DAJČOVO HORO or ZIZAJ NANE Bulgarian
PRONUNCIATION:	DAI-cho-voh hoh-ROH (ZEE-zai nah-neh)
TRANSLATION:	Dajčo's dance
SOURCE:	taught variations to Dajčovo in 1955 at the Kolo Festival in California. In 1961, Michel Cartier also taught Dajčovo motifs at the Kolo Festival. Dick Crum taught Dajčovo Horo 1956. Zizaj Nane is a more spectacular Dajčovo-type which, in the post-WWII 1940s, was spread to all parts of Bulgaria and eastern Serbia by touring dance troups. Several variants of Zizaj Nane have been introduced into the United States and Canada since the late 1950s, causing a mixture of calls and figures.
BACKGROUND:	Dajčo is a man's name and may have referred to a rich cattle merchant from the town of Pleven. Zizaj Nane is basically the "popular" Dajčovo in a very fast tempo interspersed with showy figures performed according to a leader's command-and-response calls. The name "Zizaj Nane" is itself derived from one of the calls. "Zizaj" in the dialect of the Šop Ethnographic Region of western Bulgaria means roughly "shake or bounce up and down," and "nane" or "nanče," literally "elder brother," is a familiar word used in addressing close malefriends (like "pal," "brother," "buddy," etc.).
MUSIC:	XOPO (45rpm) X-326; Folkdancer (45rpm) MH 45-3053; Folkdancer (45rpm) MH 45-3056; or any other "good" Dajcovo record.
FORMATION:	Lines of M grasping neighbors' belts in "X" pos with R arm under. May also be danced in an open cir of mixed M and W with hands joined and held down at sides in "V" pos or grasping belts.
METER/RHYTHM:	9/16. The rhythm is quick-quick-quick-slow (2+2+2+3 = 9), indicated below in four dancer's counts with the fourth being the longest.
STEPS/STYLE:	Dajčovo styles vary in different regions, among individual dancers, and especially according to the speed at which the music is played. Some fine native dancers do the basic Dajčovo to a moderate tempo, covering a lot of ground, with an erect bearing, dancing lightly on the full ft, knees slightly bent. Sometimes, to emphasize the beginning of a phrase, they bring joined hands straight fwd, leave them there for a while, then bring them slowly back down to sides. To faster tempos, dancers may squeeze together in the line, dance in place, or trace small circles in front of their own places. The leader and end-man may chase each other, and occasionally the men may punctuate the dance with a deep knee-bend. It is important to note that the first bt of the meas (the first quick) receives the accent in all meas, despite the fact that the last beat (slow) is linger! Many non-native dancers, equating length with accent, mistakenly come down very heavily on the last beat; native dancers feel the rhythm as QUICK-quick-quick-slow, or ONE-two-three-four, etc. To more closely approximate native style, remember that the action on the last beat is longer but NOT stronger. The word "dajčova" (note the "-a" ending) is a technical term recently adopted by Bulgarian dance specialists, referring to the "hop-step-step-step" unit which occurs in many Dajčovo-type dances. A series of steps requires alternating ftwk: If one step begins with a hop on L ft, the one immediately following begins with a hop on R ft. The step may be danced in place or moving in any dir, depending on the pattern of the particular dance in which it occurs. When doing the dajčova step in place, native dancers move in a strictly vertical direction: The line from head-to-feet is perpendicular to the floor throughout and there is no bell-like fwd and bwd motion to the step. With the basic Dajčovo, the knee is bent fwd, not normally parallel to the floor, the lower leg hangs naturally. As the dancer does the hop, the free knee straightens slightly and the foot "flicks" a bit fwd (not a kick--more like a relaxed reflex reaction to the hop and the straightening of the knee). When performing, in such dances as Zizaj Nane, many groups do this movement in a high-prancing style, bringing the knee up very high, while others do a sharper kick. The high knee and sharper kick are more stylized than with the step in the basic Dajčovo, but are widely accepted by choreographers and village performing groups--so take your choice (or obey your choreographer). DAJČOVA STEP: Hop on supporting ft (ct 1); step on free ft (ct 2); step on free ft (ct 3); step on free ft (ct 4).
MEAS	MOVEMENT DESCRIPTION
	INTRODUCTION - None.
	BASIC DAJCOVO MOTIF
1	Facing R of ctr, moving diag R twd ctr, and geg with wt on L, dance 1 Dajčova Step (cir contracts somewhat);
2	Continuing in the same dir, dance 1 Dajčova Step (cir contracts somewhat more);
3	Turning to face ctr, dance 1 Dajčova Step bwd (cir contracts somewhat more);
4	Still facing ctr, dance 1 Dajčova Step, moving very slightly swd to L (almost in place).
	Repeat entire dance from beg.

Copyright © 2003 by Dick Oakes