Diverse Forms of Kyrgyz Dance Construction
In the republic, many creative collectives have emerged, interestingly exploring the field of choreographic folklore and gaining recognition. Among them are the winners of the Lenin Komsomol Prize, the folk ensemble "Voiz Salkyn" at the House of Culture of the Ak-Suu District of the Issyk-Kul Region, and the folk dance ensemble at the House of Culture of the electric lamp factory in the city of Maili-Sai, as well as the laureate of republican reviews, the multiple participant of All-Union festivals of amateur artistic creativity, the ensemble "Zhashtyk," composed of students from Kyrgyz State University. Their works are always highly artistic and evoke great interest from the audience.
In the process of creating dance culture, music plays a special role. Compositions by V. Vlasov, A. Maldybaev, V. Fere, P. Shubin, M. Raukhverger, M. Abdrayev, A. Tuleev, K. Moldobasanov, N. Davlesov, and S. Pankov have become widely popular. The melodies of these dances determine the character and style of choreography.
The most common time signatures in Kyrgyz dance music are 2/4 and 4/4. At the same time, especially in women's dances, the 6/8 time signature is also encountered. Dances have a clearly defined tempo—slow or fast. Both are found in women's and men's dances. Typically, mixed dances are performed at a fast tempo. They vividly reveal the spirit of competition, courage, and enthusiasm of the dancers. They require speed of execution, clarity, and completeness of movements.
In addition to spirited dances that reproduce the competitions of komuz players and the contests of horsemen, lyrical dances based on waltz melodies are also greatly loved by the dancers.
The character of Kyrgyz dance music is cheerful, optimistic, and lively. The themes of the dances are quite diverse. In addition to labor-related themes, Kyrgyz dances also include domestic, playful, and warlike themes. A dance can be solo or paired, performed by a girl and a young man, a mass women's dance, or a men's dance, and can be mixed in composition. The dance is accompanied by a choir. In dances performed by girls and young men, the young men may perform first, followed by the girls, and in the concluding part, as in the choreographic composition "In the Mountains of Ala-Too," the young people dance together.
It should be particularly noted that the staged form of dance has a significant influence on the developing folk dance culture to this day. Unfortunately, there are not many recorded and published dances so far. One can mention T. Tkachenko's book "Folk Dance" or the collections "Kyrgyz Dances," published by the Republican House of Folk Art. The recordings provided in them give some idea of the character, manner, and style of performing Kyrgyz dances, the costumes, and the performers. Each dance is accompanied by musical scores.
Kyrgyz dance has a diverse form of construction. In both mass and solo compositions, movements in a circle, turns in place with a partner and around a partner, various spins and turns of the dancers, diverse jumps by young men, and complex hand movements by young women are most frequently encountered.
In the "Kyrgyz Lyrical"—a solo dance for one performer—accentuated movements of the legs and arms, especially the wrists, of the dancer in the first part of the dance are replaced in the middle part by long steps with beautiful hand changes. In the third part of the dance, which is fast and lively, as in the first, the dancer performs various imitative domestic movements that require performing technique.
In the women's dance "Ak Bilek," eleven or more performers can participate. The dance begins with a soloist, while the others mostly repeat her movements. Special attention should be paid to the plasticity of the hands (rotational movements of the wrists).
In the men's "Dance of the Dzhigits," the movements of games are easily recognizable. This dance involves six young men. They compete in dzhigitovka. In the dance of the young men, jumps reminiscent of a daring gallop prevail. The number of participants can be increased according to the capabilities of the collective.
In the mass dance "Komuzchu," ten pairs participate. The young men start, and then the young women join in. The dance is structured as a competition between two solo participants. During the dance, the girls and young men perform steps with a 360-degree turn, hops with jumps, dzhigitovka, various stomps, jumps with stomps, and squats with turns.
The energetic rhythm and bright music set a cheerful mood. The youth Kyrgyz dance "Besh-Yrgai" was born from a popular folk song. Built on simple dance movements, it attracts with its liveliness and cheerfulness. It involves girls and young men throughout the dance.
The girls and young men move in pairs in a large circle, with the figures of the dance changing. Characteristic movements for this dance include running with the body leaning forward, running with the body leaning backward, "screw," squatting with a stomp, lunges with claps, gates, rocking, yurt, swings.
We have provided here a description of several compositions frequently performed by dance collectives. Naturally, the number of dances currently existing in the folk tradition is significantly greater than those mentioned. It can be said that the characteristic features of the men's Kyrgyz folk dance are the pursuit of diverse jumping techniques, complicated turns, bouncing steps, and sharp turns performed at a fast tempo, with great spirit.
In women's dance, smooth wide movements, elongated steps, turns in place, and stepping are characteristic.
The positions of the hands, rotational movements, and bends of the body are especially diverse. At the same time, the women's dance is characterized by a fast tempo of movements. In dances such as "Kyz Kuumai," "Komuzchu," the girls do not lag behind the young men in speed, agility, and energy of movements.
The costume, headgear, and footwear play a significant role in revealing the accuracy of the character and manner of performing Kyrgyz dances.
The Creation of the Folk Dance Ensemble. The History of Kyrgyz Folk Dance. Part 5