Kolbastı

Kolbastı is a popular Turkish dance. It was originally created in the 1930s in the seaport of Trabzon on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey. Loosely translated, 'kolbastı' means 'caught red-handed by the police.' According to legend, the name comes from nightly police patrols of the city to round up drunks, who made up a song with the lyrics: 'They came, they caught us, they beat us' (in Turkish: 'Geldiler, bastılar, vurdular').

In the past few years this dance has grown very popular and is spreading in popularity outside the region. These days this dance is mostly used for weddings or by youngsters who like to show off and attract girls.

Kolbastı never disappeared from Trabzon. It's always been part of local culture. What's new, though, is that people from outside the region have taken to the dance.

See Also

• The Melbourne shuffle, a similar dance style associated with the electronic music scene in Melbourne, Australia.

External links

• Turkish man accused of wife beating in NZ 'was dancing', BBC News website, 7 August 2010
• Video