The most popular and widespread dances in Romania are known as Hore (plural of Hora). They are found everywhere in the country, although they take on different forms. Sometimes they’re danced only by men, only by women, or by both; sometimes the circle moves clockwise, sometimes counter-clockwise; and so on. The Hore from Banat are danced in an open circle and are led by the first dancer. The leader decides and signals when to change sequences.
Romanians are jovial and enjoy a good joke. They love to party and will find many pretexts to celebrate, to get together with friends and have a good meal, drink, sing and, it goes without saying, dance. At present, wedding celebrations lasting more than three days are unfortunately almost a thing of the past (except in a few villages where everyone pitches in to make the event a memorable one), and the opportunities to invite a band to play at a festivity are becoming rare. However, music is still ever-present in the more economical form of hiring a disc jockey for the night. Contemporary popular musicians and singers are heavily influenced by western countries and electronic instruments abound. Thus rhythms and arrangements have taken on a more modern air, although many have retained the flavor and sound of traditional Romanian music. Now it’s not unusual to see Romanians spontaneously dance their traditional steps to the music of the day. Hora lui Şerban is an excellent example of this new form of urban folklore.

Presented by Sonia Dion & Cristian Florescu in 2008. View pdf here.