The Vocal-Instrumental Dance Form Gara: Vital Manifestation of Dance Genre Kolo u Tri within the Wedding Ritual in Serbia

Kolo u tri is a dance genre characterized by a lateral symmetric eight-measure dance pattern movement and its four-measure phrase in the dichotomous organization. The appearance of this genre is recognized through numerous names, melodies, and sometimes specific kinetic contents (the most famous are moravac, užičko kolo, Žikino kolo ). One of the manifestations of the dance genre Kolo u tri is also a vocal-instrumental dance form – gara (pl.: gare). Gara includes simultaneous singing of improvisatory lyrics by the singer, instrumental accompaniment by an orchestra, and kinetic performance of an eight-measure dance pattern which are standard features that belong to the genre Kolo u tri. Based on empirical information documented at the wedding ritual in the village Stajićevo (Banat area, North Serbia) in 2016, this paper will illustrate and define the essential structural-formal features from a dance perspective. Moreover, the paper will do a poetic and musical analysis to show all characteristics of this syncretic form composed of words, music, and movements.