Among the final graduation exams that each spring introduce the world to young Russian ballet performers, there is always an exam in Character Dance. In some schools, it’s known as folk-stage dance or simply Character Dance. But at the Moscow Academic Choreographic School, where I graduated, it was always called “nar-khar.” This was the abbreviation used in the class schedule back then, and we affectionately referred to the subject this way. This distinctive feature of Russian choreographic education has deep roots.

In Russia, Character Dance was taught in schools as early as the 19th century. Perhaps this was due to the deep traditions of the soulful nature of the dances in the country.

Of course, folk dances have always been present in ballet performances, but they likely gained their academic form in the productions of Marius Petipa. We can debate how accurately these dances reflect their original folk elements, but in all the classical heritage productions, alongside the airiness and romanticism of classical ballet, entire suites of folk dances joyfully burst onto the stage. Swan Lake, Raymonda, La Bayadère, Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, and many others… Respect for these dances and their performers is an important part of our companies. Since the time of the imperial theaters, dancers who specialize in these styles have been referred to as character dancers. A whole constellation of artists has emerged, performing mazurkas, czardas, Spanish, Oriental, Gypsy, and other dances.

It’s also worth mentioning that in ballet scenes danced using the technique of classical ballet, the vocabulary often reflects the characteristics of national dance motifs. Consider, for instance, the ballet Don Quixote. The development of this direction in the 20th century gifted the world with a series of bright and emotional productions.

I always loved this subject. At school, my teachers began preparing me for solo numbers from the character repertoire quite early. At the premiere of the ballet Coppélia in 1978, I performed a mazurka solo, and at my graduation, I performed the Hopak choreographed by Anatoly Simachev, our Character Dance teacher, and the bolero from the ballet Don Quixote. Interestingly, Anatoly Romanovich Simachev wanted me to perform the bolero with castanets, which is quite rare. Thus, still in my final year at the school, I mastered the technique of playing the castanets and still love feeling them in my fingers to this day. At the Bolshoi Theater, I was almost immediately given solo parts in the character dance repertoire, which played a significant role in my further development.

I started teaching Character Dance at a very early age. It so happened that my teachers asked me, a young dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, to demonstrate the choreography of dances from the theater’s repertoire to the students of the academy. I would come to their lessons at the “school”—as we called our Moscow academy back then—and share with the students the dances I performed in the theater’s productions. The first among them were folk dances from Yuri Nikolaevich Grigorovich’s then-premiere Romeo and Juliet, in whose staging rehearsals I participated. I remember very well how eagerly Gediminas Taranda, a graduating student at the time, absorbed the movement combinations. To demonstrate the dances, I not only needed to know the male part but also had to learn the movements performed by the women. Perhaps, without realizing it, the choreographer and teacher within me began to emerge. Or maybe my teachers saw my potential and wanted to encourage my development.

It’s probably no coincidence that one of my first small dances, which I choreographed while I was still a student, was the Tarantella, which I staged for the academy graduates for their final exam, if I’m not mistaken, in 1986. If I’m correct, it was the class of the brilliant teacher Eugenia Gerasimovna Farmanyants. This Tarantella was performed for more than 20 years in various graduating classes. I was happily surprised to see this miniature in the academy’s concert at the Bolshoi Theater. It was even taken to the United States as part of the academy’s gala program.

Over the years of my teaching career, I’ve taught a lot of Character Dance. The best teachers of this subject in the world have always been, and still are, those from Russia (or graduates of Soviet Union academies).

Students in Western schools are often poorly prepared for folk-character dance. Once, I was invited to the Alvin Ailey School (where I studied modern dance at one time) to teach this subject. They inserted it into the curriculum for the middle grades, and I was invited to lead the class. It was very unusual to engage in Character Dance with students from this school. Everything was unfamiliar to them. I had to start with geography lessons, explaining the characteristics of different countries, their national traits, costumes, and climate. Gradually, I managed to captivate the students, and by the end of the year, at the school’s final concert, we performed several dances that were well received by the audience. I soon left New York, but I hope the subject remained in the program.

As a product of the Russian ballet school who has had the opportunity to closely acquaint myself with various schools of classical ballet and modern dance, I remain deeply devoted to the Russian ballet theater with great love and respect. Ballet is an evolving art form that always absorbs the best from various dance styles and schools. At the same time, for me, there is no such thing as “just ballet”—each school has its unique features, its own culture, and it’s important to approach the choreography of different schools with great care. I would say, perform the choreography without a “harsh accent.”

The lack of a strong character dance school in some countries often leads to weak performances of this part of ballet or the removal of character dances from productions. This results in frequent debates about the necessity of this aspect of performances and direction in today’s ballet theater.

Modern dance forms and their schools have greatly enriched the world of dance, giving rise to various styles in ballet productions. But the development of one dance technique should not undermine the achievements of another. Mutual enrichment always yields progress. The idea of erasing the repertoire of character dances and its teaching in schools is equivalent to demolishing temples and historical buildings. However, such thoughts are often propagated by people who lack mastery of the subject and knowledge. Transforming ballet into “just ballet” or replacing it with modern dance productions leads to the loss of human achievements in classical art.

History recalls an instance when classical ballet in Europe was almost lost in the second half of the 18th century, replaced by the then-fashionable performances of another genre. This played a significant role in Marius Petipa’s move to Russia, where he became the father of Russian classical ballet. And thanks to the achievements of the Russian Imperial Theater, ballet returned to Europe. Let’s learn from our mistakes and carefully preserve the centuries-old achievements of Russian ballet theater.

© Konstantin Uralsky