Bizarre Jewish Wedding Dance

 

Traditional Jewish Wedding Songs and Dances | The Horah, Mezinke Tanz

Festive Jewish Wedding Songs and Dances

Not only does the Jewish wedding ceremony have a number of meaningful rituals, a Jewish wedding reception also has rich traditions of its own. These traditions represent the bride and groom and their changing relationship status. The traditional music and dances of a Jewish wedding play a strong role in the festive celebration.

There are a variety of traditional Jewish dances that take place at a Jewish wedding reception. These dances are paired with traditional songs, and the dance is performed by not only the bride and groom, but by other family members and guests as well.

The Horah

The Horah is one of the most well known traditional wedding songs. Even if you are not Jewish, you have probably seen this dance portrayed in TV shows and movies. The Horah is performed to the song Hava Nagila or Klezmer. Hava Nagila is a Hebrew folk song, performed not only at weddings, but also at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. The words "hava nagila" means, "Let's rejoice." The song "Klezmer" is a traditional song of Ashkenazic Jews, and means "vessels of song," or "musical instrument."

To dance the Horah, all of the guests gather on the dance floor in a circle, moving back and forth while kicking their leg and making grapevine type steps. The bride and groom sit in chairs in the center of the circle, which are lifted into the air. The bride and groom each hold onto one end of a handkerchief. Often, immediate family are often lifted into the air, on chairs, as well.