KOLO DANCE

BOKA NAVY KOLO DANCE FIGURES | PICTURE GALLERY

One of the most distinguishable elements of Boka Navy is its traditional kolo dance, performed by the Navy at local festivities, such as outdoor celebration of St. Tryphon, Boka Navy Day and Kotor Municipality Day, as well as during other important town events or local and international appearances.

Boka Navy kolo dance, also known as St. Tryphon’s kolo, represents a link between sacral medieval and modern, secular elements from the lives of seafarers. It comprises twelve individually named dance figures (in most cases, only eight are performed): Proper Whirl, Reverse Whirl, Irregular Chain, Proper Chain, Anchor, Big Kolo, Two Kolos, Kolo in Kolo, Eight, Spiral, Reverse Spiral and Spiral Around Officers. 

PROPER WHIRL (original name Vrtlog pravi)

First figure of the dance. Dancers move in half-circle, face turned right. Right arm is bent with the thumb tucked at the belt and holding one end of cloth, while the left arm is extended forward, holding the end of the cloth from the dancer in the front. Kolo is moving clockwise to the right. After a short dance, the leader of the kolo turns to the dancers and breaks the chain of the kolo, crouching below their arms. As the kolo curves into a circle multiple times, the chain breaking will occur several times, creating a lively dynamic between the dancers. 

REVERSE WHIRL (Vrtlog obratni)

Second kolo figure – same as the first one, but in opposite direction. 

IRREGULAR CHAIN (Neprava veriga)

The kolo moves counter-clockwise. Once a half-circle is formed, kolo leader moves under other dancers’ arms in zig-zags, from dancer to dancer. 

PROPER CHAIN (Prava veriga)

This figure is formed after a single chain is created, and every other dancer steps forward and moves under the arms of the newly-formed double “proper chains” or “tunnels”. 

ANCHOR (Sidro)

This is a complex figure and rarely preformed. It takes shape of a large anchor and requires 25 dances in order to be formed. 

BIG KOLO (Veliko kolo)

Moving clockwise, kolo leader rounds up the dancers, creating one large circle (kolo). 

TWO KOLOS (Dva kola)

Big kolo is split into two kolos by the leader and the last dancer. One is directed by the leader and one by the last member of the former big kolo. The last dancer has a slightly different role from the other dancers. He oversees the kolo, making sure it is properly formed by keeping his head slightly tilted back. The two kolos initially move in the same direction, then in opposite directions. Finally, they re-join, once again forming single big kolo. 

KOLO IN KOLO (Kolo u kolo)

This figure is formed from two concentric kolos of different sizes. They also initially move in the same, then opposite directions. 

EIGHT (Osmica)

This figure is made when the leader moves under the arms of dancers in the middle of the kolo, this way creating a lively formation shaped like the number eight. 

SPIRAL (Ušpug)

This figure resembles the shape of a snail. Just like in the beginning, the kolo leader directs the dancer to form a very tight spiral. Next, he finds the shortest way to go under three pairs of other dancers’ raised arms, cutting through them and finding a direct exit. As his movement is directed toward the last dancer in line, this figure is also called “spiral with exit to the back”.

REVERSE SPIRAL (Ušpug u obratnom smjeru)

This figure also involves forming a tight spiral, but this time the dancers are not being split. They simply reverse and unfurl in opposite direction, detangling the dancing formation. 

SPIRAL AROUND OFFICERS (Ušpug oko časnika)

The last figure is the spiral around the officers (and Admiral, if he is present). This figure has already been described. Kolo was performed at the largest, central and most picturesque square in front of the Cathedral, where all of the town’s streets meet. In the past, much like Greek agoras or Roman plazas, this was the place of assemblies, court proceedings, Great Council resolutions and processions, but also where the Army and Navy gathered when an attack on the town was about to occur. The square was also a place for trade and local festivities.

 

 

            

   

Related portals:  Maritime Museum of Montenegro | Diocese of Kotor | Historical Archive Kotor | Tourist Organization Kotor | Kotor Municipality | Port of Kotor | Perast Museum

                         

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