Mutual Influences of Folk and Stage Choreographic Cultures
In the first Kyrgyz ballet "Anar" by V. Vlasov and V. Fere, which premiered on November 7, 1940, at the Kyrgyz State Musical Theater in Frunze, the director N. Kholfin and choreographer V. Kozlov organically linked the stage national dance with game elements. Various youth games of the Kyrgyz were widely represented in the performance, especially in the first act of the ballet, in the games in the forest and at the "Jailoo" festival. Subjected to theatricalization, where the directors removed the variability and repetitiveness of the game patterns, they preserved the folk spirit, which served as a meaningful justification for the scenes and developed the action.
For example, taking a funny comic game — the scene "Tak-Teke," a competition between two wooden goats directed by two young men, the ballet's directors expanded this episode into a large dance scene, a dance-competition of the youth. The brightness and imagery of the numerous dances in the ballet "Anar" — shepherds, "Kyrgyz biy," the women's "Dance with Shawls," the men's dance "Komuzchu," and others, were so impressive and realistic that they immediately went "to the people" and began to be performed in various versions by amateur dance groups. Even today, they are included in their performance repertoire, enriched with new dance patterns and movements. This rapid mastery and promotion of stage national dances into life, recognizing them as original folk art, was significantly facilitated by the original music of the ballet, the dances, built on the skillful arrangement of folk melodies, songs, and instrumental pieces by well-known folk musicians, particularly the folk melodies "Kara Koz," "Leilikhan," and the popular song "Erkin-Tuu" ("Free Mountains").
The process of mutual influence between folk and stage choreographic cultures is complex and cannot always be specifically documented. However, it is indisputable and vibrant. The fact that this occurs in democratized, life-affirming forms is extremely important for the formation and development of national culture.
Often, only partial successes are achieved along this path. In the ballet "Cholpon" by M. Raukhverger, staged in 1944, although the choreographers did not utilize the achievements of national dance that had already been established by that time, they still filled the dance imagery with the plasticity of some characters, particularly the hunters, emphasizing their manner of shooting with a bow, throwing a spear, lassoing, and riding a horse. These small details also contributed to the formation of the performing style of Kyrgyz dance art.
Choreographers of subsequent generations brought many new and innovative elements to the development of the performing style, content, and form of national stage dance. In the ballet "Kuyruchuk" by K. Moldobasanov and G. Okunev, the first Kyrgyz comedy-ballet, the main character Kuyruchuk, a favorite and protector of the common people, boldly stands against the bais and manaps, and the Muslim clergy, the spirit of folk games and cheerful jesting is vividly felt. The duel between the agile, cunning Kuyruchuk and the huge, beast-like Batyr, the servant of the wealthy bai Sarybai, is an excellently danced scene of struggle, widely prevalent in national folk games. Choreographer U. Sarbagishev continues to "dance" folk games, enriching the folkloric positions of hands, head, and leg movements by introducing complex elements of classical dance.
The performance features a large number of mass dances, unique dances of young men and women, simple jigits, and the henchmen of the wealthy bai, dance solos, and monologues of the main characters. All of this is presented to melodically fresh, harmonically colorful, vividly danceable music, temperamental and joyfully triumphant, in a major key.
The Dance Art of the Kyrgyz. The History of Kyrgyz Folk Dance. Part 2