Shota ( indefinite

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 ...

form: Shotë), Vallja e Shotës or K'cimi i Shotës is an Albanian dance originating in northern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. It is an important symbol of

sentiment and patriotism. A professional ensemble from

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

was established in 1950 by ethnic

Albanians of Kosovo The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the north of A ...

as one of the ensembles of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and was named 'Shota' after the Albanian traditional dance. The Albanian traditional dance was originally choreographed by the Shota ensemble. Along with the Rugova sword dance, Shota is among the Albanian traditional dances that were adopted and performed by other ensembles of Yugoslavia, such as Kolo from

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and Tanec from

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. It acquired popularity and was also adopted by many amateur groups within Yugoslavia, also spreading in other regions of

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...

. The dance involves synchronised steps and a strong rhythm. It is commonly played at weddings, folk festivals and other events.

History

Shota originated as a traditional Albanian dance from Kosovo. It was originally choreographed in Yugoslavia by the Shota professional ensemble from

, named after the dance. The Albanian traditional dance of Shota was choreographed by Olga Skovran for the Serbian

Ensemble "Kolo" National Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs of Serbia "Kolo" (), known simply as Ensemble "Kolo" (), was established on 5 May 1948 by the decision of People's Republic of Serbia which at that time was one of the six constitutional republics of th ...

in 1952, and a song based on its melody became widely popular in the 1970s in

. The popularization of the dance in Yugoslavia helped the dance spread to the southern Danube Gorge in the 1970s, reach the northern side in the 1990s after borders opened, and more recently gain popularity at Romanian events in Banat. In March 2013, the Assembly of Republic of Kosovo approved a law which makes the Shota ensemble a part of the cultural activities of the National Ensemble of Songs and Dances. Since the time of its inception the community keeps organising events that replicates the dance form Shota and are socially very active in areas of cleanliness, awareness about the dance form and the dress codes related to it.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite journal, author=UCLA, title=UCLA Journal of Dance Ethnology, journal=UCLA Journal of Dance Ethnology, volume=13, publisher=UCLA Department of Dance, year=1989, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pEf0AAAAMAAJ Culture of Kosovo Albanian folk dances