Summary: Until the Middle Ages the so-called circular dance or chain dance was widespread throughout Europe. From the 13th century, the Catholic Church began to look unfavourably to this type of dancing and over time it slowly disappeared from the folk tradition. Today this type of dancing is most commonly found in Eastern Europe, where it is claimed by several, mostly Orthodox, nations (Greeks, Macedonians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Russians, etc.) as their traditional folk dance. In contrast to their Western counterpart the Orthodox church has always looked favourably to this kind of dancing and has constantly been encouraging it by providing space and organizing classes where children, particularly in diaspora communities where the chances to ‘pick up’ the steps spontaneously are limited, can learn this type of dancing. Are the distinct attitudes of Western and Eastern Churches towards this type of dancing incidental or are they manifestations of fundamental doctrinal differences regarding their view of man and the nature of man. The paper discusses the circular dancing as the medium which conveys and preserves the particularities of the Orthodox teaching and message about the nature of man and man’s relationship to god.
