If you’ve decided to
have a Hora at your wedding, we've learned from many years of performing at Jewish or half-Jewish weddings that you then need to make sure you consider a few
elements for making the Hora successful that we find couples or even wedding
planners fail to address – mainly because these factors are so elementary that
they're often not thought about during the overall wedding preparation.
(To help determine what
type of Hora to have, or other, less-common but still enlivening ways to include
Jewish music at your wedding, read Part I of our “Avoiding Hora Drama” post.)
The Hora, as many probably know, is a type of circle dance that usually results in the bride and groom and sometimes other family members being lifted up in chairs. It has long been popular at Jewish or half-Jewish weddings - something evident from the covers of these two vintage mid-century albums of Jewish music pictured. Part of the Hora's appeal is in how simple it is to create, and how suddenly it can provide a burst of festiveness. So, you might think, what preparations does there need to be? Just make sure everyone’s in the reception room, throw on “Hava Nagila,” have guests grab a few chairs, get a few strong guys and the bride and groom, and Mazel Tov! You’re totally partyin', mensch.
Well, the Hora often seems to happen with that impromptu feel, but just because of that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some planning and choices behind it. Here’s what we've found in are the most important
elements often overlooked when it comes to the Hora:
1) Do It Before The Guests
Are Too Drunk – Many couples don’t realize as much as they should that too much alcohol and heavy
bodies being held aloft in chairs for several minutes could be kind of
dangerous. So, if you know your guests are the kind who will be drinking a lot
through the night, it might be better to get the Hora out of the way early, at
the beginning of the reception, while at least the strongest guys are in
control of themselves to not drop anyone. If you know the drinking will be
lighter, you have a bit more freedom to do the Hora later in the reception,
such as after the main course. If you’re not sure about how much drinking will
take place, always assume there will be more, just to be safe, and have the
Hora earlier – not necessarily as the first element in the reception, but
perhaps in between the first courses or at least before the main course. The one
timing recommendation that we can say applies no matter what is to never have the
Hora much later than right after the main course, the reason being that not long after this, people
are usually a bit tipsy and even tired due to a few solid hours of imbibing and
dancing.
2) Always Have the MC
Announce It – Though most people, especially in and around New York City, know
what the Hora is and what to do when it starts, we find that you usually
can’t just put on a well-known festive Jewish song like “Siman Tov” or “Hava
Nagila” and have guests suddenly rise to their feet and start singing and dancing like the cast of Fiddler on the
Roof. An instance comes to mind where, over our polite
objections, a wedding planner insisted we not announce the Hora
because, who knows, she figured a movie moment like described
above could magically happen. Well, we did what she said, and when the
song began, the guests looked around, confused. We knew they were
thinking something like, so, wait, do we do the Hora now?
A moment later, seeing nothing was going to happen without some guidance, we announced
the Hora, and just like that everyone got up happily and started to party. The lesson
is simple: Guests need to know the Hora is happening when it is about to
happen.
They may think it is when they hear the familiar opening melody of a
song,
but because guest usually don’t want assume too much and risk embarrassment, and because the
bride and
groom or best man don’t have time to ready all the guests on their own,
the reception needs a simple announcement that the Hora is
about
to begin. This also builds a bit of anticipation as people come out to the dance floor, gives guests a moment to round up some chairs and to get
the
bride and groom ready, and to get any stragglers back from the bar.
3) Consider How Much Hora
They’re Going to Want – Though it’s often difficult to predict how long a Hora
will last or how wild a Hora will be, it’s important to spend a few moments
at least considering it. Think of your guests a bit – is there a group that you know that
really loves Hora dances from other celebrations you’ve attended with them? Or
are you having the Hora not mostly because you want it but simply to please
your parents or other relatives? Do your guests as a whole tend to be a more rowdy group, or do they need some encouragement to let loose? Do the bride's and groom's sides know each other, or is there not much crossover of friend groups between the two sides? Considering factors like this may help you
determine how long of a Hora should be played, and if the traditional songs can
go deeper than the usual favorites or if there should be simply a quick medley
of the most familiar festive Jewish songs. Once you’ve decided on the length and type of songs, or if you
simply can’t determine it – you can then, in the case of the former situation, ask if your DJ has the
appropriate length and/or song selections you need, or, in the case of the latter situation, make sure the DJ is
prepared with a variety of songs to play it by ear and let the MC know to be ready to possibly encourage the crowd a bit if they're a little shy.
Among many other image problems (which I’ve previously described how to avoid when hiring a DJ; go
In slang, “ill” often means to be supremely skilled at something. But in the case of this post, the “ill” in ill-prepared isn’t a good thing. It simply means that the DJ isn’t as ready for an event as he or she should be, like this poor DJ in the photo. But not being well-enough prepared is something that you’ll have to worry about much less if in your meeting with prospective DJs you cover the following areas – ones that I’ve found tend to be the most important in terms of a DJ knowing their stuff:
This is another entry in my series of posts about how to make sure you can know - and, more importantly, avoid - the most common anxieties clients have about hiring a DJ for events. I previously posted entries on how to