Paradoxes in the Living Creative Process of Dance Tradition

Abstract

ances, melodies and songs of living folk tradition, as well as rituals and customs within which the dances are performed, contain contradictory and paradoxical phenomena. These can be of a terminological, formal, structural, functional, stylistic, technical, metric, or rhythmical nature. For the purpose of illustration, let us quote a few examples. The term kolo is well-known and wide-spread Yugoslavia, but its meaning is not the same all parts of the country. A kolo means a chain of widely connected dancers, and the number of dancers is not limited. However, the number of dancers may, some instances, be limited: Kosovo, VuEitrn, girls dance the Serbian kolo KatarinEe, devojEe in fours (L. and D. Jankovic 1937:81,151). In Serbian villages near Prizren the same number of female dancers perform the dance chain crossed fours (Ibid.: 121,170). In BaEka the MomaEko kolo is performed by three dancers only: a young man between two girls. This is how the Orthodox Serbs the centre of Subotica dance the MomaEko kolo I, and also how the Catholic Bunjevci the suburbs of the city dance the MomaEko kolo II (L. and D. Jankovic 1949: 29,92,93,129,147,347). Contrary to other kolos which the dancers usually dance at some distance from each other, the Momarko kolo they dance close together. If closer linkage of dancers occurs a chain, long or short, this is then called lese. But the Ba6ka dance the Vojvodina, performed by three dancers close to each other, is not called either a lesa or a lesica, although this is what it really is. It is called Momarko kolo, while the Toplica lesica, performed by three dancers, is called Madlarac (L. and D. Jankovic 1952:105,219). Dances performed by couples Srem and Banat, danced by Serbs, are also called Madlarac, or Santavi Madlarac (L. and D. Jankovic 1949:170,185,355,360). Academician Tihomir R. Djordjevic, ethnologist, cultural historian, musicologist and Balkanologist, writes that the Serbian colonies Buda (of Budapest) and its vicinity, the dance KeteuSe was performed, with singing, by two or three dancers, but always with a male dancer (1934:73). And Milan Milicevic describes the KetuSka Serbia, danced threes (1876:1084).