View source for Uzundara

{{Short description|Folk dance from the Caucasus region}}
{{Infobox dance
| name = Uzundara
| native_name = {{langx|hy|Ուզունդարա}}<br>{{langx|az|Uzundərə}}<br>{{lang-ka|უზუნდარა}}
| image = Танец "Узундара" в исполнении армянки из Ахалцихе.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Uzundara performed by an [[Armenians|Armenian]] girl, [[Akhaltsikhe]]
| genre = [[Traditional dance]]
| signature = {{music|time|6|8}} ({{music|time|7|8}}), {{music|time|3|4}} ({{music|time|12|8}})
| inventor =
| year =
| origin = [[Nagorno-Karabakh]]
}}
'''Uzundara''' or '''ouzoundara''' ({{langx|hy|Ուզունդարա}}; {{langx|az|Uzundərə}}; {{lang-ka|უზუნდარა}}) is a [[lyrical dance|lyrical]] [[Armenian dance|Armenian]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Младенова Т.В.|date=2010|title=Музыкально-исторический процесс в Крыму конца XIX начала ХХ столетия|url=http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/36111/43-Mladenova.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127143801/http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/36111/43-Mladenova.pdf?sequence=1|archive-date=2020-11-27|access-date=2020-09-04|publisher=Научный журнал «Культура народов Причерноморья»}}</ref><ref>Николай Иосифович Эльяш Балет народов СССР. — Знание, 1977. — p. 59. — 166 pp.</ref><ref name=":2">Узандара // Краткий словарь танцев / под ред. проф. А.В. Филиппова. — Москва: ФЛИНТА, Наука, 2011. — С. 220. УЗАНДАРА — старинный армянский (также и азербайджанский) народный танец спокойного и изящного характера. [UZANDARA is an ancient Armenian folk dance of a calm and graceful character.]</ref><ref>Ткаченко, 1967, с. 307: Этот танец также характерен для Армении. [This dance is also typical for Armenia.]</ref> and [[Azerbaijani dances|Azerbaijani]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Vavilov|first1=Sergei Ivanovich|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wYoGAQAAIAAJ|title=Bol'shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia|last2=Shaumian|first2=L. S.|date=1950|publisher=Izd-vo Bol'shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia|language=ru|quote=УЗУНДАРА — азербайджанский народный сольный танец...|trans-quote=UZUNDARA - Azerbaijani folk solo dance...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AgwhAQAAIAAJ|title=Большой энцклопедический словарь: Музыка|date=1998|publisher=Научное изд-во "Большая Российская энциклопедия"|isbn=978-5-85270-254-8|language=ru|quote=Узундара (букв. — длинное ущелье) — азерб. нар. сольный женский танец.|trans-quote=Uzundara (literally — long gorge) — Azerb. solo female dance.}}</ref><ref name="ME">{{cite web|title=Узундара — Музыкальная энциклопедия|url=http://enc-dic.com/enc_music/Uzundara-7325.html|website=Gufo.me|language=ru}}</ref><ref name="Ткаченко">Т. С. Ткаченко. Азербайджанский женский танец «Узундара» [Azerbaijani female dance «Uzundara»] // Народный танец / под ред. Н. И. Львова. — М.: Искусство, 1967. — 656 с.</ref><ref name="BSE"/> dance traditionally performed by women. Today, the dance is famous throughout the [[Caucasus]] region; in particular [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].
== Etymology and origin ==
The place of origin is [[Nagorno-Karabakh]].<ref>Tkachenko, 1967, p. 274: The ancient dance "Uzundara" (literally - "long gorge") originated in Nagorno-Karabakh as a dance of a girl - a bride [Старинный танец «Узундара» (дословно — « длинное ущелье») зародился в Нагорном Карабахе как танец девушки-невесты]</ref><ref>Peoples of the Caucasus. Volume 2. Edited by B.A. Gardanov, A.N. Guliev, S.T. Eremyan, L.I. Lavrov, G.A. Nersesov, G.S. Chitai. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1962. - Peoples of the World: Ethnographic Essays. P. 163: The "Uzundere" dance was exclusively wedding dance. It originated in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the Uzundere area, which means "long gorge". ["Исключительно свадебным был танец «узундере».Он зародился в Нагорном Карабахе, в местности Узундере, что значит «длинное ущелье»."]</ref> The origination of the dance is claimed by both Armenians and Azerbaijanis alike due to the fact that both nations lived in Karabakh, where the Uzundere valley is located.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kamal Hasanov|url=http://www.musicacademy.edu.az/images/elmi_neshrler/qasanov_az_xalq_reqs.pdf|title=Azerbaijani Folk Dances|publisher=[[Iskusstvo publishing house]]: Research Institute of Culture|year=1978|editor=Valeria Uralskaya|location=Moscow|oclc=14699597|quote=Armenians also claim authorship of this dance. This is due to the fact that many Armenians live in Karabakh, where the Uzundere valley is located.}}</ref> According to Azerbaijani scholars, the dance originates in a Uzundara valley between [[Aghdam]] and [[Baş Qərvənd]] in the region of [[Karabakh]].<ref>Uzundərə // Muğam Ensiklopediyası / Edited by T. Mammadov — Baku, 2008. — P. 197.</ref> According to another explanation, the dance was brought to the region by Armenians from [[Erzurum]], who fled from the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1828 during the Russian-Turkish war.<ref>{{cite magazine|author= Gary and Susan Lind-Sinanian|title= History of the Armenian Dance|series= Hungarian Folk Dance Types and Dialects|editor= [[Vytautas Beliajus]]|location= Denver|magazine= [[Viltis (magazine)|Viltis]]|url= https://socalfolkdance.org/articles/history_armenian_dance_lind-sinanian.htm|year= 1982|volume= 40|number= 5|page= 8|issn= 0042-6253}}</ref>
Translated from [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]],<ref name="Tretyankova">{{Cite book |first=T. N. |last=Tretyankova |title=Основы эстетики и художественной деятельности; музыка народов мира: учебное пособие |publisher=ЮУрГУ |year=2000 |page=126 |language=ru }}</ref><ref name="ЭМС">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Узундара |encyclopedia=Энциклопедический музыкальный словарь |publisher=Советская энциклопедия |location=Moscow |year=1966 |page=526 |language=ru }}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Узундара |encyclopedia=Спутник музыканта: энциклопедический карманный словарь-справочник |publisher=Музыка |location=Moscow |year=1964 |page=154 |language=ru }}</ref> the word ''Uzundara'' means "long gorge"<ref name="Uzundara">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Узундара |encyclopedia=Музыкальная энциклопедия |editor-first=Yuri |editor-last=Keldysh |location=Moscow |publisher=Советская энциклопедия, Советский композитор |year=1981 |volume=5 |language=ru }}</ref> or "long valley".<ref name="mugam">{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://mugam.musigi-dunya.az/ru/u/uzundere.html |title=Узундере |language=ru |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Mugham }}</ref> The word ''Uzundara'' itself comes from the word "Uzun", which is of [[Old Turkic]] origin and means "long", and the word "Dara", which is of [[Persian language|Persian]] origin and means "gorge".<ref name="Shamamyan">{{Cite book |last=Shamamyan |first=Narine |url=http://opac.flib.sci.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=382779 |title=Uzundara solo dance: An attempt of a historical-ethnographical research |publisher=[[National Academy of Sciences of Armenia]] |location=Yerevan |year=2016 |pages=204–208 |isbn=978-5-8080-1258-5 |language=hy }}</ref>  Armenian ethnographer Srbuhi Lisitsian notes that "dara", in addition to a "gorge", can also mean a "pit".<ref name="Lisitsian">{{Cite book |last=Lisitsian |first=Srbuhi |title=Старинные пляски и театральные представления армянского народа |year=1958 |location=Yerevan |publisher=АН АрмССР |volume=I |pages=343–344 |language=ru }}</ref>
== Performing ==
The dance is performed easily, smoothly. Circular strokes and small lateral steps are coordinated with gentle movements.<ref name="BSE">Uzundara // Big Soviet Encyclopedia, 1965. — V. 44. — P. 50.</ref> It has a 3-part structure, with more active movement in the outer parts and smooth in the middle. A typical method of melodic development is the variation of two-, three- and four-bar motives.<ref name="ME" />
According to Tamara Stepanovna Tkachenko, three elements alternate in Uzundara in the following order: moves in a circle, "syzme" (small, "floating" steps)<ref name="ME"/> and small movements forward or from side to side such as "khyrdalyk". She described those elements as "main elements of Azerbaijani female dance",<ref>Tkachenko, 1967, p. 311: "В танце в определенном порядке чередовались три основных элемента азербайджанского женского танца: ходы по кругу, «сюзмэ» и мелкие движения вперед или из стороны в сторону типа «хырдалык»." ["The three main elements of Azerbaijani female dance alternate in Uzundara in a certain order: moves in a circle, "syzme" and small movements forward or from side to side such as "khyrdalyk".]</ref> while pointing out that "syzme" is an "integral part of Armenian dance".<ref>''Т.С. Ткаченко.'' Основные движения армянского танца // Народный танец. — Искусство, 1954. — p. 500.</ref> Tkachenko also noted that in Armenia, the lyrical dance of the bride was performed after the solemn dances of the matchmaker, parents, and groom, to the melodies of "Uzundara", "Nunufar" or "Rangi".<ref>Tamara Stepanovna Tkachenko: Армянский танец&nbsp;//&nbsp;Народный танец.&nbsp;— Искусство, 1954.&nbsp;— p.&nbsp;481</ref>
<gallery class="center" widths="250" heights="250" mode="packed">
|Uzundara dance performed by [[Tbilisi|Tiflis]] Armenians of the second half of the 19th century in the film [[Pepo (film)|"Pepo"]] by [[Hamo Beknazarian]] ([[Armenfilm]], 1935)
File:Uzundara dance melody at the opening of Kharibulbul Festival in Shusha.ogg|Melody of Uzundara dance at the opening of Kharibulbul Festival in [[Shusha]] performed by [[Azerbaijanis|Azerbaijani]] [[kamancheh]] players
</gallery>
== References ==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-oco2GTY5c&ab_channel=kamalyamM Azerbaijanis performing Uzundara]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sYOcJvSeMo Armenians performing Uzundara]
[[Category:Music of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Azerbaijani dances]]
[[Category:Music of Armenia]]
[[Category:Armenian dances]]
[[Category:Turkic words and phrases]]