Čoček ( sq, çyçek/qyqek; Serbian and Macedonian: чочек, romanized: ''čoček''; bg, кючек, kyuchek) is a musical genre and dance 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: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

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 Macedo ...

, Macedonia and

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

. 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 Romani and Albanian 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 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. ...

community, čoček is danced to many melodies. Dances in the čoček genre include Jeni Jol and Sa Sa. Jazz composer and musician Dave Brubeck 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. It ...

", 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