Dance. Dance. Dance.

Plates were filled with fresh fruit, salad and more. Since arriving at my first Albanian wedding, music and laughter filled the air.

Then suddently, the room that had been a buzz of conversation stopped.

You could hear a pin drop. And in the silence, a glass broke. But nobody cared.

The father of the bride was on his feet.

He lifted his glass.

"Gezuar!"

Then the folk band began to play again,

A Circle

As the music filled the air, people stood up one by one.

It seemed random at the time but I would later learn, there was a strict order of who would get up, when and for how long.

Soon the entire banquet hall was bursting with joy as we formed a circle, holding hands for traditional folk dances.

Raining Money

As others came up to dance briefly with the bride, they dropped money on the ground.

Some followed an old tradition of sticking a bill on her forehead.

Others threw bills in the air so it came raining down.

When a kid tried to run and grab the money, his mom quickly pulled him back and scolded him.

More Than a Dance

I stumbled stepped on my feet and stumbled again and again the at night. But everyone was happy I tried to learn the traditional folk dances. By the time I left, I found myself connected with the people there, with the joy, the celebration.

I'd see the groom again while I was walking down the main street, he whistled from a second floor cafe for me to join him and his buddies for coffee.

I'd learn that the folks dances had existed for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years and reflected unique histories.

Over 20 years later at Albanian Night, I'd hear the history behind the legendary dance of "Osman Taka." Osman Taka, an Albanian freedom fighter, had been sentence to death by the Ottoman Turks. According to oral tradition, when he was given a last wish, he chose dance. His dance moved people so deeply that the local Gendarmes refused to carry out the order to kill him.

And I'd go to wedding after wedding where these rich ancient traditions were a part of great joy and celebration.

At that night as in the dance of life, every moment counts.