Russia is known as one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world thanks to its vast and rich history. The history of this area starts long before the Medieval time and the influences from all the surrounding countries can be seen in all the cultural traits of this country. From the cuisine to the dances, you can feel the strong influence of the surrounding countries and the Slavic past. Every traditional aspect of the Russian culture has a meaning and the best place to see this is in the folk dances. The folk dances here differ from region to region and even from town to town because of the vast surface of the country. They are considered to be some of the most interesting and culturally rich dances in the world. We have listed some of the traditional Russian dances in order to better understand the culture of this amazing country.
Round Dances
Round dances are something very specific for the whole Slavic culture. The history of this type of dance comes from the Ancient times. The oldest writing say that this type of dancing took place virtually everywhere and everyone was allowed to take part. The dance could be slow or very fast, depending on the music and the social context of the dance. There were special round dances for the weddings where the bride and the groom would dance in the middle of the circle while the others would dance around them. There are also party round dances that are still found in Russia. They are very fun because they manage to engage everyone to dance. There were also some slower dances that would even happen during a funeral. The roots of this type of dance can be traced back in the pagan religious processions that used to take place on the lands of Russia.
Dance Squatting
Dance squatting is perhaps the dance that represents Russia abroad. Everyone has seen a video of a squatting dancer and even of a squatting musician. This is one of the most physical-demanding dances in the world because it requires a lot of force in the legs. It was dances by men because they were the only one wearing trousers in the Medieval times. There were even dance contests that were being held regularly in the villages. This type of contests was more like endurance contests. The music would go faster and faster and the dancers had to adapt to it. The last dancer remaining on his feet was considered the winner and would even get money for it.
Pair Dance
Pair dancing comes in all sorts of forms all over Russia. The distance between the man and the woman was crucial and it showed the social status of the couple. The closer they got, the more people believed that they are married. Inviting girls to dance was a usual way to show interest for a romantic relationship. The diversity of this type of dances is very big and it can even differ from city to city.
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