ŢĂRĂNCUŢA Romanian
PRONUNCIATION:	tsuh-ruhn-KOO-tsah
TRANSLATION:	Little peasant girl
SOURCE:	Larisa Lucaci presented this dance at the 1966 Santa Barbara Folk Dance Conference in California.
BACKGROUND:	Romanian dances cover a wide range of genres, both musical and choreographic. They are combined with music, poetry (chanted verse), costumes, gestures, and ornaments and can be classified into two large categories: entertaining and ritual. The most widely spread are: Sârba (Sîrba), Hora, Sâlcioara, Purtata, Învârtita (Învîrtita), Haţegana, Barbuncul, Fecioreasca, Ardeleana, Ghimpul, Areanul, Ursareasca, Rustemul, Ariciul, Chindia, Alunelul, and Oltenasul.
MUSIC:	Folk Dancer (78rpm) MH-1121-A
FORMATION:	Dancers in a cir facing ctr with hands joined and held up at shldr level in "W" pos.
METER/RHYTHM:	2/4
STEPS/STYLE:	CIOCÂLANUL STEP: ("the little lark," pronounced chyo-ker-LAH-nool) Step fwd R (ct 1); step L in place (ct &); step bwd R (ct 2); step L in place (ct &). Hands are extended quickly fwd on ct 1 and returned to shldrs on ct 2. In actual practice, the steps are so fast that very little wt is taken on the R ft making the step resemble two balance steps.
MEAS	MOVEMENT DESCRIPTION
	INTRODUCTION
1-8	No action.
	THE DANCE
1-2	Facing ctr, dance two Ciocârlanul Steps in place;
3	Step fwd R (ct 1); step L in place (ct &); turning to face diag R and moving CW to R in LOD, step R (ct 2);
4	Step L (ct 1); run R (ct 2); run L (ct &);
5	Run R, stopping fwd movement in preparation to running bwd (ct 1); pause (ct &); still facing diag R, run L bwd in RLOD (ct 2); run bwd R (ct &);
6	Continuing bwd in RLOD, run bwd L (ct 1); run bwd R (ct &); run bwd L (ct 2); hop L, turning to face ctr (ct &).
	Repeat entire dance from beg.
	NOTE: The dance steps are not exactly phrased with the music.
Copyright © 2004 by Dick Oakes