and 1739, is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river (although counties in the east extend beyond the river in Muntenia in some areas).

MUSIC: Gypsy Camp Vol. I (LP) GC 5201-I

FORMATION: Lines of mixed M and W with hands joined and held down in "V" pos.

METER/RHYTHM: 4/4

STEPS/STYLE: The dance has a relaxed, down-to-earth feeling. All stamps are without wt.

MEAS MOVEMENT DESCRIPTION

INTRODUCTION

1-4 No action.

I. TO CTR AND BACK

1 Facing ctr, run fwd R,L,R,L, raising hands to shldr height in "W" pos (cts 1,2,3,4);

2 Step R in place (ct 1); stamp L without wt (ct &); raise and lower R heel (ct 2); stamp L without wt (ct &); step L,R,L in place (cts 3,&,4);

3 Moving out of cir, step R bwd (ct 1); hop R (ct 2); step bwd L, beginning to lower hands (ct 3); hop L, continuing to lower hands (ct 4);

4 Run bwd R,L,R, lowering hands to "V" pos (cts 1,2,3); leap L in place (ct 4).

5-6 Repeat action of meas 1-4.

II. IN PLACE

1-2 Repeat action of Fig I, meas 2, in place two times;

3 Step R in place (ct 1); stamp L without wt (ct &); raise and lower R heel (ct 2); stamp L without wt (ct &)

4 Step R,L,R in place (cts 1,&,2); stamp L without wt (ct &); step L,R,L (cts 3,&4).

5-8 Repeat action of Fig II, meas 1-4.

III. TRAVELING TO R

1 Turning to face to R and moving in LOD, step R (ct 1); hop R (ct 2); step L (ct 3); hop L (ct 4);

2 Repeat action of Fig III, meas 1.

NOTE: During the second and fourth repeat of the dance, Fig III has 4 meas instead of 2 so that the step-hops alternate 4, 8, 4, 8.

Repeat entire dance from beg.

Copyright © 2012 by Dick Oakes

HORA OLTENEASCĂ Romanian

PRONUNCIATION:	HAW-rah ohl-teh-NEH-skuh

TRANSLATION:	Dance of Oltenia

SOURCE:	Dick Oakes learned this dance from Mihai David who learned it during the years 1963 to 1965, while he was a performer with his Brother, Alexandru, in the Romanian State Folk Dance Ensemble. Mihai taught the dance at the 1974 Louisiana Spring Folk and Ethnic Dance Festival in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

BACKGROUND:	The ethnographic region of Oltenia is green and mountainous and has some of southeastern Romania's oldest surviving artifacts, edifices, and folklore, with little Turkish, Russian, or Greek influence. Oltenia, also called Lesser Wallachia, with the alternate Latin names Wallachia Minor, Wallachia Alutana, Wallachia Caesarea in use between 1718 and 1739, is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river (although counties in the east extend beyond the river in Muntenia in some areas).

MUSIC:	Gypsy Camp Vol. I (LP) GC 5201-I

FORMATION:	Lines of mixed M and W with hands joined and held down in "V" pos.

METER/RHYTHM:	4/4

STEPS/STYLE:	The dance has a relaxed, down-to-earth feeling. All stamps are without wt.


MEAS	MOVEMENT DESCRIPTION


	INTRODUCTION

1-4	No action.

I.	TO CTR AND BACK

1	Facing ctr, run fwd R,L,R,L, raising hands to shldr height in "W" pos (cts 1,2,3,4);
2	Step R in place (ct 1); stamp L without wt (ct &); raise and lower R heel (ct 2); stamp L without wt (ct &); step L,R,L in place (cts 3,&,4);

3	Moving out of cir, step R bwd (ct 1); hop R (ct 2); step bwd L, beginning to lower hands (ct 3); hop L, continuing to lower hands (ct 4);
4	Run bwd R,L,R, lowering hands to "V" pos (cts 1,2,3); leap L in place (ct 4).

5-6	Repeat action of meas 1-4.

II.	IN PLACE

1-2	Repeat action of Fig I, meas 2, in place two times;

3	Step R in place (ct 1); stamp L without wt (ct &); raise and lower R heel (ct 2); stamp L without wt (ct &)

4	Step R,L,R in place (cts 1,&,2); stamp L without wt (ct &); step L,R,L (cts 3,&4).

5-8	Repeat action of Fig II, meas 1-4.

III.	TRAVELING TO R

1	Turning to face to R and moving in LOD, step R (ct 1); hop R (ct 2); step L (ct 3); hop L (ct 4);
2	Repeat action of Fig III, meas 1.

	NOTE: During the second and fourth repeat of the dance, Fig III has 4 meas instead of 2 so that the step-hops alternate 4, 8, 4, 8.

	Repeat entire dance from beg.
Copyright © 2012 by Dick Oakes