KOLO DANCE

The beauty of folk dances and the musical accompaniment is something which seems imbued in the lives of the Croatian people. Their most popular form of dance is the Kolo, which means a wheel or circle. The Croatian circle dances are usually found to have singing accompanied by an instrument or a tamburitza orchestra or both. In many households, the accordion accompanies the group. Many of the dances find the boys teasing the girls dancers or the entire group teasing a couple to be wed. An interesting characteristic in the folk dances are "Poskocice", a term used to describe singing jokes, mimicking or teasing songs or just plain remarks which are shouted back and forth to each other. In Croatia, one might see the Kolo performed outdoors on special occasions, such as, harvests, weddings, religious celebrations to honor a special Saint, or outside in the garden of the town tavern. More recently, the dances are performed in meeting halls or may be seen during concerts, festivals or ethnic celebrations. Probably the most famous folk dance group in America is the Duquesne University Tamburizans from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.