The dance you’re thinking of is most commonly the Hora (also spelled Horah), a traditional Jewish circle dance where the couple is lifted up on chairs during celebrations like weddings.

Quick Scoop

  • In the Hora, guests dance in a circle around the couple to lively music, often “Hava Nagila.”
  • At weddings, the bride and groom sit on chairs and are hoisted into the air by guests while everyone continues dancing around them.
  • This “chair lift” moment is meant to celebrate and honor the couple, making them feel like royalty for the night.
  • The tradition is strongly associated with Jewish weddings, but it’s also used at bar and bat mitzvahs and sometimes at interfaith celebrations.

In many modern weddings, even non‑Jewish or interfaith couples borrow the Hora and the chair‑lifting because it’s energetic, photogenic, and instantly gets the crowd involved.

A bit of background

  • The Hora is an Israeli folk dance with roots in Romanian and even older Greek circle dances.
  • The circle and the lifting both symbolize communal joy and support — friends and family literally “carry” the couple.

TL;DR: The dance where couples are lifted in chairs is (almost always) the Hora, a Jewish circle dance that has become a staple at weddings and other big celebrations.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.