Circassian dance

The tradition & historical record

Circassian dance is an important and defining part of the culture of Circassian people. The national dances evoke imagery of combat and courtship. They play a role in efforts to preserve Circassian tradition and culture in the diaspora. There are several dances including the Kabardinka. The version of this dance performed in Turkey is called Kafkas, from Kafkasya, the Turkish word for the Caucasus mountain region that was home to the Circassian people before the Circassian genocide. Another similar dance is called the Lezginka. Circassian dances are often performed at national festivals and cultural celebrations. ¹

Dancing ability is very important for social standing in Circassian communities, especially with regards to marriage and establishing romantic relationships. Children living in the Adyghe communities in Israel receive dance instruction from a young age as part of their school curriculum. ¹

Circassian dances share some common traits with ballet: men dance on the tips of their toes wearing special leather boots. Women move very lightly, gliding across the floor without moving their heads or upper bodies. Circassian men wear a black outfit called a cherkes on stage. It is a military style outfit with an imposing coat and bullet cartridges worn across the chest. Men often wear a dagger, and a dagger or sword may be incorporated into some of the dances. ¹

Beyond individual and partner styles, a distinct category of Circassian choreography is the "competition dance", which 19th-century authors often referred to as Lezginka or Islamey. Khan-Girey specifically identified this solo male performance style as Kafenyur. Reflecting the rigorous historical living conditions of the Circassian people, these dances are characterized by a disciplined, austere, and restrained structure that avoids overt emotional displays. Far from being mere entertainment, these performances served as a means of physical hardening and endurance training, allowing youth to demonstrate their will, character, and self-expression. The pinnacle of this artistry is the "dance on the toes", a technically demanding skill most frequently utilized within the Islamey. ¹

The movements in these competition dances often incorporate imitative and military elements; for instance, the choreographic movement frequently referred to in technical literature by the Russian term zakladka symbolizes dodging a sword strike, while various arm gestures mimic the use of cold weapons, the gait of a horse, or the flight of an eagle. A typical competition begins with one dancer leaping into the center of a circle, followed by successive participants; some records even note specialized toe-dancing competitions between young men and women that could last up to thirty minutes. The technical difficulty is further heightened by the use of turned-in foot positions and small, agile leaps, requiring the performer to move with great lightness and celerity, often with hands held behind the back. ¹

Circassian dance is usually divided into three main categories; Wuj (mass circle dance), Qafa (slow-paced partner dance) and Islamey (fast-paced dance). ¹

Wuj is a group of mass circle dances that traditionally conclude Circassian celebrations. These dances are generally performed in a circular composition, often moving counter-clockwise. The term Wuj means "to move forward" or "to advance" in Circassian. Wuj dances are broadly divided into two categories: historical-ritual and ceremonial. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Circassian dance”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Circassian dance is Traditional dance of the North Caucasus people, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²