Czardas or Csárdás (Hungarian csárdás, from csárda, a tavern, beer house) is a traditional Hungarian folk dance. It is of Magyar and Roma origin. A more correct spelling of consonants (that would match native sounds) would be Chardash.

Csárdás is characterized by a variation in tempo: it starts out slowly (lassú) and ends in a very fast tempo (friss). The music is in 2/4 or 4/4 time.

The dancers are both male and female, with the women dressed in traditional wide skirts, usually colored red, which form a distinctive shape when they whirl.

Classical artists who have used csárdás themes in their work have included Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Johann Strauss, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and others.

External links

• StreetSwing's Dance History Archives: Czardas or Csárdás
• http://magomaev.ru/audio/Magomaev-Czardas.mp3