Dance
Much of what is considered traditional music and dance in Jordanian culture comes from the rural Bedouin traditions. One of the most popular traditional dances in Jordan is dabke. This may be performed as gender-segregated or co-ed groups. The dancers line up shoulder-to-shoulder, holding hands or placing arms over the neighboring two dancers’ shoulders, then move as a group in a circle using steps that are punctuated by kicks and stomps. The accompanying music includes a flute called a ney, a drum called a tabl, and a reed instrument called a mizmar. This group dance is popular among Bedouins and non-Bedouins alike, and is often performed at weddings.
Read more about this topic: Jordanian Society
Famous quotes containing the word dance:
“God be with the times when I
Cared not a thraneen for what chanced
So that I had the limbs to try
Such a dance as there was danced—
Love is like the lion’s tooth.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“We look at the dance to impart the sensation of living in an affirmation of life, to energize the spectator into keener awareness of the vigor, the mystery, the humor, the variety, and the wonder of life. This is the function of the American dance.”
—Martha Graham (1894–1991)
“Navajo men and boys have an odd way of showing their friendship. When two young men meet at the trading post, a “Sing”, or a dance they greet each other, inquire about the health of their respective families, then stand silently some ten or fifteen minutes while one feels the other’s arms, shoulders, and chest.”
—Administration in the State of Ariz, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)