How to do russian squat dance

That Russian Squat Dance - TV Tropes

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A vital survival skill in the training of all KGB agents.

"Moscow, Moscow, I-don't-know-the-frickin'-words, I-don't-know-the-frickin'-words, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! HEY!"

— Chuggaaconroy, Let's Play The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

You know the one the dancers squat down with their arms folded and kick high with one leg and the other, sometimes intercalating more squats up and down between flurries of kicks. If a Husky Russkie is celebrating a victory for Glorious Mother Russia, he is 90% likely to be doing this dance.

This trope's name is one of those cases of mislabeling by foreigners. For instance, its origin is actually both Russian and Ukrainian, and it's not commonly called "Cossack Dance" or some derivate. While it does receive occasionally the names of Kozatsky or Kazatsky, which mean just that, the true name of this stage dance is Hopak or Gopak^noteSpelled Гопа́к in the Cyrillic alphabet. which comes from the word hopaty meaning "to hop", so a better translation of its name would be "The Hopping Dance". Similarly, it gets sometimes referred as the Kazachok or Kozachok ("Little Cossack"), but this is a completely different folk dance that also comes from Russia and Ukraine. The squat dance is also a integral part of Russian dances like Barinya, Leto, Trepak and many more.

The dance is commonly depicted with dancers barking "Hey! Hey! Hey!" while squatting, which is another point of mixing things up and thinking that all Russians say "Hey!" while dancing not just like this, but in any other style. On occasions, it can be substituted with "Hop! Hop!"^noteIf actual Russians were dancing, they would shout "Op! Op!" without any h's.

The squat-and-kick move itself is properly called prisyadka (knee-bending) and is just one part of the Hopak dance, but it's the only part known to most non-Russians due to its inherently funny looks and obvious athleticism required. It's indeed one of the more difficult parts of the dance, requiring good balance and substantial leg muscle strength, but of course Mother Russia Makes You Strong. In fact, there is an entire martial art based on Hopak dancing called Combat Hopak. Prisyadka moves can also be incorporated into the shashka dance, performed with the long Cossack sabre and which involves complex evolutions of movement with the sword.

Despite what is stated above about its origins, Norwegians pride themselves by stating that Russian folklore actually learned this from them. The "squat" is essential in the Norwegian male dance ''halling''.

Also, don't confuse this with the "Slav Squat" meme.

Examples:

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Advertising

The now-infamous "Dancing Cossacks" New Zealand National Party television advert from the 1975 general election campaign featured a line of Russians squat dancing across the screen. The party was trying to imply the ruling Labour Party's compulsory superannuation scheme would lead to Soviet-style communism (they handily ignored the fact that the Cossacks had numbered among the Bolsheviks' bitterest enemies, at least until they were completely crushed by the Red Army).

Anime and Manga

In Hetalia: Axis Powers, Russia/Ivan mentions this, as well as kicking bullies with it.
One episode of The Law of Ueki has this dance done. With cossack hats. As a condition for battling participants to breathe in a special oxygen-deprived environment.
In Soul Eater Tsar Pushka's meister utilised it as a martial art - with some break dancing thrown into the mix.
In Pokémon Black and White Cilan and Pansage start doing this during the events of A Maractus Musical!
Done by Warsman in one Kinnikuman filler. Even stranger, he does it while wrestling someone.
The girls of Pravda Engineering High School do it around a campfire in Episode 9 of Girls und Panzer
In From Eroica with Love, KGB agent Mischa the Cub is stated to be an excellent Cossack dancer.
This is the signature dance of Bones Suzuki and Haruo Sato in Haunted Junction.
In The Voynich Hotel, the witch sisters called the Three Mothers originally hail from Russia, and when the youngest goes back home to visit their teacher, they are shown doing the dance when they first reunite.

Comics

An issue of Topolino, the Italian Mickey Mouse comic book, had Fethry Duck literally kicking Donald Duck's ass this way, as seen on the cover.
Nero: Nero does this dance when surrounded by Russian soldiers in Het Vredesoffensief van Nero ("The Peace Initiative of Nero") to make them believe he is one of them. He, of course, fails and the guards want to take him in. Nero then asks them if they can do it better, whereupon all soldiers start doing the dance. Nero then pushes everybody down to the floor and runs away.
A jubilant member of a Volgan tank crew is doing this in an East End pub when he is interrupted by Bill Savage wielding a double-barrelled shotgun in the first episode of the 2000 AD story 'Invasion!'.
In The Killing Joke, the Joker's entourage of circus freaks includes two men in Russian garb who can be seen doing this dance while he sings about how "I Go Loony". They're less obviously "freak"-ish than playing to how the Joker's philosophy, as written in this book, is informed by an era during which "the bomb" was hanging over everyone's head.

Fan Works

Naturally, works involving the Discworld equivalent of Russians exaggerate this. In the works of A.A. Pessimal, when a group of "Rus" witches performs traditional dance at the annual Witch Trials, members of Lancre's Morris Dancing side are heard to remark that this is only a ladies' team. Imagine an international against the men?

Film — Animated

Anastasia: A crowd of extras dance this way during the opening "Rumor in St. Petersburg" number.
The Russian puppets in Pinocchio do this.
Performed by thistles in Fantasia during the Nutcracker Suite segment. No points for guessing which part they appear in.
Boris the Russian goose performs one in Balto (complete with accompanying yells of "HEY!") in an attempt to cheer Balto up. For some reason, it doesn't work.
In Rise of the Guardians, North briefly does this across a rooftop before jumping down a chimney to get a tooth.
In Return To Never Land, Smee does the dance on Captain Hook's back while giving him a massage.
In Allegro non Troppo there's a moment in which the animator and a costumed ape do this dance on the floor.

Film — Live Action

Elf: Buddy, drunk in the mail room (having mistaken alcohol for syrup), entertains the workers by doing this dance on a table.
In The Cossacks, they do this when partying with some Gypsy women after a raid.
Spoofed as part of the disco-dance flashback scene in Airplane!, in which Ted Stryker defies the laws of physics.
A Shot in the Dark, one of the films in The Pink Panther series, Clouseau is coaxed into joining in a troupe of dancers - and promptly rips his trousers. In the same film, a dancer doing this move is killed after drinking poisoned vodka.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull features some soldiers dancing happily like this in front of a campfire.
The climax of The Man Who Knew Too Little has the titular character stand in for the lead dancer in one of these.
Simon is doing the Cossack Dance in the music video of "Christmas Don't be Late" in the film Alvin and the Chipmunks.
The Mask - Stanley easily dodges a hail of bullets, transforming into a matador, a Cossack, Vegas Elvis, and a movie cowboy. While he's dressed as the Cossack, he performs this dance to dodge the bullets.
The Mamushka in The Addams Family is one of these. The fact that Gordon is able to dance it is one of the tip-offs that he is really Fester Addams (albeit with amnesia until almost the end of the movie), rather than a Body Double taking his place.
One of the many dances that shows up in Bedknobs and Broomsticks during the musical number "Portobello Road."
The Three Stooges had a famous running gag involving this, wherein somebody would hurt their foot or otherwise hop around in pain rhythmically. The Stooges would then begin clapping in rhythm and take up the dance with multiple variations and vaguely Russian chanting.
The Leningrad Cowboys miserably fail to dance like this at a campfire in Leningrad Cowboys Go America. And they're supposed to be Russians.
Seen in October when the Bolshevik operatives infiltrate the army of monarchist Gen. Kornilov and make friends. This results in the failure of Kornilov's coup attempt.
In Patton, Russian soldiers do this at a party after Third Army has linked up with the Soviets at the end of the war. Patton, who hates the Russians, is not impressed.
Vasyl does the hopak dance in Earth (1930), although he does not bust out the squat move.
In Downfall, a few Soviet soldiers can be seen doing this as they celebrate their victory in Berlin.
U.S. Ambassador Joseph Davies' daughter sees some Russians doing this at an outdoor party in Mission to Moscow and wishes that she could learn now to dance like that.
The Human Comedy includes an approximately ten-second glimpse of some Russians when Tom and Diana observe the various ethnic communities celebrating at a town festival. Naturally, the Russians do this dance.
The Mysterious Lady: Performed, presumably by peasant entertainers, at the fancy ball thrown for Tania, in pre-World War I Russian Poland.
Anna Karenina: They even do it at the opera, or at least they do it at the opera that Anna and Vronsky go to see, which is apparently some sort of Down on the Farm story.
War and Peace (1956): Apparently upper-class Russians do the squat dance too, as seen at a drunken party attended by Pierre early in the film.

Literature

A rare female example: Tib in Betsy-Tacy is mentioned as being able to do this dance, using it as the grand finale of her show dance.
Firebird (Lackey) has Ilya use this as a form of exercise (since he's currently playing The Fool he can't do normal version of keeping in shape) and the narration makes a point of mentioning all the various moves part of it, not just the squatting.
Tommy's friend attempts it in the novel version of Carrie and falls on his ass.
In The Dilbert Principle, Scott Adams mentions "Russian squat dancing," and calls it by that name. In a footnote, he says, "Yes, I know there must be a different name for it. But they should call it "squat dancing."
August 1914: The novel recounts the Battle of Tannenberg at the start of World War I, a Curb-Stomp Battle in which an entire Russian army was surrounded and captured by the Germans. Colonel Vorotyntsev watches a Russian wagon train cross a bridge. One carter "even contrived to bounce along the cobbled road in a squatting Russian dance." Besides adding a little bit of atmosphere, this whole passage is meant to demonstrate how crude and half-assed the Russian supply system is; a theme throughout the whole book is how thoroughly Easy Logistics is averted, as Russian soldiers starve for days while on the march.
Referenced in If I Fall, If I Die. Will practices sliding across the ice in a squat with one leg extended, a move he calls "the Cossack."

Live-Action TV

At one point, Drew Carey appeared to be about to do some of this, then his back gave out.
- Drew Carey appears to know the entirety of the dance in real life, having pulled it off on Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Parodied on The Muppet Show: Pig Muppets in cossack costumes dance like this, one of them kicks with both legs at once and hovers in the air for a split second before falling to the floor.
Three Sheets included host Zane Lamprey asking a Russian about the dance in the Moscow episode. The Russian explained that they didn't dance like that... but that he knew how to, from watching American movies.
Battle Fever J, the third Super Sentai series, had each team member representing a different country and performing a national dance; no points for guessing what Battle Cossack's dance was.
Happy Days had an episode with a dance marathon, with Fonzie throwing this out as a challenge dance at the end, allowing he and his partner, Joanie, to win.
One season of The Amazing Race had the contestants doing this as part of a Detour. MANY of the contestants, both male and female opted to do this, although not without some pain (or trouser splits!)
Mocked in an episode of Hogan's Heroes after Schultz says he'll be sent to the Russian front if Colonel Klink ever does a thorough roll-call and discovers one of Hogan's men is missing.
Colonel Hogan: (sarcastically) Don't tell me you're afraid of a bunch of guys who dance sitting down?
So You Think You Can Dance: Part of the Russian Folk Dance on the season one of its performers (one Jeanine Mason) would go on to win. KALINKA!
Russian spy Illya Kuryakin did this briefly in the second-season episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. entitled "The Yukon Affair".
Star Trek: The Original Series: Mr. Chekov performs this dance in "I Mudd".
The Love Boat episode "Alaska Wedding Cruise" has the boat stopping in Sitka, where a group of Russian folk dancers do the dance.
The Good Place: In "Best Self", Chidi and Jason dance this way while the group are marking their final night in the Neighborhood before it's decommissioned.
This is one of the many dances that Olive and Otto perform in order to solve a bridge troll's riddle in the Odd Squad episode "Trials and Tubulations". Unfortunately, it's not the correct answer.

Musical

Fiddler on the Roof during the song "To Life".
A bit of this shows up in the choreography for "The Soviet Machine" in the London production of Chess.
Act 2 of Riverdance features an elaborate (and awesome) Russian dance number. It starts with Hopek-style dancing and turns it up a notch.
Moskau by German band Dschinghis Khan seems to be associated with this in the minds of many. They never actually perform this at any point in the video, though.
The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Operatic Society Production of The Mikado includes a musical number that cycles rapidly through several national styles, in which the Russian segment features a group of ladies performing the Russian squat dance with the aid of chairs the same color as the backdrop.
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the squirrels do a Russian squat dance while Veruca does ballet before they kill her.

Music

Mentioned in Boney M's song "Rasputin". The eponymous mad monk is said to dance the Kozachok "really wunderbar" in it. And the Face of the Band Bobby Farrell performed it on stage for the song.
Featured a lot in the Basement Jaxx's music video for "Take Me Back to Your House". Bears get to dance, too.
The music video for the song "Energia" by Russkaja features this every time the chorus plays.
On Shirim's Klezmer reimagining of The Nutcracker, "The Russian Dance" is appropriately renamed "Kozatsky 'Till You Dropsky."
When Hardcore Techno arrived to Russia and was appropriated as the hardbass subgenre, one of the first things to change was replacing the Dutch hakken dance with the Russian gopak dance.
Russian Folk Rock band Otava Yo avert this. Even when their live gigs mean that everybody gets up and dances. The video for Sumetskaya^notesubtitled as Russian Couplets for Fighting features young peasant men engaging in dancing and play-fighting, accompanied by the band's music, and only once gets anywhere near the kozachok. On the other hand, there is this live version. Which has an unseemly amount of squat-dancing.

Pinball

Gomez and Uncle Fester do this in The Addams Family during The Mamushka, and throw their hands and feet every time a target is hit.

Professional Wrestling

Alex Koslov dons his hat before doing the squat dance to the head of an opponent in the "victim" position.

Theme Parks

The "It's a Small World" ride at Disney Land has a Russian puppet doing the squat dance.

Video Games

Zangief's ending from Street Fighter II, where Mikhail Gorbachev arrives to congratulate him^*See? No more scenes like that. That's Why We Are Bummed: Communism Fell. In Pocket Fighter he has it as one of his special attacks — he advances while dancing, kicking his opponent further and further back.
- In Street Fighter IV, when you get to the rival battle as El Fuerte, Zangief does this while introducing himself.
In Punch-Out!!, Soda Popinski does this in one of his win animations.
Part of the male dwarf dance in World of Warcraft. But not the Slavic-accented Draenei, oddly enough. They dance to "Tunak Tunak Tun", which is Indian. Perhaps because the squat dance would be anatomically difficult with the draenei's goat-like legs.
The Jack series of robots from Tekken have something like this in their moveset because they are made in Russia.
Beowulf from Skullgirls uses this dance as an attack, while standing on a chair, no less.
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, a mask can be used to make ReDeads dance in this fashion. Also, the final boss may randomly do this when you fight it.
The Soviet Conscript from Red Alert 3 does it as an Idle Animation.
Might Guy's Leaf Style Youth Exercise in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm has this dance as a punishment if Guy cannot do 100 pushups in 5 seconds. He does these pushups while headbutting his opponent's stomach, and if you fail the QTE mashing, Guy will only manage to do 99, will start crying waterfall tears, and does the dance in retreat. He remains in this dance for a bit after the move, leaving him open for hitting.
Unpatched copies and the shareware demo of Duke Nukem 3D allow Duke to use both the off hand "Mighty Foot" (kick with left foot) and Emergency Weapon kick (kick with right foot) at the same time. Fans tend to see it as Duke either doing this trope, or imitating Liu Kang.
In Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Rayman does this after completing every level.
Fable has this as one of the "expression" animations you can make your character do.
Russian Dancing Men is a rhythm game for iPhone & iPad based on the flash music vid below.
In the second game in the Destroy All Humans! series, while Crypto is in Tunguska, the locals will usually do this kind of dance whenever they are under his Free Love spell.
In Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, Rasputin does this dance at the start of the boss battle against him.
In Super Hero Squad Online, this is Colossus's dance animation. Naturaliski.
Dampierre from the Soul Series has this as one of his kick combos. It can be devastating if timed properly, but hilarious if you fail.
Team Fortress 2 added it as a taunt as part of the Gun Mettle Update with the name "Kazotzky Kick". If one person starts doing it, then anyone nearby can hit the taunt button to follow suit. The best part is that you can still move around (albeit slowly) while doing it, meaning that it's actually possible to capture the intelligence while doing it just to humiliate the other team, as this video shows.
Rash can do this in Killer Instinct, but since he can morph his feet into giant spiked boots, it becomes a lot more painful for his opponents.
When Just Dance 2 included Boney M's Rasputin in its repertory, it logically snuck some bits of cossack dancing in the sketch itself.
- 2014's version of YMCA reused the same dancer and also had him cossack dance in his solo bit.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors: Buggy does the dance before activating his first Limit Break, Bara Bara Festival.
Viktor from Paladins is an old Russian soldier who naturally has the cossack dance as one of his taunts.
The monkey's dancing animation in Ultimate Chicken Horse.
In Feel the Magic: XY/XX's "Dance" stage, the Down instruction briefly makes the player character engage in this.
Final Fantasy XIV as of patch 5.3 has an emote that is in part based on the dance, called the "Lali-Hop".
In Gundam Battle Assault 2, Bolt Gundam does this dance as its crouch kick attack.

Web Original

Russian Dancing Men, which spawned the game.
Someone kindly put a RunD.M.C. song over footage of one of these.

Web Video

Epic Rap Battles of History:
- Rasputin vs. Stalin has the two opponents doing this after the battle alongside challengers Lenin, Gorbachev, and Putin. Stalin, who was not Russian by birth, seems to be having a bit of trouble with it.
- Che Guevara does the Russian dance in the background of his battle against Guy Fawkes, symbolizing his alliance with the USSR during his lifetime.

Western Animation

The Footloose episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender had a similar dance.
The Futurama episode "A Taste of Freedom" opens with Fry walking in on everyone watching Zoidberg doing one of these in honor of the "Freedom Day" holiday. Fry decides to join in to avoid standing out. Subverts the traditional association with Communist Mother Russia with the chanted lyrics "freedom, freedom, freedom, OY!"
- Later, a bunch of Uncle Sams on stilts are seen doing the dance.
In the Phineas and Ferb episode "The Wizard of Odd", Doofenschmirtz's guards do this dance during their big number.
A Woody Woodpecker short where Woody disguises himself as a Russian visitor takes advantage of this dance to position himself to literally kick Wally Walrus in the butt but good.
In The Simpsons, a file photo of Homer doing this comes back to haunt him when he's accused of being a Communist after heading into Russian waters with a nuclear submarine he unintentionally and accidentally commandeered.
In the Looney Tunes cartoon Hare Tonic, Elmer Fudd is afraid he has Rabbititis, and rushes to see a doctor, who is Bugs Bunny in disguise. Bugs tests Elmer Fudd's reflexes by alternately hitting each knee with a rubber mallet, and alternates between each knee faster and faster until Elmer is doing this dance. Bugs soon joins him, giving away his disguise in the process.
Elmer: HEY! You're not a doctor, you're that scwewy wabbit!
- In another Elmer Fudd cartoon, The Big Snooze, Bugs tells him to "Run this way!" to escape. This includes: doing a silly run, running upside-down, hopping like a frog, running upside-down again, yelling "Hey!", doing this dance, and yelling "Hey!" again before repeating.
- The short Tin Pan Alley Cats has a scene of Josef Stalin kicking Adolf Hitler's butt doing the dance, with Hitler replacing "Hey!" with "Heil!".
- Funny enough, 1943's Pigs in a Polka (a take on The Three Little Pigs set to Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dances) has The Big Bad Wolf entering by going down a road doing the Russian squat dance. He even does a hand signal when turning left.
In the Popeye short My Artistical Temperature, this is invoked when Popeye gets flung backward through a painting of a Russian man, with his legs sticking out.
Done in The Critic by Franklin during a square dance with Ross Perot's running mate James Stockdale.
This one of the Goofalototots' main shticks, the one that is based off Wakko from Animaniacs, in an episode of The Mask.
In an episode of Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain are subjected to Pavlovian conditioning. Every time a bell rings, Pinky does That Russian Squat Dance, while every time a gong is sounded Brain sings "I'm A Little Teapot" complete with actions.
In the Dilbert episode "The Dupey", after Dilbert's Dupey goes through its metamorphosis and becomes an ugly creature, Ratbert declares himself the cutest thing in the house again and does this dance.
In Oggy and the Cockroaches, this is the cockroaches' victory dance.
In Wonder Pets! episode "Save the Nutcracker", the dance is called The Bear Dance. The Mouse King does it as he makes off with the Wonder Pets' nutcracker, and the Wonder Pets follow suit as they give chase. The Mouse King's guards do the dance while they try to stop the Wonder Pets, who dance right past them.
In the Disney Silly Symphonies version of The Grasshopper and the Ants, the grasshopper and a young ant do this dance a few times to the former's fiddle.
In The Amazing World of Gumball, Gumball attempts to do this in the episode "The Bros," but his torso's too short and ends up kicking himself in the face repeatedly. (Alternatively, he's stretching his legs long enough to hit his own face.)
The Cold Opening to the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Powerless" featured a battle between the "Batmen of All Nations" and the "Jokers of All Nations". One of the Jokers in question was a Cossack Joker, so of course his contribution to the fight was kicking at one of the Batmen in this manner.
The intro of Count Duckula has the eponymous character doing this dance while playing a harmonica.
One episode of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi has Ami and Yumi doing this dance during a dance competition that the two of them entered. They are even wearing a corresponding costume.
In one episode of Darkwing Duck, Agent Grizzlikof does this dance as an attack against F.O.W.L. agents.

Moscow, Moscow, throw your glasses at the wall, and good fortune to us all, ho-ho-ho-ho-ho, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, join us for a kazachok, we'll go dancing round the clock, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, drinking vodka all night long, keeps you happy, makes you strong, ho-ho-ho-ho-ho, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, come and have a drink and then, you will never leave again, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Hey!

—Dschinghis Khan, Moscow (English version)

Kazotsky Kick

Probably the most Slavic dance taunt in the whole game. When you think of the Soviet Union, you think of one thing: the freedom to laugh and love and sing and dance!

If Soda Popinsk...

Alternative Title(s): Cossack Dance, Kazatsky

How to Dance like a Russian

From legendary folk dance to world-class ballet, Russia has a worldwide reputation for dance stretching back centuries. As any Russian would tell you, it is in their blood, and has become an intrinsic part of Russia’s national identity. As our way of paying homage to this much-loved art form, we will teach you about five Russian dances, from soaring leaps to high kicks and squats.

Prisyádka

When you think of ‘Russian dancing’ your mind probably conjures a man in a furry hat, doing a seemingly impossible, tip-toe squatted Can-can. The good news is that you’re right! This infamous dance isn’t simply a cartoon caricature of Russian culture, but the genuine thing; called, the prisyádka. The dance is an Eastern Slavic folk dance, not Cossack as many people assume. The moves originated centuries ago as a form of athletic competition, where excited onlookers would place bets as to which dancers would Kazotsky kick the most times, kick the highest or who might lose balance first. Reputation, masculinity and even fortunes have been won and lost for the sake of a Russian squat dance, and prisyádka is just the tip of the pointe shoe when it comes to the fascinating cultural history of Russian dance moves.

Russian Split

If you lack the balancing skills or leg muscles needed for successful squat dancing, you could attempt the gravity-defying ‘Russian Split’. This move, seen famously in figure skating routines performed by world-class skater Sasha Cohen, is a gazelle-like leap, achieving a straddle split five feet up in the air. Whilst these splits are considered ‘basic’ moves in the figure skating world, they are far from easy and when performed well and with height, they are breathtaking. In fact, a version of the Russian Split called the ‘Grande Jeté’ is one of the most exciting moves a ballerina can perform on stage. No wonder the best ballerinas in the world are Russian.

Khorovod

So perhaps not everyone can Kazotsky Kick or Russian Split, but there is good news for those of us who are less athletic. If you have little fingers, then this next dance could be perfect for you. The ancient Khorovod dance is documented for at least the last 1000 years in Russian and probably originates as far back as the dancing of Chorus groups in Ancient Greece. To get the moves right, you simply link pinkies with a fellow dancer and weave around the dance floor in a circular motion. In Belgorod, the locals achieved a world record of 2511 dancers in one Khorovod. But mind your geography, as in the Northern regions of Russia the dance is known to be gentle and restrained, but in the South, the dance has a more exciting reputation for hot-blooded frenetic movements and complex patterns.

Troika (dance)

“But it is so hard to find a dance partner” I hear you cry. Well, should you find yourself in a dance hall where the number of women far outnumber the men then show no fear, simply request a ‘Troika’, a wholesome ménage a trois. Named after the traditional Russian ‘Troika’ chariots pulled by three horses, one man and two women imitate a prancing horse, much as you may have done as a child pretending to ride. With plenty of bouncing and elegant hoof work, you then duck under each other’s arms in a pleasing pattern. It’s a sociable and light-hearted folk dance that gives everyone a turn.

Barynya

If you have no skill whatsoever, but possess determined enthusiasm for Russian cultural dances, then try the simple and passionate Barynya dance. Performed to lewd and humorous poem songs called ‘chastushkas’ in alternating tempos, this dance simply requires an un-choreographed, but heartfelt stomp around the dance floor. I think most of us can manage that at least.

So, there you are, five Russian dance moves for you to practice in your living room before you visit the real Russia and encounter these dances first-hand. But maybe wrap up the more valuable ornaments first!

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Squats in Russian dance | horeograph.

COM

Today I will start talking about the male movements of the Russian folk dance and the first will be the squats. Agree, this is an integral part of the male dance.

So, what is a prank? A squat is a movement peculiar only to a male dance, the basis of which is a deep squat.

Squats are divided into two types:

1st type. Performer rises to height after each deep squat.
2nd view. The performer does the entire movement in a deep squat, without rising to height.

Performing squats of the 1st type .

The performer, jumping a little, sharply and deeply squats on half-toes in 1st position, heels together, toes apart, knees directed to the sides. Then the performer rises from a deep squat, jumping slightly, and descends from a jump either on both legs or on one leg.
When descending into a deep squat, it is necessary to keep yourself on the elastic muscles of the thigh and lower leg until the end of the movement, without putting a load on the knee joint.
During the whole squat, the body is straight and taut. It is necessary to hold the back firmly, tensing the muscles and connecting the shoulder blades. Under no circumstances should you lean forward.
Type 1 squats can be performed separately and in combination with other movements - with a pick, crackers, jumps, etc.

Type 2 squats.

Compared to squats of the 1st type, they are more diverse in execution technique. In some of them, the performer, without getting up from a deep squat, alternately jumps from one leg to another, in others, leaning on one leg and raising his free leg, rotates on the supporting leg, etc.

Squats of both the 1st and 2nd type can be performed on the spot and moving forward or to the side, with the exception of the top, which is always performed on the spot.

Let's consider squats that belong to the 1st type

Squat with throwing the leg forward

The performer rises from a deep squat alternately on one or the other leg, simultaneously throwing his free leg forward. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

Raz The performer, from a slightly noticeable jump, sharply and deeply squats on the floor -
toes of both feet in 1st position, heels together, toes apart, knees directed to the sides.
AND Pause.
Two The performer with a slight jump rises from a deep squat
and descends on the low half-toes of the left leg bent at the knee. The right leg rises low forward, free at the knee and instep.
AND Pause.

Movement continues on the other leg. The body is straight.

In this squat, you can throw your leg not straight forward, but forward across the supporting leg. When the right leg is lifted forward across the left leg, both hands are thrown to the right, not above the waist, the elbows are free, the head is raised slightly turned to the left shoulder; when the left leg is raised, the arms are moved to the left, the head turns to the right shoulder.

Lateral squat with leg out to the side

The performer rises from a deep squat on one leg while simultaneously lifting his free leg to the side. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

(One) The performer, from a slightly noticeable jump, sharply and deeply squats on the semi-
toes of both feet in 1st position, knees directed to the sides. The body is straight, the head is directed towards the viewer.
(I) Pause.
(Two) The performer rises sharply from a deep squat, slightly bouncing to the right, and descends either on the entire foot or on the low half-toes of the right leg bent at the knee. The left leg rises low to the left and slightly forward, the knee and instep are free. The body is either straight or slightly inclined towards the supporting leg, the head is raised and turned towards the left shoulder. The right hand is raised to the right, the left lies on the side of the waist,
(I) Pause.

The movement is performed either alternately with one and the other foot or all the time with one foot: the performer bounces several times to the right on the right foot and raises the left foot to the left (and vice versa).

This squat can be performed in a slightly different way: without lifting the free leg to the side, but placing it to the side on the heel. The supporting leg after the jump falls on the entire foot, the knee is more bent. The movement can be performed at a fast and medium pace.

Heel slip squat to 2nd position

Performer rises from deep squat on both feet and slips into 2nd position on heels. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

(One) The performer, from a slightly noticeable jump, sharply and deeply squats on the half-toes of both legs in 1st position, knees directed to the sides,
(I) Pause.
(Two) The performer, rising sharply from a deep squat, slips on his heels to the sides, into a wide reversible 2nd position. The knees are extended.
(I) Pause.

On the count of “one” of the next measure, the performer descends from heels from a slightly noticeable jump into a deep squat in 1st position. The body is straight.

Squatting with jumping on toes and jumping on heels

The performer rises from a deep squat on the toes of both legs, then jumps to heels in 2nd position. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

(One) The performer, from a slightly noticeable jump, sharply and deeply squats on the half-toes of both legs in 1st position, knees directed to the sides.
(S) The performer with a slight jump rises sharply from a deep squat and jumps on the half-fingers in the reverse 2nd position. The knees are bent and directed inward, that is, one to the other, the feet are directed to the sides.
(Two) From the half-toes, the performer jumps to the heels of both legs, placing them in the 2nd position and straightening the knees.
(I) Pause. Straight body.

Heel slip squat with one foot forward, the other back

Performing this type of squatting, the performer turns after two deep squats for half a circle, either with his back or facing the viewer. Starting position of the legs 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

The movement takes four measures.

1st measure
(One) The performer from a slightly noticeable jump. Squats sharply and deeply on the half-toes of both legs in 1st position, knees directed to the sides.
(I) Pause.
(Two) The performer, rising sharply, slips on the heels of both legs, while the right leg moves forward, the left leg moves back. The knees are extended.
(I) Pause.

2nd measure
(One) The performer descends from heels from a slightly noticeable jump into a deep squat on half toes in 1st position.
(I) Pause.
(Two) The performer, rising sharply, with a slight jump turns half a circle to the left, with his back to the viewer and slips on the heels of both legs, pushing his left foot to the back of the stage and moving his right foot back towards the viewer. The knees are extended.
(I) Pause.

3rd measure
(One) Deep squat, as in the 1st measure, but with your back to the viewer.
(I) Pause.
(Two) The performer, rising sharply with his back to the viewer, slips on the heels of both legs, pushing his right foot to the back of the stage, moving his left foot back towards the viewer.
(I) Pause.

4th measure
(One) Deep squat, as in the 1st measure, but with your back to the viewer.
(I) Pause.
(Two) The performer, rising sharply, with a slight jump turns half a circle to the left, facing the viewer and slips on the heels of both legs,
pushing the left leg forward, right back,
(I) Pause.

The body is straight during the entire movement. Hands in position No. 1. The movement is performed clearly, easily, lively. The pace is slow, medium or fast.

Pryadka “with a pick”

The performer rises from a deep squat on one leg, then makes a “pick” movement with the other leg. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

(One) The performer sharply and deeply squats on the toes of both legs in 1st position, knees directed to the sides. The body is straight, the head is straight.
(S) The performer with a small jump rises sharply from a deep
squat on the entire foot of the right leg, bent at the knee. The left leg, bent at the knee, is placed permanently on the toe, at a distance of a foot to the left of the toe of the right leg, the knee is directed to the right, the foot is to the left. The body is slightly turned with the left shoulder forward, the head is towards the left shoulder,
(Two) The left leg, stretching at the knee, is placed on the heel forward and slightly to the left.
The body and head turn towards the left leg.
(I) Pause.

The movement continues with the other leg and can be done with a triple pick after one deep squat.

Squatting with palm strikes on the top of the boot

The performer, having risen after a deep squat on one leg, raises the other leg forward and strikes the top of the raised leg with his palm. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

(Raz ) The performer, jumping a little, squats sharply and deeply on the half-toes of both legs in 1st position, knees directed to the sides. Body straight, head straight,
(I) Pause.
(Two) The performer with a slight jump rises abruptly to the entire foot of the right leg, simultaneously lifting forward the left leg slightly bent at the knee and striking the top of the boot of the left leg with the palm of the right hand. After the blow, the right hand approaches the front of the body. The left hand is turned to the left. The body is tilted to the right side, the head is turned and tilted towards the hand making the blow.
(I) Pause

With the next measure, the movement is repeated and the performer strikes the top of the right leg with the palm of his left hand.

The second version of this movement: on the count of “two”, the performer strikes with his palm not on the top, but on the sole of the boot.
Third option: instead of hitting the boot shaft on the count of "two", the performer can make a simple hand clap under the knee of the leg raised up. In this case, the leg rises forward without eversion with a slightly bent knee pointing forward.

Squats of the 2nd type

Slider. "Slider" of the 1st type.

Without rising from a deep squat, the performer jumps on half-toes from one foot to the other, alternately throwing forward either the right or the left leg.

Starting position: the performer is in a deep squat in 6th position, on half-fingers, knees directed forward.
Time signature: 2/4.

(One) Having slightly jumped, but not rising from a deep squat, the performer jumps to the half-toes of his left foot. The right leg rises forward, stretching at the knee, the rise is free.
(S) Pause.
(Two) Without rising from a deep squat, the performer jumps to the half-toes of the right foot. The left leg is lifted forward, the lift is free, and (I) Pause.

When performing a “slider”, you cannot “settle”, giving a load on the knee joint: during the entire movement, you must keep the weight of the body on the elastic muscles of the thigh and lower leg. The body is straight, taut. Hands are in position No. 1, No. 2, in 2nd position, etc. The "slider" is performed easily, lively, at a fast, medium and slow pace.

"Slider" type 1 can be combined with hand claps under the leg extended forward. Claps are made either simultaneously with throwing the leg forward, that is, at the expense of “one” and “two”, or after throwing the leg out, that is, at the expense of “one-and”, “two-and”. During clapping, the body is tilted forward.

Slider, 2nd type.

Jumping from foot to foot is performed as in the 1st event. The only difference is that, throwing the leg forward, the performer puts it on the heel.
Jumping from foot to foot is performed in the 1st position, the legs are alternately thrown not forward, but to the side.

Spinning top

The performer rotates on one leg, in a deep squat, helping the rotation with his hands, which rest with their palms on the floor. The performer is in a deep squat on the half-toes of the right leg, the knee and toe are directed forward. The left leg is raised to the left or forward and is in the air all the time during the movement.

The body is strongly inclined forward towards the supporting leg. Hands rest with palms on the floor at a shoulder-width distance, fingers pointing forward. In this position, the young man performs a rotation to the right, quickly moving his hands along the direction of rotation, i. e., alternately lowering the palm of his right hand, then his left hand, to the floor, for every eighth measure. The supporting leg rotates in place, on the ball of the foot.

“Ball”

From a deep squat, the performer jumps slightly up with legs tucked in and crossed, then lowers himself onto the half-toes of both legs. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

(One) The performer, having jumped up, sharply falls on half-fingers into a deep squat in 1st position.
(I) The performer, without rising from a deep squat, jumps up low, crossing his legs, bent at the knees, right in front, left behind.
(Two) The performer descends from a jump into a deep squat on the half-toes of both legs in 1st position.
(R) Jump up, as if counting "one-and", crossing legs, left in front, right
in the back.

The performer in this type of squat should bounce low from the floor, elastically, like a ball after hitting the floor. The body is straight.

These are the types of spinnerets in Russian folk dance. If you know more, dear colleagues, add!

Sincerely, Natalia Dovbysh
Everything for choreographers and dancers
Based on materials from http://piruet.info

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Types of Russian folk dances: list. Folk dance movements

In an old legend dedicated to the kingdom of Moravia, the harp-narrator speaks of dams on the lakes, where young people gathered, “danced and played”. It is hard to say what kind of dances the ancient Russians performed on rafts. But Russian dance in any case is based on these dances.

Guslyar does not indicate the details of those events, but a couple of times in 3 small verses he repeats such an old word as "SRAM". Most likely, even without karaoke, DJ ancestors had a great time.

Dances with bears

The first words about Russian folk dances appeared in 907, when Prophetic Oleg celebrated the victory over the Greeks in Kyiv. At that celebration, sixteen dancers dressed up as bears and 4 bears dressed up as dancers performed for the guests. At the end of the dinner, in accordance with the command of Oleg, the bears were to be released on all 4 sides, and those who danced were to be executed. As it was determined later, the consistent prince considered that the dancers were the ambassadors of the Northerners, who owed him hundreds of marten skins.

About Petr Prisyadka

P. Prisyadka the mason did not visit other people's palaces and yards. He turned products while squatting. Every day in the evening after work, he went to Khreshchatyk and, after drinking wine with kalach, began to jump, thereby doing a warm-up for his legs that had become numb for the whole day.

V. Monomakh, whom the people of Kiev invited to the kingdoms, to eliminate lawlessness, drove in the evening with his retinue through the streets of the city. He was immediately struck by a strange dance. Monomakh showed Metropolitan Nicephorus a dancing guy. A couple of days later, Petro performed a dance for Monomakh himself every day - for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Dancing like a squat or a squat soon became fashionable in the city. Full buffoons began to lose weight and learned to dance "In the Squat", studying other elements of Russian dance, breaking their own legs on uneven sidewalks.

In 1126, after the death of Monomakh, Peter returned to his own ordinary duties. He died at a ripe old age, although he was only 38 years old. Here it is worth mentioning that Russian folk dances are popular not only in our country, but also abroad.

Tricks of Russian folk dance

In the West, it is believed that interesting jumps, movements, which any Russian dance includes, are a consequence of the cold climatic conditions of the northern country. It is known that squats, "pistols", "hell", as well as a host of other tricks, were invented by Russians, just to keep warm.

Indeed, a large number of traditional Russian celebrations were celebrated in autumn and winter, after the completion of work in the field. All holidays were held according to the well-known scheme:

1. The festivities began with the reading of a prayer,

2. Then everyone began to drink and eat plentifully, sing songs, dance,

3. At the end, there were fisticuffs “wall to wall”.

After a short break, the procedure was repeated again.

Experts noted that at low temperatures, extreme dances by Russians acted as an excellent option for continuing the celebration on the street - in those days, holidays were not held at home near the TV.

Climate theory - to believe or not to believe?

Many do not agree with the fundamentals of the climatic theory of the appearance of Russian dance in Western perception. In winter frosts, Russians wear fur coats and sheepskin coats. In such clothes it is impossible to swear. Of course, in this case, you can do a tap dance, jump, etc. , but not “Pistol”, “Goat”, etc.

A bit about buffoons

Many people think that Russian dances of buffoons were promoted. That's what the street performers were called. Among them:

some troupes did tricks,
others predicted the future,
still others sang and danced.

However, they were all excellent at stealing.

Buffoons wandered around the cities, fairs and learned new tricks and movements. And in other cities or settlements they showed their skills - this is how the Russian squat was passed “from foot to foot”.

After a certain period of time, a number of teams broke up, others were killed by competitors, and some were captured by guardsmen and turned into court teams at the courts of wealthy landowners.

But in any case, the Russian people have loved to sing and dance since ancient times. And today, with the advent of karaoke, a lot of people love to sing their favorite song and dance their favorite dance just for the soul in the company of friends. And such a vacation brings not only a lot of pleasure, but also has a positive effect on health.

The history of the squat battle dance

In the Russian military tradition, the characters of the fighters were divided into two categories:

1. Chewing, chewing gum.

2. Born for goodness, patient, long "warming up" and long "cooling down".

For each of these characters, tradition recommended a special combat system. Zhvavym explosive, amplitude and energy-intensive. Kind, economical and uncompromising. However, often fighters studied both techniques, knowing that one was better adapted to the combat of the horseman, and the other to the needs of the infantry reconnaissance.

These combat systems each had their own specialized combat dance. We do not know the ancient reliable names of these dances, they have changed. It is well known that the dance that is now called hopak was called "Kazachok" in the time of N. V. Gogol. The same dance in the northwest at 19century was called "Lunyok". The name of the dances was often transformed depending on the popular dance tunes at that time. The name of the music became the name of the dance. However, all of these dances had movements with the same definition of "squatting". This is the sum of the combat movements of chewing fighters used in the dance. All these dances could be danced in a squat without it.

For those "born for good" the dance was similar to the northwestern buz with all its variants of "breaking". In this dance, elements of the squat were also often used, but occasionally, as an ornament.

Squat dance

This dance was widespread throughout Russia. In the early Middle Ages, the total number of Eastern Slavs did not exceed a million, the language was practically the same, communication within the military class was close. The Slavic clan grew, the number increased, features appeared in the language, culture, variability appeared in the methods of combat, and the previously uniform combat dances were modified.

The root, the archetype of the squatting dance is the same for all Eastern Slavs. A number of differences in music and dynamics do not change the original meaning and appearance of the ancient Russian battle dance. Ethnologists and folklorists are well aware of the rule: “The presence of many variants of the same rite, text, speaks of antiquity. The absence of variants, of a “remake.”

Belarusians squatting in the Trepak dance.

Ukrainians in "Gopak", "Kazachka" and "Gonta".

1. "Lunyok" - did not reach our time.

2. "Buza" - squatting only occasionally.

3. Russian, dances alone and for a couple, there are dance options where there is little squatting.

4. "Lady" - dances with a girl who is trying to beat off another dancer. This option was very difficult, requiring high control over complex combat movements. It was considered unacceptable not only to touch the partner with a blow, but even to frighten her with a dangerous movement.

There is a version without squatting.

5. "Apple" - a naval dance, a late version of the East Slavic dance in a squat. Dancing alone in a circle and together with an opponent.

Initially, the crouching technique existed in two forms:

1. As a way of fighting.

2. Like a war dance.

Squat fight included four main levels.

1. Somersaults.

2. Rompers (squatting and all fours)

3. Striking and moving while standing.

4. Jumps and wheels.

The necessary motor skills, specific for such a style of combat, and especially endurance and fitness, were developed by men by constantly practicing in dance and fighting competitions.

In the Vologda Oblast, it was said that dancers' competitions were held before the war. More often, this happened at fairs. The dancers were "argued" and made bets. The winner received a good prize in the form of a gift, wine or money. The booty was divided among the whole artel.

Preparing for this, the peasants left home, sometimes for several days and trained there, inventing new combinations of dance "knees", unknown to their rivals and striking the imagination of the fans. For the time being, they were kept secret, and, speaking at competitions, they "presented" "new developments." This tradition constantly replenished and enriched the dance technique.

The performer of Russian dance has very expressive arms, head, shoulders, hips, face, hands, fingers, etc. Dance makes it possible to reveal personal, individual character traits - to show his manner of performance ("trick"). Each performer can show his ingenuity, skill, professionalism in the dance, show off a complex, virtuoso knee. Anyone can dance. It differs from the round dance in a richer and more complex vocabulary of dance movements. The dance includes strong technical fractions, "rope", "accordion", various squats, crackers, crouching, spinning and other knees. In addition to enriching the vocabulary, dance makes it possible to complicate and diversify the pattern: dashing outings of guys, perky penetrations of girls, dashes, various transitions, etc. - all this creates new patterns and constructions inherent only in dance.

Types of swearing

1st view. The performer rises to height after each deep squat.
2nd view. The performer does the entire movement in a deep squat, without rising to height.

Performing squats of the 1st type .

The performer, jumping a little, sharply and deeply squats on half-toes in 1st position, heels together, toes apart, knees directed to the sides. Then the performer rises from a deep squat, jumping slightly, and descends from a jump either on both legs or on one leg.
When descending into a deep squat, it is necessary to keep yourself on the elastic muscles of the thigh and lower leg until the end of the movement, without putting a load on the knee joint.
During the whole squat, the body is straight and taut. It is necessary to hold the back firmly, tensing the muscles and connecting the shoulder blades. Under no circumstances should you lean forward.
Squats of the 1st type can be performed separately and in combination with other movements - with a pick, crackers, jumps, etc.

Consider squats that belong to the 1st type .

Squat with leg forward.

The performer rises from a deep squat alternately on one leg, then on the other, simultaneously throwing his free leg forward. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

Times The performer, from a slightly noticeable jump, sharply and deeply squats on the half-toes of both legs in 1st position, heels together, toes apart, knees directed to the sides.
I Pause.
Two The performer with a slight jump rises from a deep squat and descends onto the low half-toes of the left leg, bent at the knee. The right leg rises low forward, free at the knee and instep.
I Pause.

Movement continues on the other leg. The body is straight.

In this squat, you can throw your leg not straight forward, but forward across the supporting leg. When the right leg is lifted forward across the left leg, both hands are thrown to the right, not higher than the waist, elbows are free, the head is raised slightly turned to the left shoulder; when the left leg is raised, the arms are moved to the left, the head turns to the right shoulder.

Today I will start talking about the male movements of the Russian folk dance and the first will be the squats. Agree, this is an integral part of the male dance.

So, what is a prank? A squat is a movement peculiar only to a male dance, the basis of which is a deep squat.

Squats are divided into two types:

1st view. The performer rises to height after each deep squat.
2nd view. The performer does the entire movement in a deep squat, without rising to height.

Performing squats of the 1st type .

The performer, jumping a little, sharply and deeply squats on half-toes in 1st position, heels together, toes apart, knees directed to the sides. Then the performer rises from a deep squat, jumping slightly, and descends from a jump either on both legs or on one leg.
When descending into a deep squat, it is necessary to keep yourself on the elastic muscles of the thigh and lower leg until the end of the movement, without putting a load on the knee joint.
During the whole squat, the body is straight and taut. It is necessary to hold the back firmly, tensing the muscles and connecting the shoulder blades. Under no circumstances should you lean forward.
Squats of the 1st type can be performed separately and in combination with other movements - with a pick, crackers, jumps, etc.

Squats of the 2nd type.

Compared with squats of the 1st type, they are more diverse in terms of execution technique. In some of them, the performer, without getting up from a deep squat, alternately jumps from one leg to another, in others, leaning on one leg and raising his free leg, rotates on the supporting leg, etc.

Squats of both the 1st and 2nd type can be performed on the spot and moving forward or to the side, with the exception of the top, which is always performed on the spot.

Consider squats that belong to the 1st type

The performer rises from a deep squat alternately on one leg, then on the other, simultaneously throwing his free leg forward. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

Times
toes of both feet in 1st position, heels together, toes apart, knees directed to the sides.
I Pause.
Two The performer with a slight jump rises from a deep squat
and descends on the low half-toes of the left leg bent at the knee. The right leg rises low forward, free at the knee and instep.
I Pause.

Movement continues on the other leg. The body is straight.

The performer rises from a deep squat on one leg while simultaneously lifting his free leg to the side. Starting position of the legs: 1st position. Musical size: 2/4.

(Time) The performer, from a slightly noticeable jump, squats sharply and deeply on the semi-
toes of both legs in 1st position, knees directed to the sides. The body is straight, the head is directed towards the viewer.
(I) Pause.
(Two) The performer rises sharply from a deep squat, slightly bouncing to the right, and descends either on the entire foot or on the low half-toes of the right leg bent at the knee. The left leg rises low to the left and slightly forward, the knee and instep are free. The body is either straight or slightly inclined towards the supporting leg, the head is raised and turned towards the left shoulder. The right hand is raised to the right, the left lies on the side of the waist,
(I) Pause.