Secrets of Russian folk dance

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The modern city dweller is convinced that his great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers, living a simple life in the village, were narrow-minded and primitive people. But where, then, in simple-looking folk dances, where does such spiritual wealth, harmony with the world around us and depth inaccessible to us come from?

About the traditional Russian folk dance and about the culture of movement in particular, they write now quite often. But I would like to share my personal experience, having analyzed 15 years of work in this direction, based on expedition materials …

I got on my first folklore expedition to the Pskov land, to abandoned farmsteads, to distant villages to ancient grandmothers and grandfathers, keepers of "living" antiquity. And then everything in my soul turned upside down. I found myself in a completely different world, where everything is different. Where they sing and speak, think and live differently than in the city.

Then, I remember, I was completely confused. It was incomprehensible to me why, having devoted my whole life to dancing and learning it from morning to evening, I could not stand with my grandmothers in a circle and dance like them. Although all movements are very simple (and in the opinion of my colleagues, even primitive). And then I realized that this cannot be called movements at all, i.e. they cannot be isolated from the main thing. And the main thing is the state in which a person is when he sings and dances. …

Initially, dance, as the peak of the mental and physical state, in any ancient culture was addressed to God, to nature, and carried a ritual meaning. Those. a person or group of people was like a central link in an unbreakable chain between heaven and earth. I find confirmation of this in our days, observing, for example, how the Kursk "Karagods", the Pomor "pillars" or the Pskov "circle" are found. When music begins to sound, or a song, or just a rhythm, a person through this rhythm gets into a special state, where he feels a connection with the sky, and with "roots", and in general with everything around him (through his soul).

If I speak about "roots", then I mean the power that comes from our Earth. And if I'm talking about "heaven", then I mean Holy Russia, which is located above the Russian land and retains all the good that has been accumulated by our ancestors over many millennia (for many, this is a mystic, but for me these are real feelings).

And especially in ancient songs, dances, such a connection occurs. It feels like some kind of cleansing power. So, for example, in the Vologda region dancers say: "You dance and your hair stands on end, and how are you flying." You can call it differently. But we are talking about quite real sensations, very closely related to the strength of the Russian spirit.

True, such a connection does not occur if a person is notorious, because The "channels" through which this vital force flows are blocked for him. And a person experiences nothing of the kind.

Oddly enough, most often this state does not work for those who have received all kinds of higher special education. They each have their own. Someone perceives everything through the mind, and someone through the body. Some see energy in everything, but here it is not far from magic: after all, if energy is unspiritualized, then it will be destructive …

And the reason is that both perception and self-expression should occur precisely through the soul, because it is the center of man. And then everything becomes harmonious.

True, there are often people who ask to explain such a perception - “through the soul”. And, unfortunately, many do not even understand what this is about. They never felt the warmth of their souls. The soul is closed. And this is already a vivid indicator of how far we, with our technical progress, have gone far from nature and from our ancestors.

When we dance our dances or sing Russian songs, an extraordinary power sometimes begins to flow through us. And here you can immediately see who creates and who destroys. This is especially clearly manifested in ancient forms, for example, "breaking" or dancing "to a fight." I saw breaking in the Pskov region. When the grandfathers were already in full swing, it was obvious how light and strength emanated from one of them, and strong aggression from the other. Even standing next to him was just scary. Sensing this, the grandmothers sang ditties to the player, so that he would finish as soon as possible, saying at the same time: “Enough! Otherwise he will cripple someone, he never believed in God."

And now I will try to summarize what has been said and formulate the first principle:

1. In order for a person to be able to let through what comes from our roots and to feel this special state, he must be open, that is, free in every sense, emotionally, physically, energetically, mentally, morally, and most importantly, spiritually.

Here is one of the examples of how our children, from childhood, have a complexion and instill in them unnatural coordination in all kinds of dance clubs, ballet studios and numerous sports clubs.

Let us take specifically the formulation of the body in academic training: "The knees are straightened, the gluteal muscles are tucked in: the stomach is pulled in, the shoulders are lowered, the neck is stretched …" energy can no longer freely circulate through our body. As a result, a person is blocked through all the “channels” and main “energy centers”, which means he dances or, better to say, moves, artificially, at the expense of his own forces. And he will no longer be able to feel what comes from the earth, sky, sun, water. Although it is in the dance that one can communicate with the surrounding nature, not to mention the ancient dances.

But let's get back to the setting of the corps. What do the village performers say about this? “Stop, girl, free. Grow up. Knees are also free, do not bend or retract. And put a glass on your head with water. This is very good. Knock out and do not mark anything on it. And the hands? How you play with your hands …”(Belgorod Region).

And you try to walk with a glass on your head. Immediately, everything is in place: posture, back, and abdomen - at the same time, inner freedom.

I remember at one time the Kursk dance "Timonya" was just a discovery for me. We, however, with my friend Nadezhda Petrova, grandmothers, were not immediately allowed. They put me to watch …

After that we danced for two hours together with them without getting tired, without any tension, and even, on the contrary, resting our souls. Then I realized why, looking at the performances of most of our professional dancers, I get tired. This is due to the fact that inside the performers there is constant work, sometimes turning into strong internal tension, from the fact that the body is all the time in a squeezed, working state. And it should be free. Being free doesn't mean being relaxed all the time. And here we come to another principle:

2. Any movement should occur as relaxation impulse … It's hard to explain. Better to show it once. But the bottom line is this. The person is in a free state. The impulse is born in the solar plexus and instantly spreads throughout the body. This is followed by relaxation, etc. But you don't have to think about all this, because impulses are sent to us by a melody, or just a rhythm. And you need to merge so harmoniously with the rhythm that it lives inside us. By the way, this principle of "rhythm" is present in everything. Inhale - exhale. Day Night. And in all this there is a push and a rest. True, these are already subtleties for specialists, but, oddly enough, village residents, especially elderly people, own such complex equipment. And the rhythm is such that we never dreamed of!

I cannot mention such a very important, though purely technical, detail. It is almost everywhere the feeling of a weak beat. So, for example, in round dances we go to a strong beat (we emphasize) on "one", and in the village most often - on "two", i.e. to the weak. That's why they float and tie the melody, and we march and cut.

It's the same with dancing. It seems such a trifle - a shift in emphasis from a strong beat to a weak one - but this is a completely different music and a different dance (using the terminology of jazz, "swing" appears). All this suggests that if we live without detaching ourselves from nature, in accordance with its laws, then in jazz, and in African dances, and in the Kursk "Timon" the principles will be the same. Now about improvisation.

3. With all my desire, I could not remember a single performer in the village who did not improvise. And vice versa. This is a rarity among professional choreographers. But it is through improvisation that the individuality of a person, his soul, is revealed. It is high time to remember our pseudo-folklore holidays of the "dancer", where hundreds of dancers pass through the stage, and all of them look alike (believe me, I don't want to blame anyone, I just want to explain). … These emotions, however, are very similar. To a lyrical melody - everyone has the same sadness, to a dance - the same joy. And it is already difficult to move away from these clichés, to go deep inside oneself, to enjoy a simple movement, "to get into the pendulum."

And it is especially difficult in academic study to enjoy communicating with a person who dances with you (there is no dance without communication in the village). And since there is emptiness in the soul, then various spectacular effects, all sorts of tricks and all sorts of "dynamic" figures are needed, which may be interesting for the eyes, but do not warm the soul. Therefore, everyone has their own choice.

4. After numerous questions about the old days, I really wanted to live the whole year the way they had lived it before: with all the fasts, church and national holidays. And, having lived this, you come to the conclusion that everything has its time. And this is a different principle - timeliness (since you cannot play folklore).

For example, in Pomorie I ask my grandmother to sing the song "Flowers have blossomed and fallen," and she told me: "When you come in the fall, then I will sing about withered flowers." Or in the Pskov region: "Grandma, please sing the butter dish! - And you, dear, come to Shrovetide." And you begin to understand that for them this is not a game, but life. That is why it is interesting to celebrate Shrovetide in Oil Week … and it is much more interesting to sit at a live party than on stage. And if we talk about folklore holidays, then they are best timed to coincide with some big calendar holidays, or fairs, so that the spirit of universal fun reigns. But, unfortunately, unsuccessful folklore festivals come to mind, especially if there are no genuine performers on them. Sometimes such festivals can even harm the participants themselves, because sometimes there is a desire to be better than others, a desire to please, and not to enjoy …

5. Oddly enough, and for some, maybe even paradoxical, the joy and pleasure of folk performers in a dance or song is not emotional agitation and not a "psychic attack", as it often happens now with folklore ensembles, but an internal light and peace of mind, even when it is a very loud performance.

And to learn this, you need live communication. And this is already a new principle - the principle of live transmission from performer to performer. This "living force" is not conveyed by the scores or descriptions of the dances. Although a person who knows the tradition may well liven up a song by sheet music or a dance by recording.

Speaking about this principle, I cannot but touch upon a very painful problem - communication with performers in the village. They sometimes speak very fairly about us: "They walk here and ask. They get money for this, and we sing to them." It means that these "folklorists" did not leave their warmth after themselves. But, as you know, you have to not only take, but also give … We try to give concerts, help with the housework, write letters, and we are responsible for every meeting, for every trip.

6. The sixth principle, I would call the principle of organic and integral perception.

You can't just dance and not sing, or at least not have an interest in the song. It is impossible to sing only ditties and not listen to epics, ballads, spiritual songs. There should not be a singling out of something one of the common. And as a vivid example of this - talented performers who very often combine the abilities of a singer, dancer, player, storyteller and even a craftsman. Here, however, a processing problem arises. It arose, possibly, in the last century. If a composer or choreographer who has been brought up in the best academic style and does not know tradition is taken up for processing, then first of all he destroys the melody.

I would say that folklore is the music of the earth. And through this music, currents emanate from the earth that disturb our souls and we cannot remain indifferent while listening to it. But it is worth changing one or two notes not in accordance with tradition (say, for beauty) - and our heart is silent. The melody dies. So, for example, to "Kamarinskaya", processed according to all the classical canons, I never wanted to dance.

7. The next (seventh) principle follows from the previous one: a person must grow up on tradition.

Creativity that is not associated with traditional culture depends on the individual. A talented person leaves the arena and this genre seems to fade away with her. Such creativity can only be transferred from talent to. Talent. But folklore, in contrast to academic laws, has a live transmission. It can be passed on from everyone to everyone, from generation to generation. It's in our genes. And, if we want to even get closer to our traditions, we must "see and hear enough", there would be desire and perseverance, and over time, skills and confidence will surely come. Someone needs a lot of time, someone a little, but in someone - everything is already ready. If only the person does not stand still, he constantly develops. …

It is very important that the earliest age is not lost, so that the child from infancy to 10 years old joins his native sources, otherwise it will be too late, because the need for natural self-expression in songs, dances and even games is lost. The need to communicate with each other is lost. That is why it is in childhood that immersion in the depths of folk traditions is necessary

This forms the strength of a person's spirit. And no matter what profession our guys choose, one can already see in them a personal, not "technical", but creative perception of life. And I am sure that no matter what business they do, they will be creative in this business.

Galina Vladimirovna Emelyanova, leading ethnochoreographer of Russia, head of the folklore and ethnographic ensemble "Kitezh", a man behind more than 30 years of folklore expeditions.

Spiritual singing of old Russia

All the time, while I was at the office, I still wanted to find what I was tuned in to, and as a result I looked through a lot of what was offered to me. This is how it happened with their singing. Old men sing to themselves and sing. And since childhood, instead of hearing, I have only the fear of singing. And when these problems disappeared, it was already too late. And now, on the new Path, we have to rebuild everything bit by bit. We managed to track down many of their songs. However, there were not so many special songs in their repertoire. They sang any songs that were sung. Much more specific was their manner of performance … She is the main topic of this article.

My old men called their singing Spiritual. For a long time I did not pay attention to how they sang. For me, it was a kind of folkloric appendage to the "real" that I wanted to find. But one day in the summer of 1989, in the same village of the Kovrovsky district, I managed to bring together three people at once, and one grandmother, Aunt Shura, I dragged in a car that turned up well from the Savinsky district. At some point, they decided to sing in three voices, "as before," but at first they sang. Thanks to this, for the first time I had the opportunity not only to hear their "spiritual singing", but also to see the very system of entry into the state of such singing. They sang some folk wedding song, which I have not yet met anywhere else.

For the first time in six years, I heard them sing. Their voices suddenly began to merge, and at first the voices of Aunt Katya and Pohani merged in some strange way, although I cannot explain what it means to me "merged." But I cannot find another word. Aunt Shurin's voice, albeit beautiful, was somewhat disharmonious against the background of their joint sound. Then suddenly something happened, and he seemed to jump into their combined voice and merged with him. For some time, I perceived their joint sounding as merged voices, but another transition took place, and the common sound-voice seemed to separate from them and sounded by itself, as if a singing space had appeared on its own over the table around which they were sitting!..

A small tremor began in my body, as if I were working to exhaustion on an empty stomach, my eyes began to float. The outlines of the hut changed, the faces of the old people began to change, becoming now very young, now creepy, now just different. I remember that several times very important memories for me came to me from the pitch darkness, but for some reason it was scary and painful, and I suddenly noticed that I was afraid to look at the singers. I was able to withstand this state only because I had experienced similar ones before, while studying with other old people. Many researchers wrote that the folk song is magical, but it was implied that it was used in magical rites. This is true, but superficial. A folk song is not only an accompaniment to a ceremony, it is also an impact. She is one of the magic weapons of primitive man.

The song ended. They sat for a while, silently smiling, as if waiting for something. Indeed, after a while, either my state, or the state of space began to return to its usual state: first, the wallpaper on the walls returned to its place, then disappeared, as if my strange memories had melted before my eyes, and I could not keep them … said:

- Here, combined … - and ordered to serve tea.

- Well, you gave it! - I could not resist.

They laughed, and Aunt Katya explained to me, setting the table:

- It's not a song yet. This is joint singing … temple singing! And we'll just sing to you, to the voices.

When asked why she called this singing temple singing, she replied:

- In the Temple it is necessary to sing like that. Some songs … I immediately tried to find out in which temple:

- In Christian? In the church?

- I don’t know … - Aunt Katya answered with bewilderment. - In what else? We sometimes sang like that in church … Where else?.. Sometimes for a walk …

And Pohan added, laughing:

- They so spoiled the girls. So-and-so a company of girls will gather and go to the service in the church. There, as they sing, they will pick it up and transfer it to themselves! Everything will float in the temple, heads are spinning! We were specially guys who understood, went to watch … Nobody understands what they are doing, but they are happy. They go, they go haywire! They were loved, asked to sing …

“They asked us all the time,” Aunt Katya confirmed. “And Father liked it. How will we come to the church, he will call Lushka himself, he called Lushka most of all, remember, Shur?

“I don’t remember at all,” Aunt Shura answered. “Is it Lushka? Pole, come on?

- Yes Lushka, Lushka! And he was beckoning me, and he would directly order: to sing today! We are singing, why are we young girls! The temple will sometimes disappear …

“How will it disappear?” For some reason, I recalled the darkness from which faded memories came, and at that moment I realized that if Aunt Katya had not said words about the disappearing temple, I would never have remembered this darkness again.

“So…” she answered strangely. “Everything is floating, floating… the walls will disappear later… as darkness comes… People begin to disappear from the eyes, the faces of the priest will go… Some fell, others pray to themselves, see nothing… in prayer…

- Yes, yes! - Aunt Shura suddenly picked up. - Father then told everything about the Last Judgment!

“That’s why you’re afraid to sing,” Pohania suddenly told her …

A. Andreev "The World of the Path. Essays on Russian Ethnopsychology."