KYRGYZ LYRICAL DANCE (KYRGYZDYN NAZIK BIYI) The Kyrgyz lyrical dance is a solo dance performed by one dancer. Its heroine is a lively, cheerful girl, and the movements of the dance combine depictions of labor processes and elements of folk games (horse riding). The dance consists of three parts. The movements are performed energetically and vivaciously, yet playfully and flirtatiously. In the first part of the dance, special attention should be paid to the changes in hand positions, especially
Body, Shoulders, Head in Kyrgyz Dance In Kyrgyz women's dance, the dancer's body is free, calm, and straight. The body can be gently turned in movement, and can be slightly tilted forward or to the sides. Turns and changes of position are made softly, smoothly, without jerks. At the same time, quick and sharp turns can occur in women's Kyrgyz dance, especially in a game like "Kyz Kuu May" ("Catch the Girl"), where the girl is as agile as the young man. In
Movements of Girls' Hands in Folk Dance Movement 1. Soft Rotational Movements of the Wrists Away from the Body. Starting position. Hands in a "lowered" 2nd position, elbows relaxed, wrists free, fingers pointing down. During the dance, raise the wrists, then turn them forward, bringing the palms towards oneself, fingers pointing forward. The rotation is performed quickly but softly. The wrists describe a complete small circle. This rotational movement of the wrists can be
Hand Positions in Dance In discussing some of the most characteristic movements of Kyrgyz dance, we emphasize that the movements for women and men are different. First, let’s talk about hand positions. Starting Position
Costumes for Kyrgyz Dance We have already discussed the close interconnection between the dance folklore of Kyrgyzstan and the mastery of classical ballet, and today the process of mutual influence between folk and stage choreography continues. It is particularly important to emphasize the breadth and diversity of themes and plots embodied by choreographers, the expansion of dance vocabulary, and the understanding of the experiences of the cultures of the fraternal peoples of the USSR and
The Spread of Choreographic Art A deep interest in the art of choreography has given rise to new forms—creative associations of dance enthusiasts. The experience of Novosibirsk's "Terpsichore" is well known—a club for lovers of choreographic art, whose members not only study the art of dance practically but also hold various meetings with artists from Soviet and foreign ballet theaters, leading choreographers-folklorists, musicians, and artists. Here, important and interesting
The Art of Dancing The process of recreating the Kyrgyz folk dance continues today. The lack of qualified resources for studying Kyrgyz dance and the ongoing process of accumulating and mastering dance elements presents significant challenges for choreographers and folk dance enthusiasts. At the same time, there is an intensive enrichment of the dance "vocabulary." Here, cinema and television play an active role, along with creative exchanges between artists and participants of
Promoter of Professional Classical Ballet in the Republic Bibisara Beishenalieva The twentieth century brought ballroom dance, enriched with new forms and sharp rhythms, which undeniably experienced the influence of numerous folk musical and dance cultures. Tango, foxtrot (slow and fast), Charleston, and rumba gained immense popularity. By the mid-twentieth century, the most fashionable dances became "rock and roll" and "twist," which literally flooded dance floors and
Ballroom dance is one of the types of choreographic art Speaking about folk and stage dances, it is necessary to mention the art that is accessible to everyone and loved by many — modern ballroom dance. This is one of the most popular forms of choreographic art, the history of which goes back centuries. Many of the dances have undergone a complex path of evolution, experiencing amazing metamorphoses. Born as folk dances performed by the people, like the minuet — a dance of the rural
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
Folk Dance Ensemble Choreographers of different generations actively implement the creative experience of the first choreographers in their practical activities, successfully mastering the achievements of Soviet choreographic culture. In this direction, both professional and amateur groups in the republic are actively searching. Among them, a special place belongs to the folk dance ensemble of the Toktogul Satylganov Kyrgyz Philharmonic.
The Folk-Stage Style of Kyrgyz Choreography Dance enthusiasts can learn a lot and find interesting and educational insights when getting acquainted with dance scenes and performances in opera productions. The round dance in the opera "Altyn kokul" ("Golden Chub") by M. Raukhverger, games, round dances, and youth dances in M. Abdrayev's opera "Oldzhobai and Kishimzhan," youth dances and games based on ritual songs "Shyryldats" and
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
Kyrgyz Folk Dance Art We have already mentioned the games and entertainments that became the foundation for the creation of folk-stage Kyrgyz dances. Popular in Kyrgyz ails were "Kyz-oyun" — girls' games. They were organized on the occasion of engagements and weddings. These took place in the bride's ail, but friends of the groom could also participate. The participants of the girls' game "Tokmok" were required not only to be agile in their movements but also
Search for Folk Dance In the folk music of the Kyrgyz, "there are many playful, cheerful songs, dance melodies, humorous and comic images." This dance element is particularly vividly expressed in the art of Kyrgyz instrumental musicians, manaschi, in the mimicry and expressive movements of folk entertainers — kuu-duldar, and in various games. The names of traditional kyuu, composed by musicians and passed down from generation to generation, allow us to speak about the character of
Kyrgyz Cinema The first founding congress of the Union of Cinematographers of Kyrgyzstan opened on October 24, 1962. At that time, it had 33 members. Today, two decades later, the group of Kyrgyz cinematographers has tripled in size. The very emergence of Kyrgyz cinema is inextricably linked to significant milestones in the socialist construction in the USSR.
The loom for producing pile carpets, under the drawing of the weaving loom, is schematically represented in a horizontal cross-section, explaining the formation of the shed. Batken District. A feature of the Kyrgyz carpet is the presence of fringe, consisting of warp threads (20—25 cm) braided together.
The main stages of carpet making are the preparation of yarn, then the carpet's foundation, and the weaving process. All these types of work in manual production, on which carpet weaving has been based for centuries, are very labor-intensive. Kyrgyz people predominantly wove carpets from wool. However, there was also carpet production based on cotton with the same weft. Cotton yarn, as the artisans say, has been used since ancient times and was bought at the market. Among the Kyrgyz group
During the years of imperialist and civil war, and during the basmachi uprising in southern Kyrgyzstan, carpets were not produced. Only after enduring hardships did the artisans take up their production again, but carpet weaving took on different forms. The production of small pile items ceased, as they lost their value in the new living conditions. The main pile item became the carpet. Starting from the 1930s, the Soviet government undertook a series of measures to develop Kyrgyz carpet
Legends about the "Burana Tower" The term minaret, widely used in European contexts, originates from the Arabic word minar (a place where something is lit — a lantern, lighthouse) or miiara (a watchtower, pillar, minaret of a mosque). In the latter sense, in local pronunciation among Tajiks and Uzbeks, it is meiaré, and among some Turkic ethnic groups in Central Asia, it is men ar. Among the local population living in the former northern Kyrgyz region of Jeni-Su (Semirechye), and in
Mosaic of Satyr Aitiev The mosaic by Satyr Aitiev on the laboratory building of the Kyrgyz State University is imbued with the metaphorical nature of its image-plastic language and exceptional richness of pictorial form. The artist brought into this monumental form the experience of his easel painting, characterized by its coloristic and textural refinement, as well as the allegorical content. The central composition, "Path of Enlightenment," occupies a large area of the protruding
Mosaic Masters. In the 1980s, Momunbek Akmatkulov began working in the field of monumental painting. He created a mosaic made of smalt (1980) that blends into the environment on the building of the Republican Sports Profile Boarding School and a mosaic on the facade of the administrative building of the Orto-Tokoy Reservoir Management (1983), as well as stained glass that decorates the interiors of the "Ocean" café (1984) and the building of the State Security Committee of the Kyrgyz
Clarity of the creative task presentation. As an active multifaceted monumental artist, Jyldyz Moldakhmatov asserts himself, having graduated in 1972 from the Moscow Higher Artistic and Industrial School (formerly Stroganov School). The mural he created in the interior of the Kyrgyz State Circus building (1978) speaks of a clear understanding of the creative task, emotionality, and the artist's coloristic gift, as well as an understanding of architectural genre and style. The mural,
The Versatility of Alexei Nikolaevich Kamensky. Alexei Nikolaevich Kamensky has developed into a unique master of monumental painting, participating in the creation of several significant architectural and artistic ensembles as a monumental artist with a broad professional culture, a sense of color, rhythm, and spatial harmony. He has also made a vibrant mark in easel painting, decorative sculpture, and ceramics. In his early mosaic "Song" (1965) in the concert hall of the Frunze
The Independence of Artistic Thinking of Yevgeny Stepanovich Herdyuk. Yevgeny Stepanovich Herdyuk has his own creative identity in the field of monumental painting. He arrived in Kyrgyzstan in the 1960s, taught at the Frunze Art College for more than ten years, worked for several years as deputy director, and then as director, nurturing dozens of artists who now contribute to the development of the art of environmental design. He most often creates multi-figure compositions in various
New Trends in Herzen's Creativity While S. Bakashev represents the decorative direction of Kyrgyz painting, Teodor Teodorovich Herzen is distinguished by a narrative type of figurative-plastic thinking. He works in a strictly realistic manner, infusing his images with specific life content. A landmark work of monumental painting in Kyrgyzstan in the 1960s was T. Herzen's monumental fresco "Rest" (1967) in the foyer of the Ilyich State Farm club in the Kemin district. Here,
Painter and easel artist S. Bakashev with a heightened sense of plasticity Sabitjan Bakashev possesses a vividly decorative vision of pictorial form, typically linking the search for artistic expressiveness with the spatial interaction of painting and architecture. Like other monumentalists, he participated in group projects (alongside A. Voronin, A. Kamensky, Z. Khabibulin, I. Chokoev, and others), for example, in the artistic design of the "Kyrgyzstan" cinema in Moscow, the circus
Diversity of Monumental Painting and Decorative Plastic Arts. In the 1960s, the traditional narrative line in monumental painting continued to develop, maintaining the principles of figurative thinking and compositional-plastic construction established in the ceiling paintings of the Kyrgyz State Opera and Ballet Theater, created in the 1950s. This direction is represented by the smalt mosaic-stele by A. Mikhalev titled "Meeting of Guests" (1963), installed at the entrance to the
Harmoniously solved tasks by a team of painters. In the first half of the 1960s, the team in Frunze created decorative compositions in the technique of sgraffito in the interiors of the cafes "Son-Kul" and "Yunost", the "Ala-Too" hotel, and reliefs made of foam concrete in the foyer of the "Oktyabr" cinema, which drew public attention to the tasks of artistic organization of the environment and the issues of new synthesis of plastic arts with
Creative Team on a Breakthrough to Kyrgyzstan The period under consideration is a time of intense development in Kyrgyzstan of all forms of monumental art, including monumental painting, which is an essential component of new architectural and artistic ensembles, fulfilling social functions defined by Lenin's plan for monumental propaganda. It embodies the content of the multifaceted Soviet reality, labor, spiritual and moral issues, and the fundamental ideas of socialist society.
Opening of the Sculpture Park in Frunze. The opening of new opportunities for sculptors in the republic in the field of monumental-decorative plastic art is facilitated by the practice of holding sculpture symposiums. In 1984, an inter-republican plein air sculpture event took place in Frunze. The stone works (limestone), created by sculptors representing various plastic schools of the country, as well as sculptures donated to the republic from the funds of the Ministry of Culture and the
The Beginning of the Development of the Tombstone Genre. In the last decade, the development of the traditional memorial-decorative genre of tombstones in the art of sculpture has begun in Kyrgyzstan. For several years, sculptor 3. Khabibulin worked on the tombstone of the brilliant Kyrgyz ballerina B. Beishenaliev, who left this world too soon. The sculptor took his task very seriously and decided to create a figure for the first time in the memorial plastic of Kyrgyzstan, relating it to the
Design Solutions for Public Areas A creative success of Khabibulina in the field of monumental-decorative plastic is the decorative composition-fountain in the resort city of Cholpon-Ata (1982, copper, architect K. Abdrakov). The crowning structure of the fountain, a decoratively interpreted figure of a woman seemingly frozen in the rhythm of dance, is plastic, exquisitely graceful, and brings a note of emotionality to the environment. It complements and aesthetically enriches the
Complex of sculptural works at the Kirov Reservoir in the Talas region. A significant milestone in the development of monumental art in the republic was the large complex of sculptural works at the Kirov Reservoir in the Talas region (1975—1983), created by a group of artists (V. Shestopal, T. Gertsen, V. Dimov). A thematic bas-relief has been created on the retaining wall of the dam — an elaborate multi-figure narrative about the life of the workers of Kyrgyzstan. The composition of the
Largest Ensemble of Monumental-Decorative Sculpture The largest work of ensemble monumental-decorative sculpture in the republic is the sculptural and architectural complex "Manas" (1982, sculptor T. Sadykov, architect A. Pechenkina), embodied in stone and forged copper. This extensive spatial composition adjoins the simultaneously erected building of the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic, decorated with stained glass on the theme of national ornamentation. It organizes one of the central
Kyrgyz Monumental-Decorative Genre. In the process of fulfilling the socio-aesthetic functions of Soviet monumental art in the life of a developed socialist society, its genre-stylistic explorations are increasingly unfolding. Alongside the creation of monuments that carry relevant propaganda-artistic content and serve as the most effective force in monumental propaganda, diverse branches of monumental-decorative plastic are developing, enhancing their urban planning and spatial-forming roles.
Monument of national significance. T. Sadykov has completed the work on the monument to F. E. Dzerzhinsky for the city of Frunze. The half-figure of the "Knight of the Revolution" seems to emerge from the dynamic form of flames — a symbol of that socially charged time. The emotionally and broadly carved granite likeness of Dzerzhinsky captivates with its willful steadfastness and the beauty of high human feelings. Here, the sculptor once again demonstrated his love for working with
Bronze Monument In the late 1970s, a competition was held in the republic to create a monument to K. I. Skryabin, Hero of Socialist Labor, member of three all-Union academies (Academy of Sciences of the USSR, VASKHNIIL, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR), honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz and Uzbek SSR, and a full and honorary member of the academies of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the GDR, Yugoslavia, France, and scientific societies in the USA, the UK,
Images of an Epic Scale. In the 1970s, T. Sadykov created a granite monument—a bust of the twice Hero of Socialist Labor Z. Kainazarova (architect V. Kurbatov), which was installed on one of the most beautiful streets of the capital—Dzerzhinsky Avenue—while this famous Kyrgyz sugar beet grower was still alive. She provided the country with record harvests and raised six orphans from the war. In this simple and strong woman from the people, the sculptor saw a bright and integral nature. In the
Portrait Monument of Toktogul. In the 1970s and 1980s, the portrait monument developed more multifacetedly in various sculptural materials. Monuments were created for revolutionaries, public figures, labor heroes, scientists, and writers, in whose images the main features of our era, its ideological and creative pathos, are concentrated. The issue of erecting a monument to Toktogul in Frunze was raised again. As a result of a republican competition, the authors of the monument became G.
Three-part sculptural composition of the monument. A new step in the monumental art of the republic in the development of the theme was the sculptural and architectural complex of the Victory monument in Frunze, built for the 40th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people over fascist Germany (sculptors T. Sadykov, M. Anikushin, architects V. Lyzenko, V. Bukhaev, with the participation of architects E. Hertel, Z. Shambetov, A. Novolelinskiy, and others). The monument serves as the
No one is forgotten... An original structure is the memorial complex in honor of the Hero of the Soviet Union Cholponbay Tuleberdiev in his homeland in the village of Chimbkent, Talas region, created by sculptor Z. Khabibulin and architect D. Yrysqulov (1982), awarded the Silver Medal named after A. M. Grekov. The complex unites into a single whole the monument to Ch. Tuleberdiev, the building of the memorial museum dedicated to the memory of fallen fellow villagers, and steles with figurative
Monumental Form of Commemorating the Fallen Heroes. An important place in the monumental sculpture of Kyrgyzstan in the 70s and 80s is occupied by memorial monuments that develop the theme of remembering the fallen and the heroism of the people's feat during the Great Patriotic War, the theme of the victory of the Soviet people over fascism. During these years, in the republic, as in all Soviet art, the monumental form of commemorating the fallen heroes is established —
Monument "To the Fighters of the Revolution" The greatest achievement of Kyrgyz monumental art in the 1970s was the widely recognized monument "To the Fighters of the Revolution" (1978, bronze, granite), created by sculptor T. Sadykov (architect G. Kutateladze). In terms of significance and emotional intensity of its ideological and artistic content, the monument was classified among the outstanding achievements of Soviet monumental art. For its creation, T. Sadykov was
Monumentalists of the New Generation in Kyrgyzstan In the 1970s, with the arrival of sculptors and monumentalists of a new generation in Kyrgyz art, monumental sculpture began to develop more intensively. Expanding its ideological and thematic range and sphere of influence, it was enriched with large-scale works. The rising level of monumental propaganda in the republic is especially noticeable in the capital. The appearance of works of national significance was marked in the first half of the
Multi-figure monuments in monumental sculpture. In the 1960s, the development of multi-figure monuments in monumental plastic art began. In 1963, V. A. Puzirevsky (with the participation of G. Tupoy) created a two-figure monumental composition — a monument to the heroes of the Komsomol of the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars on the Young Guard Avenue in Frunze. In the rhythm of a marching step, a Russian Red Army soldier from the 1920s and a soldier of the Great Patriotic War — a son of the
Monuments to the heroes of the revolution. One of the successful plastic embodiments of the heroic image of a fighter for the establishment of Soviet power is the bust of the hero of the Civil War, a worker-revolutionary, chairman of the district-city committee of the RCP(b) in Kyrgyzstan, who led the fight against the Belyovodsk uprising in 1918, A. Ivanitsin, sculpted by N. I. Lodyagin. The bronze bust, resting on a round granite pedestal, is installed on Dzerzhinsky Avenue. Created in the
The monument to Toktogul Satylganov— the greatest representative of Kyrgyz culture. In the 1960s, the issue of creating a monument to Toktogul Satylganov — the greatest representative of Kyrgyz culture during a pivotal era, whose work is inextricably linked to national folklore and became the starting point for Kyrgyz professional literature — continued to concern the sculptors of the republic. The image of Toktogul, a talented poet and musician, a singer of the revolution, a man who did not
