History of dance lezginka
The name of this dance arose a long time ago. In ancient times, the peoples of Dagestan have always been called Lezgins because of the name of the modern southern part of Dagestan - Lezgistan. Hence the name of the people's action.
There are several versions of stories on who invented the Lezginka dance. As for solo performance, they say that it arose as a dance before the battle, which was previously danced by men in all mountain villages. That is why the element of competition is traced in the solo lezginka, demonstrating its strength over others. Lezginka can not be confused with some other dance, it has its own special character.
The second theory of the origin of the lezginka is rather not even a theory, but a legend about the national Caucasian dance. Once a young Caucasian guy saw a girl of extraordinary beauty and ran to meet her to meet her. At that moment, beautiful music played, and a man, overcome by the beauty of a stranger, tried to subdue her with his movements - he circled and squatted around her. This legend claims that Lezginka originated as a dance of love and respect for the opposite sex.
Dance of Lezginka - video
If we talk about the pairing, the look of the man during the performance is chained to the woman, and his movements are aimed at showing her his power and strength. A man and a woman in lezginka can be compared to two birds, like an eagle and a swan. He, like an eagle, descended from the mountains, soars in the sky and demonstrates his capabilities. She, like a swan, gently swims in the lake, displaying all her tenderness and beauty. The movements of men and women are very different: the man moves abruptly, quickly and aggressively, and the woman seems to bow to him with her tenderness and charm.
Lezginka has different styles of execution, which were formed by geographical means. There is a classical Dagestan lezginka and another 36 variations of lezginka, which are inherent in every people of Dagestan: Kumyk, Dargin, Lak, Andian, and so on. There is also a North Caucasian lezginka - Chechen, Kabardian, Ossetian and others. Well, the Transcaucasian show is created by the Transcaucasian peoples: Azerbaijanis, Georgians, Armenians. All the North Caucasian and Transcaucasian variants of the lezginka can differ markedly between themselves in the manner of performance and movements, because each nationality has brought its folk color into the dance.
Chechen dances lezginka
The Chechen lezginka today is a dance, without which not a single Chechen wedding can. It is danced by specially invited professional performers, newlyweds in wedding dresses, or even guests as a gift to the newlyweds and just like that.
In fact, the Chechen direction is a symbol of relations between a man and a woman. The dance shows us what a woman should be (gentle, graceful and feminine) and a man (temperamental, strong and courageous) in a pair.
Let's see an incredible video of the lezginka dance at the wedding.
As you can see, it's not performed by professionals, but by amateurs, but the show looks so spectacular and beautiful that it can be compared with the production numbers. The woman really reminds her movements of a swan that floats on the lake, considering her beautiful reflection and unobtrusively flirting with a man. But the man on the contrary shows all his strength and courage. He conquers the chosen one with confidence, with clear and sharp steps. The main feature of this dance is that there are no erotic or seductive notes in it. On the contrary, modesty and shyness are presented here - the true face of the Chechen beauty.
Georgian dance lezginka
Lezghinka was presented to the whole world by Georgians - grandson Iliko Sukhishvili at the World Festival of Folk Dance in London. Since then, the Georgian family has managed to raise the lezghinka to a high world level, creating the National Ballet of Georgia, which tours the globe, showing the energy and technique of this dance.
By the nature of the performance, the Georgian dance direction is also paired and solo. But the Georgians also created a group stage version of the show, when there are several couples together or only men / women. Solo performance varies depending on the sex of the dancer. So, for example, a solo male Georgian number is a kind of competition between men that resembles a flame of fire. The dancer shows all his agility and skill, his movements are sharp, strong. But the solo female performance is more gentle. The movements in it are smooth and really resemble the sweeps of the wings of the swan. The purpose of a woman's solo performance is to demonstrate the grace and charm of the fair sex. Very important in the performance of the female dance is the movement of the hands - they must be light and plastic, because it is on the hands and the female lezginka is based. At the same time, the legs are not visible - they are hidden under a long skirt, so it seems that the performer on the stage either floats or flies.
The Dagestan Lezginka (video)
The technique of dance is easily assimilated by Caucasians and not only. Moreover, Dagestanis, for example, from an early age teach small boys to dance this temperamental dance and practice the sharpness of movements to perfection. That is why the Dagestanis have lezginka in their blood: many of them will not even say how and where they learned to dance, because it seems that they knew how to do this from the cradle.
Still, the lessons of the Lezginka dance for beginners (video) are very popular today, because men and women all over the world learn to be memorable actors in such a vivid action.
Here are the available lezginka lessons for men, which will help to understand the basic steps and turns of the dance.
As you could see, Lezginka is the most temperamental Caucasian dance that strikes with its energy and uniqueness. With its help, you can express love for your homeland, discover the power of character and show your readiness for adventure.