Kolbasti (Kolbastı, lit. caught red-handed by the police) is a Turkish dance created in the 1930’s in the seaport of Trabzon, northeastern Turkey. Legend is that it’s originated from drunks who told the story of being caught and beaten by cops. The dance is still popular these days especially at weddings and parties.
I first learnt about Kolbastı via a news in New Zealand where a Turkish man was accused of beating his wife when they were actually performing the traditional dance (caught red-handed indeed LoL). The defendant claimed that it involved moves that resemble punches, kicks, slaps and choking.
Judging from the video he might have a valid point of argument (1:00-1:20 for example), though I haven’t noticed any online video clips that reached the extremity of “punching” or “choking” yet. Regardless, it’s one fun dance.
