Raca Plava – Croatia/Međimurje [Nena Shokčič*; Yves Moreau*]
| Links: | |
| Pronunciation: | RAH-tsah PLAH-vah |
| Translation: | A duck floats [on the Drava (River)] |
| Region: | Međimurje |
| Aliases: | Raca |
| Introduced: | Nena Shokčič; Željko Jergan; Yves Moreau |
| Year: | 1987 |
| Form: | Closed Circle |
| Skill: | Advanced or Easy |
| Energy: | Moderate |
| Hand Hold: | V |
| Leads to: | Left w/ Left foot |
| Meter: | 2/4 |
| Song: | Raca plava po Dravi |
| Date Taught: | 1/23/2024 |
| Teacher: | Wally & David |
| Posted: | November 24, 2023 |
| Updated: | January 21, 2024 |
Raca Plava was introduced in 1987 at the University of the Pacific Folk Dance Camp in California by Nena Shokčič. Nena was a former dancer and singer with LADO – National Folk Dance Ensemble of Croatia. The dance was also taught widely by Željko Jergan and Yves Moreau. There is also a much simpler version that leads to the right. Although the dance is sometimes listed simply as “Raca,” caution should be given, because there is a simple Serbian dance that goes by the unmodified “Raca,” which you should also dance, but you’ll need completely different music.
As expected, this traditional folk song seemingly about a duck is a love song. There is some metaphor and imagery going on here… Raca=”duck,” which is apparently a very large duck, because it has a basket on its head large enough for passengers. The duck/boat is carrying his love. He saw her on the boat, and he knew it was her, because he recognized her walk (walks like a duck?) What he doesn’t know is why she was on that boat messing about with someone else, because she is supposed to marry him. (I could just be making this up, and sometimes a duck is just a duck.)
The Međimurje Region
The Međimurje [medʑǐmuːrje] (MAY-jea-moo-riya) region of Croatia is bordered at the south by the Drava River and Croatia proper while the northern half is bordered by the Mura River with Slovenia on the west half and Hungary on the east half. The name Međimurje means “land surrounded by water.” Control of the area has been fought for between Slavs and Hungarians for hundreds of years. As such, the Slavic culture, music and dance of the Međimurje region has much Hungarian influence, amongst others.
An interesting comment by Croatian folk dance choreographer and teacher Željko Jergan on the history of such Croatian folk songs as “Raca plava po Dravi” is recounted by John Uhlemann on Folkdance Footnotes. Željko states that during Hungarian occupation prior to WWII, local songs and dances were suppressed, and, while some songs survived, the dances were all lost. “After WWII, when the area became part of the Croatian republic of the new Yugoslavia, dance instructors came in and created dances for the region to some to the surviving songs. Many of them stuck and became part of village repertoire; others survived only in performing groups. Raca Plava is an example of this.” I will add that this also applies to Nabrala Je, another dance from the Međimurje region that Željko teaches.
Raca plava po Dravi Lyrics
Dunav and The Radost Folk Ensemble sources plus my own tweaks. Sheet music available at http://www.folkloretanznoten.de/RacaPlavaPoDravi.pdfRaca plava po Dravi, po Dravi, Korpu nosi na glavi. /Šej, haj, to leto, da nam rožice cveto./ Videl sam te na brodu, na brodu, Poznal sam te po hodu. /Šej, haj, to leto, da nam rožice cveto./ Rekel sam ti predlani, predlani, Naj bu ljubav med nami. /Šej, haj, to leto, da nam rožice cveto./ Čim me hoćeš ženiti, ženiti, Ne smeš drugam hoditi. //Šej, haj, to leto, da nam rožice cveto.//A duck is on the Drava (river), Carrying a basket on its head. /Hej, hai, this summer, let the roses bloom./ I saw you on the boat, I recognized you by your walk. /Hej, hai, this summer, let the roses bloom./ I told you the year before last, Let there be love between us. /Hej, hai, this summer, let the roses bloom./ If you want to marry me, Don’t go running after others. //Hej, hai, this summer, let the roses bloom.//
Dance Sequence
The song doesn’t have a chorus in the normal sense. It has a final 4 bars of verse that is always the same in 9 bars of singing (5 bars new, 4 bars “Šej, haj…”) After that, there’s 5 bars of music interlude for a total of 14 bars. Some recordings repeat the “chorus” and may or may not have one or more bars of interlude filler.
Part I is 14 bars. Part II is a new 7 bars plus the 2nd half of Part I (fall and stamps in and out). The dance pattern, as written is just to alternate one repetition each of Part I and Part II, but some groups repeat each part twice and alternate that way. If it matters, whatever you do last, in some music versions, is at a speeded up tempo (Ogranak Selj. Sl. Nedelišče).
Dancing Examples: Full Version – Leads Left
Yves has the best Croatian style with light and bouncy steps on the balls of the feet, but the video low res and shaky. Dunav, who learned from Yves, has a better quality video, which mostly matches Yves, with a couple differences on stamps and scuffs (they put the R heel forward instead of the solid stamp, which is supposed to be “very noisy.”) John Chu of Boulder’s version best matches the Folk Dance Federation of CA notes (Let’s Dance!), with exception of very reserved steps in the stamping sections. John follows the notes for the 2nd part when the R heel scuff (&) is followed immediately by a step on the R heel (2) and then a full R foot down on (&). Yves does something that is smoother and showier by keeping the R heel brush airborne for count 2 with a lift up on the L heel, then landing flat on (&), so you can get some contact coming down. Similarly, John does it by the book on the following R heel forward then flat while Yves moves the R foot way to the back. It’s your choice, but I prefer was Yves does. Finally, Henry and Sue-Ellen have all the steps, but they are flat-footed and lack that Croatian bounce.