Khorumi (ხორუმი)

Motto for the country of Georgia is “Strengths is in unity”
The dance Khorumi is about Georgia, strengths, unity and the fact that strengths is in unity.

Khorumi dance comes from western Georgia, regions of Adjara and Guria and is the one Georgian dance that has absolutely unique rhythm. You won’t hear this kind of rhythm in any other Georgian dances, not even anywhere in the world! The rhythm and movements make this dance one of the hardest dances to perform.

Historical sources say that this dance represents war. So when you watch the dance you get an idea of how Georgians used to fight: firm, precise movements; sense of togetherness even when they’re physically apart; supporting each-other whilst each of them showing their best… And as Georgia has been through a lot of wars during its long existence, this dance is part of its identity. All of the Georgian dance ensembles have Khorumi in their list of dances.

Khorumi is always performed by odd number of dancers, “circles can be perfect only when the number of dancers is odd” says famous choreographer Temur Bibileishvili.

Enough words, enjoy the video and share emotions.

Gandagana

Dynamic music, expressive mimics, wavy-like movements – this is what you see when you watch Gandagana.

Energetic, smiley and attractive – this is how you feel when YOU dance Gandagana.

Georgian dances are various and differ from each-other drastically depending on which region they come from. Movements often reflect the relief of the region they represent. This is why you will see a lot of wavy and seagull-like movements in Gandagana: the dance comes from Adjara region (the dance is also known as Adjaruli dance) which is the region located by the Black Sea, favorite area for seagulls.

Gandagana is a dance for lovers. The choreography might vary between different dance groups, but Originally, a woman starts the dance:

“In old times, Adjarian women had to work mostly in sitting position, but they couldn’t last long sitting and not moving. So they would get up and start to move to refresh. So the woman stands up and starts to dance, a man sees her and joins, trying his best to make her like him. Other boys and girls also join and dance together. There’s a competition between boys to win girls’ hearts, they show better and better solos.”

Tells Georgian dance choreographer – Temur Bibileishvili.

There’s another iconic and very interesting dance from Adjara region: Khorumi. We’ll tell you about this dance a bit later on our blog. Before that, enjoy the video for professional dance of Gandagana!

Kartuli dance

“Kartuli” dance – the peak of Georgian national choreography. It’s the only dance among Georgian dances that doesn’t relate to any region, it reflects Georgian soul as a whole.

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The dance is about relationship between Georgian man and woman which stands on love, loyalty, respect, restraint and modesty.

The man is in love and openly express it. He never gets his eyes rid of the woman as this is the only woman in the universe. He protects her, rules her but therefore obeys and never ever touches her.
The woman doesn’t express her feelings. She doesn’t flirt, she just looks down with respect and tries to run, but wants to stay, she wants to stay so much. She wants to be on her own, but she feels better under protection of her beloved man and she obeys him.
It’s hard to distinguish who runs whom and who obeys whom, they’re one – parts of one body, they can’t exist without each-other.

“Kartuli” dance is considered as the hardest to dance among Georgian dances.
It consists of 5 parts:
First part – the man asks the woman to follow him, just as in real life, he proposes.
Then they dance together, get to know each-other.
After that they both do solos, totally different from each-other, filling each-others parts harmonically.
And in the end they end up together.

This dance is danced in Georgian traditional weddings as the first dance by the bride and the groom, as a symbol of their life story – their past and future.

Enjoy the video

You may also find this dance named as “Davluri”