*1st Generation dance. A dance that developed in a traditional way – not ‘taught’ by a teacher or choreographer, but ‘learned’ by observing and imitating others in your “village”, where the village’s few dances were the only dances anyone knew. It usually is ‘generic’ – the dance pattern is fairly simple and not tied to any particular piece of music. The dance phrase may or may not match any musical phrase, but the music’s rhythm must be suitable for performing the footwork. This dance may have many variations, but they’re performed at the whim or inspiration of the leader or (sometimes) any other dancer so long as it doesn’t interfere with the flow of neighboring dancers. For more, click here, here, and here.
Hodoroaga (haw-daw-RWAH-gah) translates as “rambling old woman”. An alternate translation – “the rickety one”. It’s considered by Romanian dance scholars to be a southern Transylvanian variant of Schioapa, with its 9/8 Q,Q,Q,S, rhythm. I can find no YouTube examples of its existence outside of performance settings, so I’m calling it a 1st Generation dance.
A related dance starts at 4:13
Performance of a similar dance in France
Recreational Folk Dancers may know it as Hodoroaga de la Fagaras
