Russian Tita Dance
01 · Historical Records
The Russian ethnic kick-step dance was brought into Xinjiang when the Russian people migrated there, and in Tacheng it long exchanged influence with the songs and dances of the local Kazakh, Uyghur and other peoples; its dance steps, building on the folk kick-step dance and the court ballroom dance, absorbed local folk dance vocabulary and formed a style of its own. Tacheng City lies twelve kilometres from the Baketu port, is the city in China with the largest Russian population, and at festivals and public gatherings men, women, old and young eagerly take to the dance, which is one of the principal forms of local entertainment.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Russian ethnic kick-step dance is a traditional dance current in Tacheng City of Tacheng Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Tacheng lies in the north-west of China on the border with Kazakhstan in Central Asia, twelve kilometres from the Baketu port, and is the city in China with the largest Russian population. The Russian ethnic kick-step dance vividly reflects the warm, uninhibited character and the aesthetic taste of the Russian people, who love to sing and dance; it is an important part of Russian life and one of their favourite forms of entertainment. It is generally performed at festivals, ceremonies and public gatherings, where men, women, old and young eagerly join in, and it has a strong degree of popular participation. Its movements are rich and varied, its dance steps change in endlessly shifting rhythms, and its forms of expression are many and diverse. It is divided into solo, two-person, three-person, multi-person and collective kick-step dance, combining improvised forms of self-entertainment with performing forms that unite spectator appeal with artistry. Its basic movements are the rhythmic stamping, flicking, patting and squat-leaping of the legs and feet; it is passionate and graceful, wild and stirring, and highly expressive. The music of the kick-step dance includes both folk songs and specially composed dance tunes; the pieces are lively and beautiful, the rhythm ardent and varied, most of them in 4/4 or 2/4 time, and the accompanying instruments are generally the accordion, the bayan and struck birch-tree spoons, together with instruments such as the balalaika, the violin and the guitar. The movements of the Russian ethnic kick-step dance are improvised entirely through the dancer's own grasp of the rhythm and rendering of the mood; the accompanying music, the melodic rhythm, the sung lyrics and the form of performance all change accordingly, which makes it highly improvisational. Its soul lies in the clear and pleasing rhythm under the dancer's feet and in the flowing, ever-changing dance steps; the combinations of stamping, flicking, tapping, punctuating, turning leaps and squat leaps are dazzling in their variety, fully revealing the charm of ethnic and folk dance art.
Solo, duet, trio, group and mass forms
The dance ranges from solo to mass forms, equally a self-entertaining improvisation and a staged performance art.
Stamping, tapping, slapping and crouching
Legs and feet stamp, tap, slap and spring in crouch: the soul of the dance lies in the clear rhythm and flowing steps beneath the dancer.
Accordion, bayan and birch spoons
Songs and dance tunes in four-four or two-four time are carried by accordion, bayan and struck birch spoons, with balalaika, violin and guitar.
Improvisation from the rhythm within
The movements are improvised wholly from the dancer's sense of rhythm and mood, the accompaniment shifting with the performance.
Festivals, ceremonies and gatherings
Performed at festivals, ceremonies and public gatherings for all ages, the dance is now taught in classes and school programmes in Tacheng.
Tacheng and the Baketu border
Tacheng borders Kazakhstan twelve kilometres from the Baketu crossing and holds China's largest Russian population, colouring the local dance.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
It fuses the folk kick-step dance, the court ballroom dance and the folk dances of the other local peoples, forming a style of its own with a striking character. The Russian ethnic kick-step dance has marked ethnic and regional characteristics, and conveys a great deal of information about the history and culture, the social life, the spiritual outlook and the aesthetic values of the Russian people.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Over many years, with the support of the Tacheng Municipal People's Government, the inheritors have relied on bodies such as the Russian Folk Association to carry out relevant investigation and research, to safeguard the practice of the project, to hold teaching classes and to organise kick-step dance competitions and school visits, increasing the intensity of transmission and protection and achieving good results. It enriches the forms and content of China's ethnic and folk dance, serves as a link in the exchange of the traditional cultures of the East and the West, and has high historical, cultural and artistic value; it also plays a positive role in promoting ethnic unity and social development.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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