This dance….
is called: Веселка, Плескач =Rainbow, Pleskach
Pleskach is a Ukrainian social dance. It is a very energizing, playful and merry dance.Today it may be used during marriages or popular feasts.
Societal relevance
The Ukrainian folk dances have been highly instrumentalized during the period of the Soviet Union. The folk dances allowed the local population and different ethnic groups of the different countries such as the Ukraine a space to follow their traditional culture within the heavily imposed ideologist culture of the Soviet Union. The folk dances thus served as identification for the different ethnicities that were part of the Soviet Union.
Many folk dances have in this period been composed into stage pieces.
Nevertheless, those stage pieces link back to the dance steps and music of the former folk dances.
This dance is a stylized form of Pleskach dances. “Pleskach” (clapping and dancing) can be either a separate dance or an element of more complex dancing forms. Pleskach dances are pair dances that can be performed by unlimited number of couples at the same time. Rhythmic hands slapping (“pleskannya”) is an important element of the dance that explains its name. While performing Plesckach, couples hold hands like in Polka and go round in circles counter-clockwise. Then they stop and put their hands down. After this, the couples stand in circles and do specific triple stamp with the left foot. Finally they do three hand slaps, and then after some other moves repeat everything once again.
In this video you can observe the traditional movement patterns that derive from the traditional Ukrainian folkloric dance steps. The dance consists of geometrical patterns in spaces such as circles, squares and lines. The movement patterns introduced are repeated in different combinations throughout the dance. Throughout the dance the group performs as a total body - a unison group. At times they disperse into couples or groups of four. There are solo sequences with one dancer moving into the centre of attention while the group supports and echoes the solo dance. The dance is performed by females only and promote a very feminine delicate, almost fragile and female figure.
Music
The dramaturgy of the dance follows the pattern of the music. The music is very melodic. It consists of rhythmical patterns and musical phrases that are repeated through the dance.The movements consist of repeating figures and patterns that correspond with the phrases of the music.
Costume
The dancers costumes refer to local clothing traditions.
[1] Talks with MAVKA (Artist Collective from Ukraine)
[2] Wikipedia, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_in_Ukraine
is called: Веселка, Плескач =Rainbow, Pleskach
Pleskach is a Ukrainian social dance. It is a very energizing, playful and merry dance.Today it may be used during marriages or popular feasts.
Societal relevance
The Ukrainian folk dances have been highly instrumentalized during the period of the Soviet Union. The folk dances allowed the local population and different ethnic groups of the different countries such as the Ukraine a space to follow their traditional culture within the heavily imposed ideologist culture of the Soviet Union. The folk dances thus served as identification for the different ethnicities that were part of the Soviet Union.
Many folk dances have in this period been composed into stage pieces.
Nevertheless, those stage pieces link back to the dance steps and music of the former folk dances.
This dance is a stylized form of Pleskach dances. “Pleskach” (clapping and dancing) can be either a separate dance or an element of more complex dancing forms. Pleskach dances are pair dances that can be performed by unlimited number of couples at the same time. Rhythmic hands slapping (“pleskannya”) is an important element of the dance that explains its name. While performing Plesckach, couples hold hands like in Polka and go round in circles counter-clockwise. Then they stop and put their hands down. After this, the couples stand in circles and do specific triple stamp with the left foot. Finally they do three hand slaps, and then after some other moves repeat everything once again.
In this video you can observe the traditional movement patterns that derive from the traditional Ukrainian folkloric dance steps. The dance consists of geometrical patterns in spaces such as circles, squares and lines. The movement patterns introduced are repeated in different combinations throughout the dance. Throughout the dance the group performs as a total body - a unison group. At times they disperse into couples or groups of four. There are solo sequences with one dancer moving into the centre of attention while the group supports and echoes the solo dance. The dance is performed by females only and promote a very feminine delicate, almost fragile and female figure.
Music
The dramaturgy of the dance follows the pattern of the music. The music is very melodic. It consists of rhythmical patterns and musical phrases that are repeated through the dance.The movements consist of repeating figures and patterns that correspond with the phrases of the music.
Costume
The dancers costumes refer to local clothing traditions.
[1] Talks with MAVKA (Artist Collective from Ukraine)
[2] Wikipedia, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_in_Ukraine
How to dance the dance
Excerpt from minute 00:35 - 02:25
Dancers- Starting position:
8 female dancers
4 Women stand in a small square in the centre of the stage.
4 Women stand in a big square on the 4 corners of the stage.
The women of each corner are facing each other. The right leg stands slightly in front of the left leg. Both legs are slightly turned out.
They dancers clap their hands in the following rhythm: Once together, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/ down, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/down fast, pause, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/down fast.The right leg stands slightly in front of the left leg. Both legs are slightly turned out. From this position the dancers are going on démie point and take 6 very small steps forwards starting with the left foot not changing the position of the feet. The sixth step brings the dancer back down on the whole sole of her feet. The steps are performed in the starting position. The step is performed while holding the position of the feet.
They dancers clap their hands in the following rhythm: Once together, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/ down, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/down fast, pause, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/down fast. While jumping on the left leg, the right leg bends, turns in and the toes are tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the right leg stretches, turns out in and the heel is tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the right leg is still turned out but bends in in front of the left leg so that the right heel touches the left knee.
Repeat 3 x
While jumping on the left leg, the right leg bends, turns in and the toes are tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the dancer turns around her own axis to her right, facing now the opposite direction. Here she stretches out her right leg to the side with flexed foot tipping on the floor with her heel. Skip-step: Quick small jump, jumping right, left, so both feet are parallel again to perform the next jump.
With the right arm in front of them and the left arm stretched to the side, both arms rounded, the dancers run off in a delicate manner on their tip toes towards their right. The 4 dancers of the outer square form a small circle in the centre of the stage, holding each other’s hands and running anti-clockwise. The 4 dancers from the inner square form a big circle running around the inner circle anti-clockwise. The two circles run until the end of the musical pattern.
With the new musical pattern, the two circles disperse into 4 couples each standing in one corner of the stage. The couples join their hands: Their right arms are held in a rounded position above their heads. Their left arms are held in in a rounded position in front of their torso. Joining their hands, they run on their tip toes around their axis clockwise.
Repeat 2 x
At the end of the musical pattern the couples open up their joined hands and form two lines behind each other of each 4 dancers. The lines run forward, splitting in the middleinto two groups one half running off to the right, the other half to the left, running in a half circle to the back of the stage, thus travelling from the front to the back. While running to the back, the front-line forms for a fraction of time a line of 8 dancer with the back line that at this very moment is running forward just before they split as well to also run to the back. When the dispersed lines arrive at the back of the stage they join back together forming again a line of 4 dancers.
The dancers are now back in 2 lines of 4 dancers each running forward. Here they perform on the spot the following pattern:
Repeat 2x (right/left)
Wals step diagonally front on démie point and wals step diagonally back in plié with the right arm flowing upwards and downwards again. A turn on the right leg towards the right with the left leg lifted up in passé position placed behind the standing leg.
Wals step diagonally front on démie point and wals step diagonally back in plié with the right arm flowing upwards and downwards again. A turn on in sous tenue (bothe legs joined together) position to the right with the left leg lifted up in passé position placed behind the standing leg.
Repeat2x (right/left)
Passé with the right leg from the front closing in the back on démie-point, wals step triple on place.
Passé with the left leg from the front closing in the back on démie-point, wals step triple on place.
4 x Passé jumping backwards starting with the right leg. The arms are bend resting on the hips. The head bends towards the leg each time it is lifted in passé.
The dancers release their arms. Running on tip toes the front and back line change rows. The front line moves backwards, the back line moves front.
Repeat 2x (left/right)
Wals step to the side: Starting with the left leg performing a step to the side, the right leg joins in performing a plié with a turned-out leg stepping on the toes for a relevé on démie point to then end the movement on the sole of the left foot. The arms are loose swinging at the side of the body.
5 Cross-over steps:The right leg crosses with a straight leg the left leg to perform a step to the side. the left leg joins in performing a plié with a turned-out leg stepping on the toes for a relevé on démie point to then perform the next cross-over step with the right leg.The arms come up over the side with the right arm performing a circle in front of the body with a rounded arm and the left arm stretched out softly to the side. The circling arm comes in front of the torso in a rounded position, the left arm remains stretched out to the side. With this arm position the dancers perform a turn around their own axis clockwise running on their tip toes.
Repeat 4x (left/right/ left/right)
Facing diagonally front to the left: While jumping on the left leg, the right leg is stretched out front with flexed foot tipping on the floor with her heel, then bending the leg/knee to tip on the floor with her toes. With the next jump on the left leg the direction is changed, the torso now facing diagonally right while simultaneously the right leg is stretched out front with flexed foot tipping on the floor with her heel. Skip-step: the left leg jumps in the air front with flexed foot while the right leg becomes the standing leg to perform everything in opposite direction.
Moving into a half circle – solo
On their tip toes the dancers run backwards forming a half-circle opened to the front. The dancers kneel down on their right knee. They clap their hands: rhythm see above. One dancer steps into the centre of the stage and performs a solo: She echoes the clapping rhythm and performs some of the jumping steps explained above.The solo dancers joins back into the group.
The whole group performs the following jumps:
Repeat 2x (left/right)
While jumping on the left leg, the right leg bends, turns in and the toes are tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the right leg stretches, turns out in and the heel is tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the right leg is still turned out but bends in in front of the left leg so that the right heel touches the left knee.
5 Cross-over steps to the right.
Moving into a half circle – solo
Another dancer comes into the centre. The solo dancer in the middle performs 8 pirouettes en déhors on her left leg. The group remaining in the half circle echoes here movements: Stepping on their right leg turning clockwise around their own axis. The left leg joins in performing a plié with a turned-out leg stepping on the toes for a relevé on démie point to then perform the next step with the right leg. The right arm is in 1stBallet position in a rounded shape in front of their torso. The left arm is in a 2ndBallet position stretched out to the side in a rounded shape.
Paragraph.
Excerpt from minute 00:35 - 02:25
Dancers- Starting position:
8 female dancers
4 Women stand in a small square in the centre of the stage.
4 Women stand in a big square on the 4 corners of the stage.
The women of each corner are facing each other. The right leg stands slightly in front of the left leg. Both legs are slightly turned out.
They dancers clap their hands in the following rhythm: Once together, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/ down, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/down fast, pause, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/down fast.The right leg stands slightly in front of the left leg. Both legs are slightly turned out. From this position the dancers are going on démie point and take 6 very small steps forwards starting with the left foot not changing the position of the feet. The sixth step brings the dancer back down on the whole sole of her feet. The steps are performed in the starting position. The step is performed while holding the position of the feet.
They dancers clap their hands in the following rhythm: Once together, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/ down, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/down fast, pause, 3 x clapping the hands cutting past up/down fast. While jumping on the left leg, the right leg bends, turns in and the toes are tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the right leg stretches, turns out in and the heel is tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the right leg is still turned out but bends in in front of the left leg so that the right heel touches the left knee.
Repeat 3 x
While jumping on the left leg, the right leg bends, turns in and the toes are tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the dancer turns around her own axis to her right, facing now the opposite direction. Here she stretches out her right leg to the side with flexed foot tipping on the floor with her heel. Skip-step: Quick small jump, jumping right, left, so both feet are parallel again to perform the next jump.
With the right arm in front of them and the left arm stretched to the side, both arms rounded, the dancers run off in a delicate manner on their tip toes towards their right. The 4 dancers of the outer square form a small circle in the centre of the stage, holding each other’s hands and running anti-clockwise. The 4 dancers from the inner square form a big circle running around the inner circle anti-clockwise. The two circles run until the end of the musical pattern.
With the new musical pattern, the two circles disperse into 4 couples each standing in one corner of the stage. The couples join their hands: Their right arms are held in a rounded position above their heads. Their left arms are held in in a rounded position in front of their torso. Joining their hands, they run on their tip toes around their axis clockwise.
Repeat 2 x
At the end of the musical pattern the couples open up their joined hands and form two lines behind each other of each 4 dancers. The lines run forward, splitting in the middleinto two groups one half running off to the right, the other half to the left, running in a half circle to the back of the stage, thus travelling from the front to the back. While running to the back, the front-line forms for a fraction of time a line of 8 dancer with the back line that at this very moment is running forward just before they split as well to also run to the back. When the dispersed lines arrive at the back of the stage they join back together forming again a line of 4 dancers.
The dancers are now back in 2 lines of 4 dancers each running forward. Here they perform on the spot the following pattern:
Repeat 2x (right/left)
Wals step diagonally front on démie point and wals step diagonally back in plié with the right arm flowing upwards and downwards again. A turn on the right leg towards the right with the left leg lifted up in passé position placed behind the standing leg.
Wals step diagonally front on démie point and wals step diagonally back in plié with the right arm flowing upwards and downwards again. A turn on in sous tenue (bothe legs joined together) position to the right with the left leg lifted up in passé position placed behind the standing leg.
Repeat2x (right/left)
Passé with the right leg from the front closing in the back on démie-point, wals step triple on place.
Passé with the left leg from the front closing in the back on démie-point, wals step triple on place.
4 x Passé jumping backwards starting with the right leg. The arms are bend resting on the hips. The head bends towards the leg each time it is lifted in passé.
The dancers release their arms. Running on tip toes the front and back line change rows. The front line moves backwards, the back line moves front.
Repeat 2x (left/right)
Wals step to the side: Starting with the left leg performing a step to the side, the right leg joins in performing a plié with a turned-out leg stepping on the toes for a relevé on démie point to then end the movement on the sole of the left foot. The arms are loose swinging at the side of the body.
5 Cross-over steps:The right leg crosses with a straight leg the left leg to perform a step to the side. the left leg joins in performing a plié with a turned-out leg stepping on the toes for a relevé on démie point to then perform the next cross-over step with the right leg.The arms come up over the side with the right arm performing a circle in front of the body with a rounded arm and the left arm stretched out softly to the side. The circling arm comes in front of the torso in a rounded position, the left arm remains stretched out to the side. With this arm position the dancers perform a turn around their own axis clockwise running on their tip toes.
Repeat 4x (left/right/ left/right)
Facing diagonally front to the left: While jumping on the left leg, the right leg is stretched out front with flexed foot tipping on the floor with her heel, then bending the leg/knee to tip on the floor with her toes. With the next jump on the left leg the direction is changed, the torso now facing diagonally right while simultaneously the right leg is stretched out front with flexed foot tipping on the floor with her heel. Skip-step: the left leg jumps in the air front with flexed foot while the right leg becomes the standing leg to perform everything in opposite direction.
Moving into a half circle – solo
On their tip toes the dancers run backwards forming a half-circle opened to the front. The dancers kneel down on their right knee. They clap their hands: rhythm see above. One dancer steps into the centre of the stage and performs a solo: She echoes the clapping rhythm and performs some of the jumping steps explained above.The solo dancers joins back into the group.
The whole group performs the following jumps:
Repeat 2x (left/right)
While jumping on the left leg, the right leg bends, turns in and the toes are tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the right leg stretches, turns out in and the heel is tipping on the floor. With the next jump on the left leg, the right leg is still turned out but bends in in front of the left leg so that the right heel touches the left knee.
5 Cross-over steps to the right.
Moving into a half circle – solo
Another dancer comes into the centre. The solo dancer in the middle performs 8 pirouettes en déhors on her left leg. The group remaining in the half circle echoes here movements: Stepping on their right leg turning clockwise around their own axis. The left leg joins in performing a plié with a turned-out leg stepping on the toes for a relevé on démie point to then perform the next step with the right leg. The right arm is in 1stBallet position in a rounded shape in front of their torso. The left arm is in a 2ndBallet position stretched out to the side in a rounded shape.
Paragraph.