Folk dances
Albanian folk dances show a very diverse pattern of styles and characteristics, which makes it impossible to make a general description in order to distinguish them as “Albanian” . On one side there are big differences between the dances from the Gheg people in the north and Tosk people in the south, on the other side we have the influences of the neighboring countries and the influences from foreign invaders from the past. In general the folk dances might be divided into two groups: the Urban and Rural dances. The city dances from Tirana, Elbasan, Berat and other cities are very different in character and style than those of the rural areas around those cities. This is also the case with the folk music. The urban style developed differently from the rural regions, which expressed itself in different costumes, music, songs and dances. This urban style had its reflections on neighboring villages also, but not an overall influence to the country side. As for the rural folk dances we might divide them in dances from the North, the South and the Middle of Albania, but no strict borders between these regions. The south is generally divided in Toskëria, Myzeqë, Labëria and Çamëria, but there are specific areas within these regions which have a specific tradition: Lunxhëria, Tepelenës and Zagoria for example. These areas have their specific style and character of folk dances which cannot be classified in the general division and do not match with the overall common folk dances within the region. The North, being Gheg country, is rather clear, the style and character is almost the same in each district, although there are some minor differences. Folk dances from the Tropoja district have a distinct character and style, as also the Dibër district has, but originates from the same source as the other districts in the region. The Middle of Albania is something quite different. Here we find a combination of Gheg and Tosk elements. The ethnic division of Ghegs and Tosks is well illustrated by the difference in dances and costumes, but also in the music accompanying the dances. The music to the dances of the Ghegs is often accompanied by either zurla and tapan (Surle and Lodra in Albanian) , def or daire or orchestra with ciftelije, sharkije and flutes. The ciftelije is unique for the northern Albanian music. The southern Tosk dances are usually accompanied by a “sazet”, an orchestra with def, violin, clarinet, llauto and fiz-harmonika. The central Albanian dances, especially the urban dances are accompanied with orchestras which combine the instrumentation of both northern and southern regions. The clarinet is often leading here, but might be in the company of a tapan (Lodra) or def. In the Myzeqë region a smaller variant to the zurla is also in use. No need to say that in these days the electric key boards have replaced instruments like the gajda and other traditional instruments.