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So while we are talking about "things artistic" in Russia, I just came across this, and my question is... is there anything out there that Russians CAN'T dance?
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This was the "Stone statue" dance, and the next one is the dance coming from the Shamakhi region ( city?) - heck if I know, but the part of the Russian empire that it got from Persia.
So with other words the fusion of Arabic and Indian something.
^
So while we are talking about "things artistic" in Russia, I just came across this, and my question is... is there anything out there that Russians CAN'T dance?
^
This was the "Stone statue" dance, and the next one is the dance coming from the Shamakhi region ( city?) - heck if I know, but the part of the Russian empire that it got from Persia.
So with other words the fusion of Arabic and Indian something.
This is what I mean when I say Russia is grand and rich. Larger than life.
Almost every aspect of it comes from a set of long standing tradition and custom that somehow makes room for the new all while throwing nothing away. Russia doesn't have a practice of built in obsolescence, out with the old and in with the new. They find a treasured place for the old, preserve it and bring it out once in awhile or even all the time.
I had never seen a real puppet show in my life until I went to Smolenck. They still have them there in the parks and probably in many other places.
This is what I mean when I say Russia is grand and rich. Larger than life.
Almost every aspect of it comes from a set of long standing tradition and custom that somehow makes room for the new all while throwing nothing away. Russia doesn't have a practice of built in obsolescence, out with the old and in with the new. They find a treasured place for the old, preserve it and bring it out once in awhile or even all the time.
I had never seen a real puppet show in my life until I went to Smolenck. They still have them there in the parks and probably in many other places.
OK, if you like this kind of stuff, then I'll make a separate post tonight on Sergey Obraztsov and his immortal "The Unusual Concert." ( One of my personal favorites, since my childhood. )
OK, if you like this kind of stuff, then I'll make a separate post tonight on Sergey Obraztsov and his immortal "The Unusual Concert." ( One of my personal favorites, since my childhood. )
There's a very interesting point about how and how many people participate in the live movement of each doll.
There's a very interesting point about how and how many people participate in the live movement of each doll.
Have no idea about the technical part of it - to me the content is what counts, and it was always superb.
Although the Wiki says that an "Unusual Concert" "satirizes bad performers," that's not really what it was all about.
It was a parody on so many things simultaneously, on so many levels; the attitude of the Soviet state ( and its citizens) towards the "decaying West," the attitude of the Russian middle class ( or rather "intelligentsia") towards the "proletariat," and so on.
The voice behind the compere (actually Russians use a different French word for it -*conferencier,*) is of a then well-known and much liked Soviet actor, Zinovy Gerdt.
He is the one making all the comments, subtle ( and sometimes not so subtle) references, while introducing every new participant of the "Unusual Concert."
He is a true star of the show, tying it all together. Many of his expressions used in that show became popular for generations to come.
Of course it's difficult to translate his humor ( and cultural references) into English, but I'll give it a try here and there, while posting the most memorable episodes of that show;
"Good afternoon. I shouldn't even introduce myself - you attended the concerts before. So one look at me, and any discerning spectator knows right away "that's him, that's the compere."
Yes I am the compere and unfortunately, this is still not a Russian word. It's a foreign word. A word *from there.*
And speaking about "there," the West,I have to notice, that the West keeps on rotting successfully, but we are not going to dwell on it, since its their mores. Us, on another hand - we are developing our own ties and widening the horizons in our pop culture, creating our own domestic modernism. And our modernism today dear friends - that's neutron, hydrocortisone, hydrophone and Joseph Kobzon.
We, dear friends live in the era of wooden slats, glass and concrete.
And that's why there are so many wooden slats on our stage, and so much concrete in our humor. (That was a joke of course - my subtle and elegant humor.)
Never the less we are assuring you here, that we'll meet all your requests and demands that grew so visibly comparably to 1913.
So let's start our concert with the kind of performance, that's so loved by you the most - the choir singing.
And indeed to tell you the truth - which one of you doesn't like to come home after hard day at work, to find oneself in peace and quiet, in solitude, and to sing in a choir?
So here it comes - the solemn cantata "Take your vitamins," performed by the consolidated choir of the regional drug-store management. ( Open the curtains please.)
(The choir; "Take your vita.. take your mi, take your vita mi-mi-mi.. Take them all - ABCDEFG, vitami..mi-mi-mi, take them always mi-mi-mi - ns.
Only people who take vitamins will live till their death." ( End of glorious cantata, general excitement in the air, church bells ringing.)
"So dear friends as we agreed from the very beginning - you are the spectators, I am the compere, and you came here to relax and to have a good time. My purpose on another hand is to raise your cultural level in the most delicate and non-intrusive manner, so that neither you nor yours would even notice it.
So may be you are already aware that every nation has its own national features. (I am giving you a hint here that the next performance is going to be related to something very distinctly national.)
So for example we recognize the French according to their specific pronunciation. Same can be said about the Britons. We recognize the Germans by their dialects, and we recognize our compatriots by their expletives.
And now, we shall see the performance of the Latin American trio "Los Mamuchas."
I shouldn't be the one telling you about the distinct features of the Latin American trios; it's first of all a lot of teeth, then the mustaches and of course the sideburns. They sing in their Latin-American language that they are accustomed to, they sing passionately, and sometimes almost ecstatically.
You will hear the song "Aj-jaj-jaj campania," which when translated into Russian, means "Oj-joj-joj collective." (The word "Campania" in spite of its Latin sound means "company" in Russian ( i.e. "collective" of some kind. ( noun.) )
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( One of my personal favorites, since my childhood. ) 
