Kozachok ( uk, кoзачо́к) or Kazachok (russian: казачо́к) is a traditional
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
folk dance originating with the
Cossacks in the 16th century.
In the 17th and 18th centuries it was performed throughout contemporary Ukraine and also in the noble courts of Europe. It is a fast, linear,
couple-dance in time, typically in a constantly increasing tempo and of an improvisatory character, typically in a minor key in Ukraine, and in a major key in Russia. The woman leads and the man follows, imitating her figures – she signals movement changes by hand clapping. In the 17th century, kozachok became fashionable in
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...
music in Europe.
The term "kozachok" can be traced back to the
Vertep
In the Ukrainian culture, vertep ( Cyrillic: вертеп) is a portable puppet theatre and drama, which presents the nativity scene, other mystery plays, and later secular plots as well. The original meaning of the word is "secret place", "ca ...
, the 16th to 19th-century Ukrainian itinerant
puppet theatre
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performan ...
. Vertep plays consisted of two parts, the first dramatizing the birth of
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, and the second with a secular plot, often a morality tale. In Russia there exist different versions of the kozachok dance the
Kuban Kazachok (Krasnodar region of southern Russia), and
Terek Kazachok (
northern Caucasus region
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ...
). Historically these regions had an important Ukrainian population which was significantly reduced in the Soviet era.
In Ukraine, it was often a joyful celebration centred on the Cossacks from the
Zaporizhia
Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a populatio ...
n region, who sang, played the
bandura
A bandura ( uk, банду́ра) is a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of the zither and lute and, up until the 1940s, was also often referred to by the term kobza. Early instruments (c. 1700) had 5 to 12 strings ...
, and danced. This dance became known as the "Vertepny Kozachok", literally meaning "A Cossack from Vertep" and displayed all the characteristics of the fiery Kozak temperament. Russias west-central regions like the
Belgorod Oblast
Belgorod Oblast (russian: Белгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Belgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Belgorod. Population:
History
At the turn of the 17th c ...
played an important role in
East Slavic dances. In Russia, many cultural treasures can still be traced to their roots, such as to the
Kozachok region in
Belgorod
Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics
The population of B ...
. That historically had a large Ukrainian population.
The Ukrainian choreographer and dancer Vasyl Avramenko, known for his standardization of Ukrainian dance and his work across the globe, was famous for his "Kozachok Podilskyi", a Cossack courtship dance native to the Podillia region, for one to four couples. He most likely learned the "Kozachok Podilskyi" from the theatre work he did between 1917 and 1921 sources from the repertoire of dances performed in plays generations before including plays by Ukrainian dramaturge and writer Marko Kropyvnytskyi.
The first known musical arrangement of the kоzachok for
lute is attributed to the Polish nobleman and composer
Kazimierz Stanisław Rudomina-Dusiacki in the 17th century. There are manuscript collections of kozachok melodies from the second half of the 18th century, and printed collections begin to appear toward the end of that century. Dusiacki's
score was preserved in the Berlin State Library under the name "Dusiacki-Buch".
Kozachok melodies were used in
Polish music
The Music of Poland covers diverse aspects of music and musical traditions which have originated, and are practiced in Poland. Artists from Poland include world-famous classical composers like Frédéric Chopin, Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutos ...
in the 18th century.
See also
*
Hopak
Hopak ( uk, гопа́к, ) is a Ukrainian folk dance originating as a male dance among the Zaporozhian Cossacks, but later danced by couples, male soloists, and mixed groups of dancers. It is performed most often as a solitary concert dance by a ...
, a Ukrainian folk dance that originated among the
Zaporozhian Cossacks
The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...
*
Ukrainian folk dance
*
Russian folk dance
Russian folk dance (russian: Русский народный танец) is an important part of Russian culture. Some of the unique characteristics suggest that many elements were developed by the early Russian population.
History
Many Russian ...
Notes
References
{{Reflist
Sources
*
Bobri, Vladimir – Notes on the Ukrainian Folk Dances //Guitar review - #33, Summer, 1970 p. 27
* Ukrayins'ke kozatstvo – (Entsyklopedia) Kiev, 2006
__NOTOC__
Cossack culture
Ukrainian folk dances