What is the name of dance i'm looking for?

[w2k]

Back in grade 6 myself and 4 other classmates did this dance and i want to find out the name. All I remember from the dance in that it seemed to be russian and we wore large furry hats. and every now and then we yell the word "Hey". The music from what I think sounded like a violin.

Can anyone please tell me the name of this dance I really want to know

Thanks in advance

[Steve Pastor]

In America, the Russian dance was usually performed with what they called 'Kazotskys', where the dancer squats down, crosses their arms across their chest and Kicks their legs out alternately. Altho this was an allready established Hungarian dance called Czardas and not Russian, most Americans would not know the difference and still today see it as Russian dancing. Ida Forsyne (http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2ida_forsyne.htm) was one of the first American woman to do these 'Kazotsky's' at the end of her performance in her Moscow program. These "Kazotsky's where done long before her but after this one performance, and her improvisations of it, she would be hailed (incorrectly) as the greatest Russian dancer of all time as she traveled the world for nine years without a break. For about 15 years this style Ida started would be done by many dancers in Vaudeville and even on the Broadway stages from 1911 to 1925 (Russian dancing was popular before Ida in the States and was a popular style to do in Vaudeville as early as 1900, but Ida brought it to the forefront).
Russian / Hungarian dancing was popular in the States especially in American Vaudeville as early as 1900, but Ida Forsyne (http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2ida_forsyne.htm) brought it to the forefront, up until Tap (http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3tap1.htm) dancers started to control the stages. Ida Forsyne (http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2ida_forsyne.htm), Greenlee and Drayton (http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2greenlee-drayton.htm), U.S. Thompson (http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2slow_kid_thompson1.htm), Willie Covan, Dewey Weinglass and others would excell in these qoute "Russian Dances," often times calling it Legomania (http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3legomania1.htm) and sometimes a mixture these and other dances were called Eccentric (http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3eccnt.htm) dancing after WWI.

[Steve Pastor]

The above text is from Sonny Watson's Streetswing web site.
The text in Wikipedia for the same dance does not mention the crossed arms kicking deal.

[Zhena]

I think the description is more similar to Cossack dances -- here's something from the Wikipedia article on Ukranian dance:

The greatest indigenous cultural influence was the semi-military society of the Kozaks, whose love of social dances spawned the Hopak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopak) and the Kozachok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kozachok). The men's costumes for these dances are styled after Kozak dress, with boots, a comfortable shirt, a sash (poyas) tied around the waist, and loose, billowy riding trousers (sharyvary (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sharyvary&action=edit)); common accessories include overcoats, hats, and swords (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shashka). ... The style of these dances is acrobatic and physically demanding for the men, who are often showcased individually; women have traditionally played secondary roles, displaying grace and beauty while often dancing in technically demanding unison.

I am somewhat familiar with Hungarian dance (the last time I danced a Csardas was ... ummmm ... Wednesday) and I have seen crossed arms with squats only in Cossack dances -- not Hungarian. There ARE many Hungarian men's solo dances, but they usually are done in a fully upright position (though they can involve some fairly high kicks along with stamping and clapping and slapping).

[Steve Pastor]

I followed up a bit after that post, and I agree with you. Although it may be a bit disingenuous for me to have just posted from Sonny's site, although I did include the somewhat contradictory info, too. This is not the first time I've seen something at Street Swing that wasn't 100% accurate.
Being half Hungarian myself, I'd put my money on your information rather than Sonny's.

[Steve Pastor]

Russia invaded Hungary in World War I. Here's a couple urls to articles in the New York Times archive:
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9902E6D91430E733A2575AC0A9669D946596D6CF&oref=slogin

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F02E2DD153BE233A25751C0A9639C946496D6CF

So maybe someone saw the Cossacks doing this dance and attributed to the Hungarians???

[danceronice]

Just a small aside: Cossack /= Russian. Cossacks aren't ethnic Russians. Ukrainian, sorta, with some influence of other regional cultures (I will crack up if I find out that some of my ancestors were Hungarians) but they aren't/weren't Russian. (And woe be unto the person who ever suggested they were to my late great-grandmother.)

And the dancing described in the OP sounds like Cossack dancing and Ukrainian folk dancing, something my mother learned in the Ukrainian ethnic enclave in Detroit (which is much smaller than the Polish enclave, which includes the entire city of Hamtramack, but it does exist) when she was a child. My cousins in Australia did it as well, and the girls did do the tradional slower unison parts. I always envied them their costumes with the flowers and ribbons....I'd have killed myself on the squat kicks. Mom could do them, but I've never mastered the timing, which means I end up landing on my rear.

[jennyisdancing]

Back in grade 6 myself and 4 other classmates did this dance and i want to find out the name. All I remember from the dance in that it seemed to be russian and we wore large furry hats. and every now and then we yell the word "Hey". The music from what I think sounded like a violin.

Can anyone please tell me the name of this dance I really want to know

Thanks in advance

This short youtube clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzhqneKsQZw)has a good example of a Ukrainian hopak dance. The guys are not wearing furry hats (it's not part of their standard folk costume) but they are doing the squats and kicks and shouts that most people think of.