CIMPOI Romanian
PRONUNCIATION:	cheem-POY
TRANSLATION:	Bagpipe
SOURCE:	Mihai David learned this dance between 1963 and 1965 while he was with the Romanian State Folk Dance Ensemble.
BACKGROUND:	Cimpoi is from Romania's ethnographic region of Oltenia, which is green and mountainous and has some of southeastern Romania's oldest surviving artifacts, edifices, and folklore, with little Turkish, Russian, or Greek influence.
MUSIC:	Gypsy Camp Vol. I (LP) GC 5201-I; The Lark (45rpm) L-3708; The Lark (10"EP) FLDR.
FORMATION:	Mixed lines of 10 to 12 M and W with joined hands joined and held at shldr height, elbows bent, in "W" pos. Free hand of end dancers on hip, fingers fwd.
METER/RHYTHM:	6/8. Danced on 4 major syncopated dancers beats using the last ct of the preceding meas as 6-1, 3-4.
STEPS/STYLE:	SYNCOPATED GRAPEVINE: Moving to L in RLOD, step R across in front of L (ct 1); step L swd (cts 3); step R across in back of L (ct 4); step L swd (ct 6). Step may be danced to R with opp ftwk. Steps are light and small. Because of the tempo, the ftwk is precise and controlled and the hops are small.
MEAS	MOVEMENT DESCRIPTION
	INTRODUCTION
1-16	No action until ct 6 of meas 16.
I.	IN PLACE, TRAVELING L AND R
	Hop L with bent R knee raised in front (ct 6 of prev meas);
1	step R, swinging hands dn and back (ct 1); step L in front of R (ct 3); step R in place, swinging hands fwd and up (ct 4).
	Hop R with bent L knee raised in front (ct 6);
2	step L, swinging hands dn and back (ct 1); step R in front of L (ct 3); step L in place, swinging hands fwd and up (ct 4).
	Pause (ct 6);
3	Leap R, raising bent L knee in front with a small kick with lower L leg (ct 1); with L knee still raised, hop R with a small kick with lower L leg (ct 4);
	Hop R, bringing L leg around in back (ct 6);
4	step L in back of R (ct 1); step R swd (ct 3); step L in front of R (ct 4).
	Grapevine: Hop L with R crossing in front (ct 6);
5-7	moving to L in RLOD, dance 3 Grapevine steps beg R across;
8	Step R across in front of L (ct 1); step L swd (ct 3); step R across in back of L (ct 4).
	Hop R with bent L knee raised in front (ct 6);
9-16	Repeat action of meas 1-8 to R in LOD with opp ftwk.
II.	IN PLACE, TRAVELING CTR AND OUT
	Hop L (ct 6 of prev meas);
1-4	Repeat action of Fig I, meas 1-4;
5	Moving diag L twd ctr, step R across in front of L (ct 1); step L close to R heel (ct 3); step R across in front of L (ct 4);
	Hop R as bent L leg is circled to the front (ct 6);
6	moving diag to R twd ctr, step L across in front of R (ct 1); step R close to L heel (ct 3); step L across in front of R (ct 4);
	Hop L as bent R leg is circled to the front (ct 6);
7	step R across in front of L (ct 1); hop R as bent L leg is circled to the front (ct 3); step L across in front of R (ct 4);
	Hop L as bent R leg is circled to the front (ct 6);
8	step R across in front of L (ct 1); hop R as bent L leg is circled to the front (ct 3); step L fwd (ct 4); pause (ct 6).
9	Hop L in place, raising bent R knee in front and kicking lower R leg (ct 1); keeping R knee raised in front, hop L in place, kicking lower R leg;
	Keeping R knee raised in front, hop L (ct 6);
10	step R, swinging hands dn and back (ct 1); step L in front of R (ct 3); step R in place, swinging hands fwd and up (ct 4); pause (ct 6);
11	Hop R in place, raising bent L knee in front and kicking lower L leg (ct 1); keeping L knee raised in front, hop R in place, kicking lower L leg (ct 3);
	Hop R with bent L knee raised in front (ct 6);
1	step L, swinging hands dn and back (ct 1); step R in front of L (ct 3); step L in place, swinging hands fwd and up (ct 4);
	Hop L with bent R knee raised in front (ct 6);
13-16	repeat action of Fig I, meas 1-4.
17-19	Repeat Grapevine action of Fig I, meas 5-7, but fact to the L and move swd diag out of the cir to the L;
20	step R across in front of L (ct 1); step L swd, turning to face ctr (ct 3); stamp R next to L without wt (ct 4).
	FIGURES I AND II REPEATED
	Repeat entire dance from beg except for the last 4 meas as follows:
17-20	Repeat action of Fig I, meas 1-4;
chord	pose with wt on L and bent L knee raised in front.
Copyright © 2003 by Dick Oakes