FOLK DANCE
FOLK DANCE. In F.d. reflects the ethnic life of the Bashkirs: the peculiarities of work, various rituals and beliefs, their imaginative perception of the surrounding nature, the habits of animals and birds. The most ancient dances were connected with such activities as hunting and also related to the cult of nature and activities related to animals. Various Shaman and epic dances were described by I.I.Lepyokhin, the animal imitation dances – by P.S.Pallas, those which imitated birds – by S.G.Rybakov, and female ceremonial circular dances – by S.I.Rudenko.
There are both ritual and game‑like F.d. They are characterized by the organization of movements built on the principle of multiple repetitions. A smooth alternating stroke plays the role of a kind of plastique refrain. Leg movements are varied, in the main variety; these are moves and fractions of moves: a simple move, a side move — with a blow from the inside, with a side of the foot of one foot moving onto the other. There is a move from toe to the entire foot, a move which goes “crosswise”, then, there are “sliding” moves to the side, the back, a running move with jumps, etc.
The most developed forms in Bashkir choreography are solo dances. However, com‑petitions of duet dances were also widespread, in which the performers deliberately competed with each other face to face, there were also trio dances, smaller dances, and collective dances.
Male dances were based on various presentations of movements of a hunter, a warrior, a skillful and brave horseman (ref. Baik, Perovsky). Movements of female dancers were associated with imitation of various housework labor processes: spinning, churning of butter, embroidery, etc. Lady’s dances were often accompanied with the sounds of the flicks of fingers, shoulder movements, the swaying of hands from side to side a certain “trilling” movements depicting the flight of butterflies, birds, and the fluttering of leaves on trees.
Among the researchers of the traditional Bashkir dance, F.A.Gaskarov was the person who, while retaining their peculiarity, developed them into a form suitable for professional stage.
