The Society of Folk Dance Historians
Ajde Jano
Other Ajde Jano documents
a dance and song
From: Ron Houston. Folk Dance Problem Solver (1987). Austin, Texas: Society of Folk Dance Historians, 1987.
(EYE-deh YA-no) = come, Jana
OTHER NAMES
Hajde Jano (?). Ayde Yano.
BACKGROUND
This dance is from the Kosmet which is a region of south Serbia, which is a republic of Yugoslavia, which is a country in the Balkans, which is the region comprising the southeast corner of Europe. Like many dances of the Balkans, the music is 7/8 meter, counted 1 (slow), 2 (quick), 3 (quick); sometimes counted 1 (slow), 2 (slower). The dance takes 5 bars but the music takes 16 bars, so you will seldom be dancing with the musical phrase. Note: these walking steps are in typical Serbian style: "soft", flexible knees, weight off the heels, and erect carriage. 'Ajde Jano was published in 1928 by V. Gorgevich and first presented in the US by Anatol Joukowsky in 1957.
FORMATION:
Broken circle, leader at R end. Hands joined and down. In parts of Serbia, free hands (at ends of lines) are frequently held as clenched fists behind the back: a gesture of defiance of Turkish rule, but not too obvious. In this dance, you may want to keep free hands hanging loosely at sides and move them parallel to non-free hands.
| BARS | ACTION |
| 7/8 | Introduction. |
| 1-4 | Stand there and get used to the asymmetrical rhythm. |
| The dance. Face slightly to R. | |
| 1 | Walk forward to R onto: R ft, L ft (cts 1,2). |
| 2 | Walk forward to R onto: R ft, L ft, R ft (cts 1,2,3). |
| 3 | Face center and step toward center onto L ft (ct 1), lift L heel and raise R leg with R knee bent (ct 2). Raise joined hands to shoulder height during bar 3. |
| 4 | Step toward center in front of L ft onto R ft (ct 1), touch L toe in front of R ft, rotating L leg outward a bit (ct 2). Lower joined hands slowly during bar 4 to parallel L leg. Bend forward slightly. |
| 5 | Walk backward out of circle 2 steps onto: L ft, R ft (cts 1,2), step beside R ft onto L ft (ct 3). Bring hands back to starting position and resume erect carriage. |
| Repeat the dance over and over, dear Jana. |
The words
| 'Ajde Jano kolo da igramo, | Come Jana, come dear, we shall dance the kolo. |
| 'ajde Jano, 'ajde duso, kolo da igramo. 2X | |
| 'Ajde Jano konja da prodamo, | Come Jana, come dear, we shall sell the horse, we shall sell the house. |
| 'ajde Jano, 'ajde duso, konja da prodamo, | |
| 'ajde Jano, 'ajde duso, kucu da prodamo. | |
| Da prodamo samo da igramo, | We shall sell, Jana dear, everything to dance. |
| da prodamo, Jano duso, samo da igramo. 2X |
End of 'AJDE JANO.