Bulba (Бульба, ) is a

concert dance Concert dance (also known as performance dance or theatre dance in the United Kingdom) is dance performed for an audience. It is frequently performed in a theatre setting, though this is not a requirement, and it is usually choreographed and per ...

based on Belarusian folk traditions, choreographed, among several others, by

Igor Moiseyev Igor Alexandrovich Moiseyev (russian: Игорь Александрович Моисеев; – 2 November 2007) was a Soviet choreographer. Moiseyev was widely acclaimed as the greatest 20th-century choreographer of character dance, a dance ...

. The word means "

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Un ...

" in

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

and

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

. Moiseyev created the dance after visiting

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

in late 1930s. He masterfully recreated the Belarusian folklore, so that the dance has become Belarusian national dance, featured by all national folk dance ensembles. The dance was choreographed to the vivid tune of the Belarusian

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

with the same name, ''Bulba'' ("Potato"), Moiseyev overheard during his visit. The dance and the song humorously portray the whole process of potato production. In his memoirs, Moiseev wrote:Moiseev bio

When in 15 years I visited Belarus again, I've noticed that my ''Bulba'' was being danced everywhere. I would ask them: 'Where have you got this dance?' They would answer: 'It has always been around.' At the same time, folklorists assured me that this dance appeared in Belarus only after my choreography. If your creation is accepted by folk so as to consider it to be their own, this would be the highest form of the recognition!

References

{{Reflist Belarusian culture European dances 1930s works Popular culture Soviet culture Concert dance 1930s in the arts