Serbian dance is an old tradition and a strong element in the Serbian culture. The traditional dances are of social function, bringing the community and families together at various important days such as weddings, Christmas or Easter.
During the time of Ottoman Turkish occupation of the Serbian lands, Serbs danced most often among the family, at social gatherings of feast days in the evening. They danced to vocal accompaniments, including the wedding kolos (oros). The instrumental music for indoor entertainment was used by the close of the 19th century. In connection with social gatherings among the Serbs around the churches and monasteries called Sabori during the Slava and Hram (Patron of the monastery) there was a belief that everyone must dance (to instrumental accompaniments) in order to gain and secure good health. In upper Prizren the Sabor was held on November 21 by the ruins of the monastery of the Holy archangel founded by the Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan the Mighty in the 14th century. There was also a great social gathering at the Kaljaja fortress.
Kolo (Serbian Cyrillic: Коло) is the traditional collective folk dance, where a group of people (usually several dozen, at the very least three) holding each other by the hands or around the waist, dance, ideally in a circle, hence the name. There is almost no movement above the waist. Each region has at least one unique kolo; it is difficult to master and even most experienced dancers cannot master all of them.
The dance is accompanied by instrumental two-beat music with the same name, made most often with an accordion, but also with other instruments: frula (traditional kind of a recorder), tamburica, sargija, zurla, gajde, tapan, or harmonica.
| Kraljevo kolo The Ballroom dances organized at the Serbian royal court always opened with this dance. It has several versions. According to one source, it is named after Kraljevo town, where it is registered in the 19th century. According to other, it is named after Serbian king (kralj). |
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| Moravac kolo The dance structure of the "Moravac" dance originates from Šumadija – the ethnocoreological zone of central Serbia. It is performed to a 2/4 beat in an open, mixed circle of dancers. Movement is counter-clockwise. In the basic dance unit we find steps accompanied by drawing something/someone to oneself and by flickering, and during the course of the dance, certain "decorative" steps, jumps, jumps including crossing and intertwining occur, which are performed in a single location, in an arch, toward the center or away from it. The whole of the dance consists of eight 2/4 beats and in the beginning is performed at a slower pace, and later, as the dance progresses, at a quicker pace. |
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| Uzicko Kolo Uzicko Kolo is one of the most popular tunes for dancing Kolo (U Sest). Uzicko Kolo was composed by Milija Spasojevic, who was considered to be one of the greatest accordionists in former Yugoslavia in his time. |
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