Freylakhs:

Khusidl:
This is a hassidic dance with a 2/4 or 4/4 performed in circle or in line. The tempo accelerate gradually to reach an ecstatic enthusiasm:
"Oi Tate", Bayem Rebe's Sude", "Ukrainer Khusidl"...

Hora(Zhok):
This dance's tempo is slow and may not be confused with the Israelian Hora which have a fast pace. The measure is 3/8 with the beat on 1 and 3. The hora has Romanian roots and is played with a lot of embellishments according to the mood and talent of the player.

Kolomeyke:
Very fast tempo in 2/4 is a fast popular dance from Ukraina.

Terkish:
The Terkish can be assimilate to the the Turkish Tsiftetelli, the Spanish Habanera or the Greek Syrtos. It has a Oriental taste, played in duple meter whith a moderate tempo.
Naftule Brandwein made the Turkish famous. " Terk in America", "Araber tantz", "Der Yid in Yerushalaym" are some of the Naftule's favorite songs.

Shotskne:
A 2 beat dance which is like a virtuoso Freylakhs and can be instrumental only.

Taksim:
The Taksim was more played in Terkish and Muslim Balkanic countries, it is roughly an improvisation, a prologue, an overture to the next piece. It was replaced later by the Doina.

Doina:
Like the Taksim the Doina is not a dance but an improvisational free-metered piece aimed at listening.
Originaly it is a Romanian sheperd's lament and it is also a reminiscence of the Hazan singing
 (Cantor of the Synagogue). The etymology of the word 'doina' can be from the Sanskrit. The Doina has a high lyrical quality which bestows to the player a large palette of expressiveness and allows him to showcase his improvisational talent. It is ordinary played by the clarinet or the fiddler who performs a suite of short melodic sequences that lead to chord changes. The accompaniment consists of long sustained notes or chords played by the accordion or the tsimbl. The Doina is also a prelude (forshpil) to the following piece, a Hora, Terkish, Bulgar or Khusidl ('nokhshpil'). Dave Tarras, Naftule Brandwein as well as the contemporaries Giora Feidman and Andy Statman among many others played beautiful doinas

Nigun:
Nigun is an Hebrew word which means melody. It is a wordless song and through the Nigun the Klezmer player can express the deepest of his emotions. Giora Feidman is the clarinet player who brought the nigun to the highest level of expressiveness.

There are a lot of dances that were borrowed to the local cultures, the Hungarian Csardas (immortalized by Monty, a must for every clarinet player), the Moldavian Honga, the Russian Kosatchok, the Waltz, the Polka, The Mazurka, the March, the Quadrille, the Ragtime, Jazz and many others. The klezmer cannot be confined in academic stereotypes and must reflect the universality of musical expression.

A few words about The Israelian Hora
The “hora” is now the traditional folklorik dance of Israel. It is a joyful and buoyant dance where dancers gather in a circle. As the song goes by the rhythm quickens, the tempo become more staccato,the dancers move around quicker and quicker.

The origin of the hora is from an agricultural rite, a primitive ritual for celebrating the harvest. The leaps, the jumps and the arms towards the sky symbolize the upward growth of the crops. In fact in many cultures all over the world people gather and dance
celebrating the power of nature. The message is universal, the dance is universal, the soul expression has no frontier. Let's dream and imagine a Hora around the world where all mankind are dancing in a big circle celebrating the peace.

Indeed “Hora' is a Serbo-Croatian word meaning tempo and movement. It was associated with prosperity, harvesting and fertility, therefore it was the dance of joy, the dance of marriage celebration. The Sephardi Jews who flew the inquisition and migrate to the Balkan adopted the Hora. Now the Hora is the most popular folklorik dance in Israel.

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