Belarusian folk dance

[1][2] The history of Belarus and efforts to preserve Belarusian traditions have shaped the dances in use today, which have many ancient and archaic elements.

In the middle of the 19th century, traditional folk dancing began to merge with quadrilles and polkas from Western Europe.

The concerts featured folk songs, works of Belarusian poets, and dances accompanied by the traditional triple music of violins, cymbals, and bagpipes.

The most popular Belarusian folk dances include "Lyavonikha", "Kryzhachok", "Yurachka", "Polka-Yanka", "Charot", "Taukachyki", "Chobaty", "Lyanok", "Kola", "Ruchniki", "Mlynok", "Kastsy", "Kozachka", "Myatselitsa", "Mikita", "Dudaryki", "Bychok", and "Kazyry".

[6] The main characteristics of Belarusian dance are dynamism, cheerfulness, emotion, and group performance.

Presumed to have appeared towards the end of the first millennium AD, these dances have diverse themes such as work, family life, love, and relationships.

[1] The quadrilles represent a large group of Belarusian dances; these exist in various local versions such as Lusterka, Sher, Najnitsy, Lanskaya, and Smorgonskaya.

[8] Another group of Belarusian dances is the polkas, which are also characterized by a multitude of regional variations such as Trasukha, Yanka, Vyazanka, Shmorgalka, Drabney maku, and Usya-syusya.

The musical structures of traditional dances are distinguished primarily by the time signature of 2/4 and the squareness of the melodies.

[11] Kryzhachok is an ornamental, group partner dance, performed by any number of couples at a fast pace.

[2] Many ethnic and folklore books mention Belarusian dances, but these sources provide very little information about the choreography.

[2] Ihnat Bujnicki, who founded the Belarusian National Theatre in 1907, played a major role in the emergence of stage folk dance.

[2] Bujnicki leveraged his powers of creative observation and his great musical talent to accurately capture the style of the dances.

This contributed to the development and diversity of the stage dance, enriching it with new technical movements and compositional elements.

[2] Belarusian choreographers such as K. Oleksyutovich, K. Muller, L. Lyashenko, I. Hvorost, and N. Chistyakov made great contributions to the development of stage folk dance.