Music of the Week: July 15, 2022: Circassian Dance of the Nobility

Our Music of the Week is a special performance and ancient dance from the historical region of Circassia in the North Caucasus. The Circassians, or Adyghe people as they prefer to call themselves, are known for their legendary beauty. There are only about 800,000 of them remaining in today’s Russian republics of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachay-Cherkessia.

This traditional dance is the Circassian Royal Wedding dance and displays the grace and magic of what may encompass thousands of years of cultural and spiritual identity. Circassian dance has a lot in common with ballet, while the female dancers seem “untouchable” in their beauty and elevated nobility.

The wedding performed here, seeming to be more than a human celebration, is reminiscent of a heavenly assembly of crowned spiritual beings—floating above the ground—engaged in a “hieros gamos,” a sacred marriage of eternal souls.

Spellbinding.

4 Comments

  2. That’s a wonderful clip.

    It was the first time I have seen a man dancing on point.

    Catch a glimpse of the audience – huge, engaged and all ages.

    It was also interesting to see the expressions on faces of the dancers instead of the usual plastic smiles.

    Long sleeves are a sign of being part of the leisured class, and if you look at photos of Stalin, Khruschev and Mao they have the sleeves on their jackets going almost half way down their hand.

    If you liked this you will probably enjoy the Beryozka Ensemble where the women glide gracefully like swans.
    https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/ballet/floating-russian-traditional-folk-dancers-mesmerising/

    ‘Beryozka’ is the Russian word for birch. This article gives some background on the meaning and significance of the birch tree in Russian culture.

    https://www.artpublikamag.com/post/the-unique-culture-and-mythology-behind-russia-s-famous-berezka-ensemble

    1. Thank you for the additional links, Andrew – and I was just musing about the man dancing on point, thinking the same as you, have not seen that before.

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