Romanian Folk Dances was composed by Béla Bartók in 1915. He later orchestrated it for small ensemble in 1917 as Sz. 68, BB 76. It is based on seven Romanian tunes from Transylvania, originally played on fiddle or shepherd's flute. The original name for the piece was titled Romanian Folk Dances from Hungary (Magyarországi román népi táncok) but was later changed by Bartók when Romania annexed Transylvania in 1918-1920. The list of the movements is as follows:
I. Bot tánc / Jocul cu bâtă / Stick Dance (0:00)
II. Brâul / Sash Dance (1:08)
III. Topogó / Pe loc / In One Spot (1:38)
IV. Bucsumí tánc / Buciumeana / Dance from Bucsum (2:32)
V. Román polka / Poarga Românească / Romanian Polka (3:13)
VI. Aprózó / Mărunțel / Fast Dance (3:44)
The melody of the first movement, according to Bartók, came from Mezőszabad (present-day Voiniceni) village that was part of Mezőcsávás (present-day Ceuașu de Câmpie) commune which was located in the Maros-Torda administrative county within Transylvania, and he first heard it when two gypsy violinists were playing it. The second movement is a typical dance from Romania called Brâul, for which traditionally a sash or a waistband was used. This melody came from Egres (present-day Igriș), in the Banat region. The third dance comes also from Egres (Igriș), but its theme is much darker and its melody recreates Middle Eastern instruments, such as the flute. The fourth dance came from Bucsony (present-day Bucium), in the district of Torda-Aranyos (today Alba county in Romania). The fifth dance is an old Romanian dance similar to the Polka and comes from Belényes (present-day Beiuş, in Bihor county), near the border between Hungary and Romania. The sixth and last dance is formed by two different melodies: the first one comes from Belényes (present-day Beiuș) and the second one comes from the then named Nyagra (present-day Neagra) village within the Palotailva (present-day Lunca Bradului) commune.
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The video material is of the Kawana Trio and Little Tich. First up is a film by Hans A. Spanuth for the series “Spanuth’s Original Vod-A-Vil Movies” filmed in Chicago. It shows the daring exploits of the the Kawana Trio, described in the opening credits as “Artistic Foot Jugglers”.
Next is "Little Tich and His Big Boot Dance. Filmed in 1900 and released in 1903, this clip from director Clément Maurice, shows the English performer Little Tich performing his famous “Big Boot Dance”. Born Harry Relph, Little Tich was a 4 foot 6 inch (137 cm) tall English music hall comedian and dancer best known for his seemingly gravity-defying routine accomplished by the wearing of boots with soles 28 inches (71 cm) long. Originally gaining fame as a “blackface” artist, promoters on his 1887 U.S. tour made him drop the act (fearing the British accent would ruin the “illusion”) and so in its place Little Tich developed and perfected his Big Boot Dance, a full 100 years before Michael Jackson would lean in similar fashion for his “S
