Kryvyi Tanok — the Ancient Winding Dance

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Kryvyi Tanok

Kryvyi Tanok is an ancient Ukrainian dance meant to summon the spring. Stakes were driven into the ground at various points around a clearing, and young men and women would dance in circles between them, symbolizing the difficult journey of the goddess Lada from Vyriy back to her native lands.

Since the 14th century, Kryvyi Tanok has been part of Ukrainian folk ritual tradition. In a more modern version of the dance, four girls crouch at different points, forming a square, while the others dance in a circle around them, singing spring songs (vesnianky) and hahilky:

Oh, in this winding dance
I cannot find the end.
I must lead it onward,
And find its proper trend.
Though I may find the ending,
The dance won't be so grand.

Kryvyi Tanok

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Kryvyi Tanok — the Ancient Winding Dance

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