Gypsy dancing at weddings has long been an integral element. A cheerful ensemble will illuminate those around you with positive energy, create an exciting atmosphere, and force “avid sitters at the table” to start dancing with them. When choosing such noisy entertainment, you first need to decide in which part of the festive evening it should be. It should not be made the culmination of the celebration. Firstly, a completely different ending is planned for this holiday, and secondly, the guests and the spouses themselves will be tired and are unlikely to be able to beat out fractions with the dancers. The current option is the middle of the festival. The gifts are presented, the guests are already a little happy, they demand scope and cheerful dancing. Here, unexpectedly for everyone, the brightest and most lively ensemble will appear. As a rule, a gypsy show is not only dancing, but also songs about the happy and touching love of the newlyweds. As an entertaining show, the gypsy girl will tell fortunes on her hand, of course, all her predictions should be in a comic form.
A classic speech script includes:
– re-dancing or tap dancing;
- wide round dance;
– performance of romances, both male and female;
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– unusual competitions for guests and young people.
Many presenters, who have different costumes in their arsenal, offer dance competitions to guests. The gypsy girl is of great interest to people of all ages. Girls try on a full skirt and put on blouses with voluminous sleeves. The main thing is a bright outfit. Men are allowed to wear their own trousers, or they try on the special ones that gypsies dance in. A bright red vest or another color and, of course, a tambourine.
It is not necessary to know the basics of dance and try to imitate them, it is important to be in a good mood and dance from the heart.
The video presents an interesting competition, where those invited must participate in the form of a dancing gypsy camp.
How do they make matches in gypsy families?
Matchmaking plays a leading role in wedding preparations. Usually, for future newlyweds, parents themselves choose life partners, and the main criteria for selection are the availability of financial capital and position in society.
It is very unusual to give gifts to potential relatives during matchmaking. Potential relatives must obtain the father's consent to place a birch branch, a bottle of wine, and a wedding cake on the table.
It is noteworthy that the mother of the bride cannot take part in concluding the wedding contract.
Holiday colors
The gypsy people associate red shades with happiness, joy and passion. Having this color is a must for the best gypsy weddings.
Red ribbons decorate men's outfits, and red flags fly from the newlyweds' homes.
Duration of weddings
Roma communities prefer to postpone the celebration until the summer. The celebration lasts about three days, but the richest gypsy weddings lasted for a week.
On the first day, to comply with customs, the parents of the bride bargain with the groom. But this is considered a pure formality. After a blow on the hands of the matchmakers, the contract is completed, and the bride dances with the groom's father.
On the second wedding day, the female half of the invitees participate in getting ready for the bride. A cheerful atmosphere reigns in the house and they begin to collect treats for the table.
Gypsies never rent wedding dresses; this is unacceptable for them. The dress must either be new or passed down through the hereditary line.
After the bride puts on her dress, she must dance with the guests. After performing the dance, the guests carry the bride to the newlywed's house.
Before eating the dishes, the newlyweds receive a blessing with an icon with bread and receive expensive gifts.
On the third day of the celebration, lamb soup is prepared. Guests display expensive gifts for everyone to see.
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This is a kind of proof that the bride is wealthy, and if there is a disagreement with her husband, she can leave, taking the jewelry with her.
Gypsy wedding dances
Gypsies dance at a wedding.
Stylized weddings have become especially popular lately. You can choose gypsy style as one of the themes. After all, she is bright, distinctive and original. Gypsies have a lot in common with hippies.
And their wedding is called boho. She is a little subdued and modest. The bride can wear a white dress with flounces at the bottom. A beautiful peacock feather is attached to the head as an accessory. In this image, it will be much easier for a girl to fit into her image.
All dance styles of the Roma people can be divided into several subtypes. They differ in manner and execution. Any of these options looks bright and impressive.
Partner dance
A special type of dance style in which there is no close contact. Seeing the dance for the first time can be truly surprising. For most nationalities, a paired number means close and intimate contact. However, among the indigenous gypsies this is not welcomed in dance. The girl and the man are at the maximum distance from each other.
They do not come into direct physical contact. The young lady spins around the man several times. At this time, the partner can slam his hands. Most often the girl spins in her dance. The man remains static. He either drops sharply to one knee and stands up, or stands completely still, clapping his hands.
https://youtu.be/WdymSguKXzM
On the one hand, this dance manages to show the beauty of the girl. On the other hand, the young man seems to brag to everyone about the chosen lady, admiring her beauty. The girl seems to want to spin the man, seducing him in different ways.
Group dances
Gypsies dance at weddings.
The most popular type of dance style. They gladly order it for various festive events. There are a lot of gypsy groups, which, thanks to such dances, are especially popular.
This genre is characterized by gradualness in musical tempo and dance. Initially, the song sounds quiet and slow, over time it accelerates more and more, the movements become sharper and more abrupt. As a rule, towards the climax of the act itself, the girls begin to actively spin, showing the beauty of their own outfit. The young lady can spin for quite a long time, making frequent movements around her axis.
Men and women have no contact during the dance. At the same time, everyone seems to be trying to show off.
A characteristic movement for a man is a bright patting of his leg and torso. The woman is increasingly spinning around herself and actively moving her shoulders. Because of this, the characteristic name of the element even appeared - gypsy.
Solo dances
The Gypsy people are distinguished by their colorful and fiery dances. Most often they perform solo versions. Gypsies are a proud and selfish people, and this can be reflected in their dances. Men seem to show their youth, energy and agility. Women demonstrate a bright, passionate and proud nature.
It is noteworthy that even the bride at her own gypsy wedding dances a solo number, thereby showing how excellent she is.
A man is much more impulsive and emotional in his dance. He tap-dances furiously, hitting both his arms and legs. The woman moves much more smoothly. She simultaneously stands still and moves with her shoulders, chest and her entire figure. At the same time, the young lady does not stride her feet much. She stands in one place, carefully moving her legs. The girl's arms and shoulders are most mobile. In her dance, the young lady looks like an Indian figurine.
Gypsies dance at a wedding.
Gypsies are considered to be a special nomadic people who exist without their own land. Despite this, he is incredibly original. Thanks to their nomadic lifestyle, the gypsies have absorbed many interesting beliefs into their tradition. They took something from Russians, Tatars, Armenians, Kazakhs and even Indians. In general, it can be seen that their culture is vibrant, but simple.
Many people compare gypsy dances at weddings with oriental dances, finding something in common with belly dancing. Of course, there are similarities, and they can be seen in many ways. But it should be noted that gypsy dances are much simpler both in the movements themselves and in their worldview.
The nomadic people did not put such deep meaning into their movements. Therefore, their numbers are always clear to the average viewer. That is why gypsy dances at weddings are popular at any celebration. You may be surprised by the fact that as soon as the music starts, everyone dances, performing the gypsy song.
Cash expenses for a wedding
The groom's family compensates for the loss of the assistant with a ransom. Previously, all money and jewelry went to the house of the newlyweds’ parents; in modern times, parents partially return valuables to the newlyweds.
Traditional customs of a gypsy wedding require the groom to accept all expenses for the holiday. Carrying out a luxurious wedding requires significant financial investments; in some gypsy communities, saving money for a wedding begins from the moment the heir is born.
Now this issue is not fundamental, and parents can divide the money between both families.
Wedding
Day one - bachelorette party
On the first day of the wedding, I went to my sisters' house. Liana had already put on her blue dress and was pleased and happy.
Several more of her friends, about Rada’s and my age, joined us in the courtyard. A snow-white limousine was waiting for us in front of the gate, and we got into it, talking animatedly, and the bride was still silent.
– Why is Lyana silent all the time?
– I asked Radu in a whisper. “Silence from the moment the wedding begins is a sign of modesty and decency in the bride,” my friend also answered me in a whisper. We drove for a long time, and all this time Lyana was silent. The limousine stopped near a giant café building.
We all got out of the car and approached its main entrance.
The Rada boldly opened the door and went inside, our entire procession followed her. When we approached the entrance to the banquet hall, a friend let Lyana go ahead.
“The bride should go ahead of everyone,” she commented in a whisper on her action, standing next to me.
We entered the hall. There were three laid tables there. In the opposite corner of the hall stood the guests and parents of the newlyweds. Seeing us, they approached Lyana and took turns talking to her. Each guest presented the bride only with bouquets of flowers.
Seeing my surprise, the Rada explained that on the first day it is customary to give only flowers. The groom also presented a bouquet. Newly arrived guests did the same - first they talked to the bride and gave flowers, and then retreated to the wall, giving way to others.
After this, everyone sits down at the table: separately - women, separately - men and separately - newlyweds with their closest friends.
Initially, no one spoke or stood up. Suddenly there was a stir at the men's table. All the men (except for Lyana's fathers and brothers and the groom, as well as the latter's friends) began to take off and put on their hats, then loudly prove something to each other.
- What are they doing? – I asked Rada, stunned. She grinned: “This is a symbolic bargaining on the topic “to give or not to give the girl”; the bachelorette party always begins with it - the first day of the wedding. Only older people on the bride and groom's side - grandfathers, uncles older than fathers - can bargain. -Hasn’t the ransom been paid yet? – They paid, but it’s such a tradition to start the wedding with a demonstrative bargaining. After it you can dance and have fun. Now they are discussing the merits of the bride and groom. Then they will start drinking vodka.
And indeed, the men took a bottle of vodka and poured it into glasses. Then they drank – one each. Then they crossed themselves, shook hands and kissed.
“They finally agreed,” I heard Rada’s voice and her heavy sigh near my ear. - Something happened? – I got worried. “After the wedding, Lyana will leave us forever,” said a friend. - How will they part?! “We will no longer be able to communicate in private, walk together and share secrets,” Rada explained.
All the guests retreated to the walls, and the parents of each party began to bless the newlyweds in turn, lowering the wedding loaf, lying on an embroidered towel, onto their heads.
Then the bride and groom rose from their knees. Several women approached the bride and decorated her head with colorful ribbons. Then the groom's parents approached her and took the future daughter-in-law out to dance. The groom also got up from the table, and he and Lyana began to dance together. This went on for about an hour.
Then the newlyweds each sat down in their own place, and young gypsy guys came out to the “circle”. They began to perform their folk dances. This lasted for several hours. Then they sat down and invited the fair sex to the dance floor. All the girls, except me (since I am not a gypsy), stood up and also started dancing. They danced for about two hours.
After this the feast began. The first day of the wedding continued until it began to get dark outside. Then the guests began to leave.
Lyana and her girlfriends, including me and Rada, were put into a limousine and taken to the bride’s house. There we said goodbye until tomorrow and went home.
Second day
The next day I came to see my friends again. I found Lyana, Rada and Dinara in the sisters’ bedroom. The bride was already dressed in a white dress, and Dinara braided her hair at the very bottom of her head.
- Why is she doing this?
– I asked the Rada. “At the wedding, this ribbon will be removed from her hair as a sign that the girl is no longer single, but married,” answered the friend. Then Dinara came out and left us alone. And the saddened Liana sat down on her bed.
- Why does she look so sad? — I asked. “She’s leaving her father’s house forever.” After the wedding, the bride will go to live with her husband, and will only be able to stay in her home as a guest, but not as a resident.
Soon the groom appeared at the door of the room with a bouquet, which he handed to the bride. Lyana, Rada, I and my friends who arrived in time followed them.
There were already several cars parked on the street, in which the groom's friends were sitting, and where all the bridesmaids, except the newlyweds and witnesses, sat. They headed to a separate limousine.
I headed home. I was not allowed to be present with them because I am not a gypsy. As Rada later told me, for the next half day they drove around the city, visiting beautiful places, opening champagne there and wishing the young people joy, happiness and prosperity. After that, they went to church to get married.
Then everyone went to a banquet in the same cafe as yesterday. I have already been there. First, the friends and girlfriends of the newlyweds entered, and then the bride and groom themselves.
Dinara threw a bucket of water with sweets at the feet of the bride and groom. A little got on the clothes of the guests.
“They do this so that the life of young people is pure and sweet,” the Rada, who jumped up, explained to me.
A matchmaker approached the newlyweds, holding a birch branch in his hands, hung with sweets, small bottles of cognac, bagels and money, and led the newlyweds three times around the richly set wedding table.
During this time, I managed to examine the radically changed interior of the banquet hall. It now had three tables with a variety of food and drinks on them.
The guests began to sit down at them. The first one was sat down by the newlyweds themselves, Rada and I, and only the closest friends of the groom and bridesmaids. For the second - women and girls. For the third - men and boys.
Then the families of those present were called to the dance. Several people stood up from all the tables. The music started playing and they started dancing. After that, the second and third groups came out in exactly the same way... When the family dances ended, first the boys, then the girls, began to take turns entering the dance circle. This continued until night.
When the dance ended, Lyana was seated on a chair and began to unravel the braid that Dinara had made in the morning. Because of the hubbub around, Rada and I didn’t hear, but we saw how tears rolled down the bride’s cheeks during this procedure.
- Why is she crying? – I asked my friend. “It’s hard for her to leave her childhood and start family life,” Rada answered quietly.
Dinara unraveled her braid and gave it to Stefan, Lyana’s younger brother. He started selling a red ribbon from her hair in the hall, and within a minute a whole crowd of people ran up to him. Half an hour later, the ribbon moved to the groom’s uncle, who gave a huge amount of money for it.
Demonstration of the bride's innocence
When everything had calmed down, two matchmakers approached the bride along with the groom. They carefully took her by the elbows and, accompanied by her husband, led her somewhere out of the hall.
I asked my friend: “How far are they going?”
“A bedchamber was prepared for the newlyweds, where the bride will have to prove her innocence. - What? When? Now? Here? – inarticulate questions rained down from me. But Rada, seeing that all the guests were returning to the tables, stopped me: “Let’s sit down in our seats and I will answer all your questions.” Meanwhile, the noise in the hall stopped and the guests continued dancing. The Rada calmly sat down and asked: “What surprised you?” I finally caught my breath: “You meant...” I faltered. - Yes, you were not mistaken. This is the only way the bride can prove her innocence. If this is her first meeting with a man, then there will be traces of blood on her shirt, which the matchmakers will take out. Then the wedding will continue. - And if not? – If the shirt is clean, the bride will face shame. Then there will be no wedding, the guests will leave, and our father will pay all the wedding expenses. And he will return the ransom. And they never marry me. - So who pays for the wedding? - Father. The ransom is divided into two halves: one is given to the bride as a dowry, and the second is left to the parents as a gift for their daughter. The money that guests bring as a gift, as well as the bride's dowry, will be given to the newlyweds after the wedding. – And what is Lyana’s dowry, if it’s not a secret? “They’ll demonstrate it tomorrow, then you’ll find out.” - Why show it to everyone? – If a wife divorces her husband, she can only take what she received as a dowry. And they will show it so that no one deceives anyone during a divorce.
About four hours passed. Suddenly the Rada exclaimed: “Look, the matchmakers are coming!”
Indeed, three matchmakers were coming from a side room. They carried a wicker basket, where Lyana’s shirt lay surrounded by red flowers. Noticing the wary glances of the guests, they shouted joyfully, snatched the shirt and showed a blood stain on it. Their joy was also conveyed to those present; they danced, passing the shirt to each other. Then several people ran up to the bride's parents, picked them up and began rocking them to the cheers of the guests. And the matchmaker was saying something loudly. “She praises the bride’s parents for the kind of daughter they raised,” Rada explained.
Then the guests performed several more dances. Then the parents of the newlyweds presented red ribbons to all those present. Thus ended the main wedding day.
Distinctive features of the celebration
An interesting feature of the holiday is the rite of fraternization, as a symbol of the eternal connection of young people.
Small wounds are made on the fingers of the newlyweds, and when droplets of blood appear, the hands of the newlyweds must be crossed to exchange blood.
Gypsy marriages are not registered in the registry office; usually young people get married in a church.
After fulfilling their first marital duty, the newlyweds must take out the cloth with blood stains and show it to the waiting guests. Now the bride becomes the official wife.
If there are no stains on the sheet, the marriage is canceled immediately. With such a shame, the bride’s family often moves, and the girl will never be approached for marriage again.
Bottom line
Many movements and steps from gypsy dances have been familiar to us since childhood. Even if you don’t want to have a completely gypsy themed wedding, you can always dilute the celebration with a few colorful gypsy dances.
They can be performed by professional dancers, invited guests, or even young spouses. In the first case, you will be able to enjoy a beautiful room and feel a wave of carefree, lightness and playful mood. If you start performing the dance yourself, then you can feel like a representative of a nomadic people, relax and rest your soul.
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