Fusion with the drums: A glimpse into the Romani soul

the dance custom that has both strict rules and no rules at all

One of the teenagers girls in our tribe fusing with the drums at a birthday celebration

The Romani dance custom of fusing with the drums. This will be next to impossible to describe with words, so we have prepared a few videos to illustrate it.

Have a look at the 30-second clip below before we tell you more.

Other than the obvious focus on hips and waist, there are no specific steps here that can be taught, learnt, or even described. The entire point is to become one with the music. To respond to every beat.

It requires both control and surrender.

Dancing to the drums of a live band is part of every single Balkan Romani celebration in most tribes, including ours. When a person steps into it, the others clear the dance floor. It’s also common to do dance-offs or dance as a duo, as you’ll see in the next clips - but in all cases, the drums are treated with reverence and whoever does the fusion dance is treated as if they are responding to a summons - everyone else steps back.

In the clip below, you see Pepi’s niece Dancha and her brother-in-law Nicky fusing with the drums as a duo. Notice how they instinctively know when to go slow and when to go fast, as if they have become one with the music.

The band will regularly do drum solos with the idea that someone will “respond” and step into the center. But most often, the dancer feels it first and gives a signal to the band.

In the clip below, you see Lucy giving the signal to the band, and so they adjust the rhythm and continue with the drum solo. Lucy holds the drums as she’s fusing with them, something that is very commonly done as a way of grounding and connecting with the music, channeling its energy. Though “holding” is not the best word as she’s only touching them with the tips of her fingers. The point is to touch the drums, but to an outsider it looks like the dancer is holding onto them as they are driven wild by the rhythm.

The entire movement happens in the waist and hips. Not one single up do, ponytail, or braid becomes undone during these dances. The control of the movement is indescribable - and it is very easy to see it when the dancer “holds onto” the drums as Lucy does below.