State Folk Dance Group

Traditional Turkish Folk Dancing

   Combining harmony of movement and superb rhythm, Turkish folk dances are each a composition. They are graceful end charming. Their parts form a unified whole. The dancer's own personalities are subordinate to a sense of long tradition. Here the Turks display their poetical soul.
   Turkish folk dances are performed with naturalness. There is no forcing, exaggeration or artificiality to be seen, no trace of exhibitionism. Instead there is a natural flow and earnest absorbtion in the dance. There is no meaningless or disproportionate figure or movement in these dances. They are nature and satisfying. They express the strength of nature,  the warmth of sincerity and the vividness of reality. There is passion in moderate measure.
   There is a rich variety of dances, estimated by researchers to number in the region of 1600.
There are several main types of Turkish folk dance, as described briefly below:

HALAY :
             A dance of the Central and Southern Anatolian region, accopanied by drum and zurna (a form of oboe) and sometimes
bağlama (string instrument with long neck and three double strings), kaval (flageolet) and tambourine.
Men and women dance together in a straight line, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder and sometimes with harns thrown over one another's shoulders. (Adıyaman, Bitlis, Bingöl, Gaziantep, Elazığ )

KAŞIK :
     Common in Central and Southern Anatolia, the dancers use wooden spoons to tap the rhythm as they dance. They do not hold onto one another. It is accompanied by the bağlama, drum, clarinet and darbuka.

Eastern and Northeastern

Bar :
       A dance of the Anatolian region accompanied by drum, zurna, bagpipes, mey (small oboe) ney (reedflute) and tambourine. The usual
formation is in rows, either straight or curved. Men and women may dance together. The dancers start by holding hands and then put their hands on one another's shoulders. (Erzurum)
ZEYBEK :
        A dance of the Mediterranean and Aegean regions. It is a solo dance, but a group may dance simultaneously. It is a solemn, impressive and noble dance, generally danced by men. It is accompanied by the bağlama, the divansazı (a large bağlama), cura (small bağlama), drums, zurna, tambourine, darbuka (drum made of earthenware) and kaval.

HORA :
        A dance of Thrace. Like the bar and halay it is danced hand in hand, arm to arm in close rows. It is acompained by the drum, zurna, bağlama, tambourine, zilli maşa (tongs and cymbals) and darbuka.

HORON :
        A dance of the Eastern Black Sea region. The formation is a circle or semicircle, the dancers holding hands. In some versions of the horon, particularly in the villages, men and women dance together. The kemençe (small violin played like a cello), drum and zurna accompany the dance. (Trabzon, Artvin)

ÇİFTETELLİ :
          This dance is common throughout Anatolia. It may be danced by one or more people, and men and women together.
The formation is irregular and loose. It is accompanied by the bağlama, kaval, drum, zurna and dümbelek (small drum).