Description
Lezginka Dance card
SKU: D12
There are as many variations of Lezginka as there are colourful tribes and languages in the Caucus mountain range which lies between the Black and Caspian Seas.
The dance is usually courtly. It typically consists of a group of dashing men in military uniforms weaving in patterns with a group of women wearing long flowing skirts that brush the floor. The formations mingle but rarely touch. The female dance is said to imitate the movement of flock of swimming swans because their rapid footwork is hidden under their long skirts, and they use their upper torsos and arms to make gentle undulating movements. When the girls move they appear to be floating in a flock. The male dancers complement the grace and elegance of the girls by raising themselves on the tips of their toes, but they do not imagine themselves to be swans, they say their dance is like the rutting of stags; they beat drums, spin in the air and land on their knees, make cartwheels and dance with sharp knives.
The spirit of Lezginka is also part of the street life of the young people who live in the Caucuses. The dance gives the young men lots of opportunity to show off whilst the girls have the chance to be beautiful and pretend not to notice how much energy their men are wasting trying to attract their admiration.
