Romanian dance styles: Transylvania
Transylvania means "beyond the forest", and the reference is beyond the forest region of Hungary, of which Transylvania was a part for many years. Transylvania was settled in the 10th century by Hungarians. Today Transylvania is a large region in northwest Romania.
The Hungarian influence in Transylvania is strong. Hungarians make up just 8% of the total population of Romania but are almost 20% of the population in Transylvania. There are still many villages in Transylvania where Hungarian is spoken at home as the first language, whose students are taught in Hungarian, and where music and dance isn't just influenced by Hungary, it is Hungarian.
The big difference between Hungarian music in Hungary and Hungarian music in Transylvania is that the Hungarian music in Transylvania is played on Romanian instruments. The costumes in Transylvania are also clearly Romanian.
Music in Transylvania is traditionally played on three instruments: the violin, a 3-string chord-viola, and string or double bass. Music in Maramures and Oas has its own special sound. The violin is still dominant but the zongora, a type of guitar with 3 strings is used instead of the bass. Music from this region may also be accompanied by a drum, a taragot (a combination oboe and clarinet), a saxophone, or accordion.
In the Hungarian villages, the dance we found most often was a Hungarian couples dance that alternates pivoting as a couple with twirling the girl, while the men's dances are characterized by lots of heel clicks, slaps on boots and thighs and hand claps. The Învârtita, a couple's dance with the man turning the woman, is common for both Romanians and Hungarians throughout Transylvania.
The "turning" dance is thought to have developed after the "walking" dances and is found from Sweden (Pols and Polska), through Poland (Oberek) down to Maramures and Transylvania. The Romanian dance is the called the Învârtita or Bătuta with the Hungarian version called forgatós. The most basic version involves only turning in either direction. Unlike the Purtata family of dances, the Învârtita is found with Romanians beyond Transylvania and is not restricted to Hungarian ruled areas, and has a universal name covering many regional versions, possibly supporting Romanian dance views these dances have not spread via the Hungarian nobility. The Învârtita should not be confused with the Csárdás which represents the "new" style of Hungarian dancing which appeared around the mid 18th century. The Învârtita is danced to an asymmetric 10/8 (4+3+3) rhythm except in north Transylvania where simple 2/4 music predominates.
The cycle of the promenade followed by the slow turning and fast turning dances is found from Scandinavia through east Europe, Moravia, Slovakia and Poland, to Transylvania. The Starodavny of Moravia consists of walking followed by turning. The dance sequence in central Poland consists of the slow walking Chodzony followed by the Kujawiak slow turning dance then the quick turning dance Mazurek or Oberek, which are now blended into one dance. This blending is also seen in the Polska from Sweden where the promenade has been shortened into the f?rsteg which precedes the turning steps.
In Transylvania the Romanians have maintained separate dances. The Romanian purtata and Învârtita are danced to the old asymmetric 10/8 (4+3+3) rhythm (see music section) except in north Transylvania where simple 2/4 music predominates. The Hungarian equivalents are mostly 2/4 with a few exceptions from the mixed population regions.