Polovtsian Dances

The Polovtsian dances, or Polovetsian dances (Russian: Половецкие пляски, romanized: Polovetskie plyaski from the Russian "Polovtsy" – the name used by the Rus' for the Kipchaks and Cumans) form an exotic scene at the end of act 2 of Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor.

Their music is popular and often given in concert as an orchestral showpiece, often with the choral parts omitted.

The dances proper appear at the end of the act as an uninterrupted single number in several contrasting sections, as in the following list.

Basic themes are identified by letters in brackets (e.g. [a]) and illustrated in the notation below the list.

[b] Gliding Dance of the Maidens [Пляска девушек плавная]: Andantino, ⁠4/4⁠, F♯ minor: Contains notable instrumental solos for oboe and English horn.

[c] Wild Dance of the Men [Пляска мужчин дикая]: Allegro vivo, ⁠4/4⁠, F major: Contains notable instrumental solo for clarinet.

[e] Dance of the Boys [Пляска мальчиков] and 2nd Dance of the Men [Пляска мужчин]: Presto, ⁠6/8⁠, D minor: Улетай на крыльях ветра Ты в край родной, родная песня наша, Туда, где мы тебя свободно пели, Где было так привольно нам с тобою.

Uletay na krylyakh vetra Ty v kraj rodnoy, rodnaya pesnya nasha, Tuda, gde my tebya svobodno peli, Gde bylo tak privolno nam s toboyu.

Fly on the wings of the wind To our native land, dear song of ours, There, where we have sung you at liberty, Where we felt so free in singing you.

Там, под знойным небом, Негой воздух полон, Там под говор моря Дремлют горы в облаках; Tam, pod znoynym nebom, Negoy vozdukh polon, Tam pod govor morya Dremlut gory v oblakakh; There, under the hot sky, The air is full of bliss, There to the sound of the sea The mountains doze in the clouds; Там так ярко солнце светит, Родные горы светом заливая, В долинах пышно розы расцветают, И соловьи поют в лесах зеленых, И сладкий виноград растет.

Tam tak yarko solntse svetit, Rodnyye gory svetom zalivaya, V dolinakh pyshno rozy rastsvetayut, I solovyi poyut v lesakh zelyonykh, I sladkiy vinograd rastyot.

There the sun shines so brightly, Bathing the native mountains in light, Splendid roses blossom in the valleys, And nightingales sing in the green forests, And sweet grapes grow.

Fly on the wings of the wind To our native land, dear song of ours, There, where we have sung you at liberty, Where we felt so free in singing you.

As part of his first Saison Russe at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Sergei Diaghilev presented Polovtsian Scenes and Dances, consisting of act 2 of Prince Igor, with full orchestra and singers.

The choreography was by Michel Fokine and the sets and costumes were designed by Nicholas Roerich.

[4] In 1971, the ballet was presented by choreographer Igor Moiseyev in the USSR Folk Dance Ensemble (Одноактный балет "Половецкие пляски".

It was premiered at the Palais des Sports at the Porte de Versailles in Paris; in Moscow, in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, in Leningrad and other cities of the USSR.

[citation needed] Themes from the Polovtsian Dances have been used widely in popular culture.

The most prominent example is the popular standard "Stranger in Paradise," adapted from the "Gliding Dance of the Maidens".