Dance Like There is No Music

While there are variations in how the dance is performed from village to village, Nijemo Kolo dancing is typically performed by dancers in a closed circle, and most often without musical accompaniment. Dancers may be male/female couples or single-gender groups of men or women. Dancers appear to move in unison, bouncing from one foot to the other as they turn in the circle.

When couples dance, the movements are more spontaneous, with male dancers taking turns leading their partners to the middle of the circle—as a way of both testing and showing off their female partners’ skills. Circles may be loosely or tightly formed, and the dance steps may be simple or more complex and athletic, depending on the occasion and the composition and mood of the group.

Male dancers may jump or leap, or lift their female partners into the air, or groups of dancers might join hands and skip in unison in one direction, then the other. Dance steps, while seemingly random, are closely identified with individual villages—slight differences in Nijemo Kolo are a way for dancers to show where they are from, and to state their heritage and identity to themselves and others.

In modern practice, dancers may perform while nearby groups of singers sing ojkanje, the traditional polyphonic singing of the Dalmatian Hinterland, often accompanied by someone playing a diple, the traditional twin-reed shepherd’s flute of the region.

Still, even when music is present, rather than attempt to dance in step with the music, Nijemo Kolo dancers move independent of it, to the unique steps and spontaneous moves of the group and its members.

The origins of Nijemo Kolo are not certain, but it is thought to have developed as a form of courtship ritual, as dancing at village festivals and events was — and still is — a way for young people to meet. A young man would take a young woman by the hand and draw her into the dance circle, thereby announcing to everyone present his intention to court her.

When performing before an audience or at a special event, Nijemo Kolo dancers, in addition to their opanci shoes or boots, will wear traditional costumes of the Dalmatian hinterland. For women and men, this means a combination of several layers of clothing in black, white, red and gold.