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A Verbunk (or Verbunko) is a traditional Hungarian dance and music style. The term is derived from the German word werben (to recruit) (Werbung =recruitment).
The Verbunk is derived from the method of recruiting into the Austrian Habsburg armies in the 18th century. The music and dance was performed to attract young men during military recruiting. The dance had an informal structure and many figures, including spur clicks, and boot and leg slaps. These features are now seen in the Austrian Schuhplattler, Hungarian Verbunk, Romanian Barbunc, and have been amalgamated into the lad's dances of Transylvania. Later on the dances became structured with a corporal in the centre of a circle.
The best known Verbunk composers were the Gypsy composer János Bihari, and József Kossovits.
