The Halay Dance is a Turkish folk dance performed mainly during weddings. This ‘celebratory’ dance is said to have originated in central and southeastern Turkey. The music that accompanies this dance begins extremely slowly and gradually picks up rhythm. Furthermore, traditional Turkish musical instruments such as “zurna” and “davul” are used to produce music for this form of dancing. Nowadays, due to technological advancements, electronic instruments are also now being used regularly to produce music for this dance genre.
a. History and origin of Halay Dance:
The word “Halay” actually has been derived from the word “Alay” which when literally translated means ‘many people’.
“Halay” is from Iranians, though people were living in Iran much earlier, yet the language of Iranian wasn’t formed until about 3,000 years ago. Assyrians claim to have been around for over 6,000 years, Kurds for at least 2,000, and Armenians and Greeks for at least 3,000. Since around 1,000 years ago, there have been approximately 1,000 Turks in Anatolia. Who knows what Anatolians were dancing about 3000 years ago?
Apparently, this dance is mainly performed in central and southeastern Turkey. Furthermore, this Turkish dance is also said to be closely linked to the cities of Sivas and Corum, located in Central Turkey.
The term “halay” is used in many ways by many different people.
With reference to wikipedia “The Turkish word “Halay” is from the Iranian Hālāy with the meaning “to stand”, “to jump” and “to dance”. In Kurdish, it is known as Govend or Dîlan, in Syriac as Ḥeggā, in Azerbaijani as Yallı, in Armenian as šurǰpar , and in Greek as Chaláï.
b. Costumes worn in the Halay Dance:
The costumes worn by the performers in Halay dance vary according to the gender, and they are as follows:
1. For men:
Short jackets with split sleeves, elaborate headgear, a coat made of coarse wool, baggy trousers, colorful socks, and peasant shoes are worn.
2. For women:
The attire worn includes a short jacket known as “cepken”, a single, double, or triple skirts, a collarless jacket known as “salta”, baggy trousers, decorated aprons and socks. In addition, a female performer may also adorn jewels.
c. The music used in the Halay dance:
Traditional Turkish musical instruments such as Zurna, Davul, Kaval i.e. a shepherds pipe, sipsi i.e. reed, cigirtma (fife), and baglama i.e. three double stringed instrument are mainly used in this dance form. In addition, wind instruments such as the mey and clarinet may also be used.
Style of Halay dance
Both men and women can perform the halay style dance. All the dancers, while performing, hold each others hands or shoulders, forming a row, and then make a circle. Furthermore, the performers also hold a handkerchief in their hands, which they swing simultaneously while swaying their bodies. Matching the beats to the rhythm of the music, foot combinations are very important aspects. Halays are usually played in the open ground area, they are not saloon dances. The dancer who stands first in the row is called the “halaybasi,”, and the last dancer in the row is called the “poccik.”.
d. Training availability and the technique involved in the Halay dance:
In terms of technique, the dancers form a circle/semicircle and hold on to each other’s hand or shoulder. Furthermore, the performers also hold a handkerchief in their which they swing simultaneously while swaying their bodies to the rhythm of the music being played. As for training centers/schools, there are none available around the world since this “celebratory” dance is mainly performed in Turkey.