| Shalakho | |
| Genre: | Folk dance |
| Origin: | Caucasus |
Shalakho (Armenian: շալախո,, Georgian: შალახო or Georgian: კინტოური) is a dance famous throughout all of Caucasus.[1]
In a broadly spread version, two men dance in order to win the favour of a woman. The dance can be performed by one or more dancers, men or women, in a free, Caucasian style of performance. Motions of women can be slow and lyrical. Music of the dance is rapid, which is reflected in the expansive and energetic motions of men.[2]
The origins of this dance trace back to Tbilisi, Georgia, where it was mainly performed by Kinto's
The dance melody was first recorded and arranged for piano by the Armenian composer Nikoghayos Tigranyan in 1895.[3]
The dance was performed in a 1940 Azerbaijani ballet Maiden Tower by Afrasiyab Badalbeyli.[4] In 1942, it was performed in an Armenian ballet called Gayane by Aram Khachaturian.[5]
SHALAKHO is a 6/8 dance popular throughout the Caucasus. The folk versions varied, in some areas being a woman’s solo dance, and in others a man’s solo. The most well known stage version depicts two men competing for a woman’s favors. It can be performed with one or more dancers, male or female, dancing freestyle in the Caucasian manner. The movements for women can be soft and lyrical, and include little grapevine steps and hand gestures typical of the solo dance. The actual music is fast and spirited, and the male dancing reflects this, being expansive and vigorous.
SHALAKHO is a 6/8 dance popular throughout the Caucasus. The folk versions varied, in some areas being a woman’s solo dance, and in others a man’s solo. The most well known stage version depicts two men competing for a woman’s favors. It can be performed with one or more dancers, male or female, dancing freestyle in the Caucasian manner. The movements for women can be soft and lyrical, and include little grapevine steps and hand gestures typical of the solo dance. The actual music is fast and spirited, and the male dancing reflects this, being expansive and vigorous.
Genuine examples of folk music are widely represented in "Gayane": labor, comic, lyrical, heroic songs and dances. Among the folk melodies used by the composer there are such wonderful examples as "Pshati par" (in "Gathering cotton"), "Gna ari man ari" (in "Dance of the Cotton"), "Shalakho", "Uzundara" (in the fourth act), etc. ...