Čoček ( sq, çyçek/qyqek; Serbian and mk, чочек, ''čoček''; bg, кючек, kyuchek;

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

: sistemul) is a

musical genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

that emerged in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

during the early 19th century. It features prominently in the repertoire of many

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

brass bands. Čoček originated from Ottoman military bands, which at that time were scattered across the region, mostly throughout

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, Macedonia and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. That led to the eventual segmentation and wide range of ethnic sub-styles in čoček. Čoček was handed down through the generations, preserved mostly by Roma minorities, and was largely practiced at village weddings and banquets. Čoček is especially popular among the

Muslim Roma Xoraxane Roma in Balkan Romani language, are non-Vlax Romani people, who adopted Sunni Islam of Hanafi madhab at the time of the Ottoman Empire. Some of them are Derviş of Sufism belief, and the biggest Tariqa of Jerrahi is located at the l ...

and

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

populations of

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, South Serbia and Macedonia. When

Tanec Tanec ( mk, Танец) is a folklore musical ensemble from Skopje, North Macedonia. It is considered as an ambassador of the Macedonian folklore tradition worldwide. History The Tanec ensemble was founded by the Government of the People's Repu ...

first came to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1956, they performed čoček as a Muslim woman's dance, "Kjupurlika" from Titov Veles. The kyuchek, as a common musical form in the

(primarily Bulgaria and Macedonia), is typically a dance with a time signature; two variant forms have the beats divided 2-2-2-3 and 2-2-3-2. (This latter meter is sometimes referred to as "gypsy 9".) Roma musicians living in areas of the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

have broadened the form to include variations in and . In the

international folk dance International folk dance includes Balkan dance, Middle Eastern dance, contra dance, Hungarian dance, polka, Chinese dance, and Japanese dance. Clubs featuring these ethnic dance genres are enjoyed by non-professional dancers for entertainment. Ma ...

community, čoček is danced to many melodies. Dances in the čoček genre include

Jeni Jol {{no inline sources, date=November 2019 Jeni Jol is a Rom folk dance from the region of Skopje, Macedonia. It is a woman's line dance, in 2/4 meter, with a walking rhythm, with sensuous hip tilts. The dancers form a curved line, holding hands, and ...

and Sa Sa. Jazz composer and musician

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

was influenced by čoček-type tempos. For example, "

Blue Rondo à la Turk "Blue Rondo à la Turk" is a jazz standard composition by Dave Brubeck. It appeared on the album '' Time Out'' in 1959. It is written in time, with one side theme in and the choice of rhythm was inspired by the Turkish aksak time signatures. I ...

", from the ''Time Out'' album, was written following a and pattern.

References

European folk dances Balkan music Romani dances Serbian styles of music {{Romani-stub

See also

References