{"id":52246,"date":"2019-11-26T17:26:03","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T16:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iemj.org\/les-danses-klezmer\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T18:40:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T16:40:26","slug":"les-danses-klezmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iemj.org\/en\/les-danses-klezmer\/","title":{"rendered":"Klezmer dances"},"content":{"rendered":"

A selection of klezmer music for dancing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Klezmer<\/em>\u00a0is an instrumental music for celebrations which was once performed in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe at weddings or joyous religious celebrations. The word \u201cklezmer\u201d comes from Hebrew\u00a0kli zemer<\/em>\u00a0which means \u201cinstrument of the singing\u201d.
Since the 16th century, dancing took largely part in the Esatern Europe jewish celebrations. But no Jewish Askenazi dance was specific to a community : the major part of the repertoire – dances in line, in circle, in couples, etc. – was cosmopolitan or comprised elements borrowed to the non-Jewish environment.<\/p>\n

However, the Jews used a body language which differenciated them from the non-Jews who practiced the same dances, in particular in the movements of hands and arms, as well as in the play of legs by the young men.<\/p>\n

During weddings, a large part of the ritual consisted in dances that aimed to honor the bride (mitzve tants<\/em>), the special guests, the step-fathers, the ancestors, the present rabbis… or to mime feelings like anger :\u00a0broyges tants<\/em>\u00a0and reconciliation :\u00a0sholem tants<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Klezmer music accompanied several different dance styles. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n