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Mazur-mazurka dance manuals


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SOURCES, TRANSLATIONS, REMARKS, OBSERVATIONS, AND PERHAPS DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF “NEW”

RUSSIAN

MAZUR-MAZURKA

DANCE MANUALS

NOT PREVIOUSLY EXAMINED OR REFERRED TO

TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN ADDENDUM TO PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK (1984) OF

R. CWIĘKA - SKRZYNIARZ

A CONTINUING WORK IN PROGRESS NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR THEMATIC ORDER
© R. Cwieka 2007

PRELIMINARY REMARKS
There are three Russian dance manuals which describe only the Mazur or Mazurka but they are short and very disappointing.1 Most of the manuals are general dance manuals which contain the Mazur-Mazurka as just one of their dances. Since the Russian manuals were only available to us after we published our own Mazur-Mazurka researches we could not say a great deal about the Russian forms of the Mazurka with any degree of accuracy beyond the usual clichés.

Now we can present these Russian materials with confidence. What is striking is the important and special place that the Mazur-Mazurka had in the elite culture of Russia. 2This shows the good taste of the Russians before the revolution of 1917.

Originally, having found the Russian manuals so fascinating, it was my intention to translate everything, however, now we shall only present what is unique or tantalizing in each manual.

Let us turn to the some of the terms which appear in some Russian manuals to describe the usual forward traveling step, the Basic Running Step of the Mazurka. (This Basic Running Step is usually referred to in the Russian manuals and by other non-Polish authors as the “Pas de Basque” step.)

Within the Russian Empire, of which Poland was a part, from the partitions up to 1918, the terms and their dates, which appear in Russian manuals are:
podbeganets, probezka, probezka, probezhka, en courre, pas marche—1825,
1885, 1890, 1896
These manuals all stated that this step-movement has the character of a running forward.
If we include the Austrian-Hungarian Empire then we have:
Traverse, der schleisende pas marche de mazourka—1846,1907
Is all of this running movement different from the usual interpretation of Cellarius’ description of this movement? We hope to find out.

While all of this Historical Dance Research is like looking into the dim past of archeology and thereby mysterious, we are joyful in reporting that the Polish Mazur never died and it lives today, that is to say, for over the last two centuries there was never a complete break in the Polish Mazur. The only difference is where and by whom was it danced. So that when we dance its past forms we connecting to the present. That not withstanding let us turn to the Dance Manuals which have descriptions of the Russian Mazur-Mazurka.


Our preliminary list is as follows:
PETROSKI 1825

MAKSIN 1839

CELLARIUS 1848

LINDROT 1871

PETROVA 1883

KLEMM 1884

STUKOLKIN 1885, 1890, 1894

GAVLIKOVSKI 1889

CHISTYAKOV 1890

DEKOLNYAR 1890

ZORN 1890

YATSKOVSKI 1891

SHCHAVURSKIY 1895

CHALIF 1895

RAEVSSKI 1896

KAPELIUSHNIK 1900

TIKHOMIROV 1902

OTTO 1902

SHCHECHTMAN 1902
PETROV 1903

KHRZHANOVSKIY 1903

IVANOV 1908

BORATKOVA 1953

Since three of these authors only contain descriptions of figures we shall not consider them. So our current list is now as shown below. We now include the authors and their place of publication when known in a geographical table.





SAINT PETERSBERG


MOSCOW


OTHER PLACES IN RUSSIA

CELLARIUS

1848


MAKSIN

1839


PETROSKI

1825 KHARKOV



PETROVA

1883


LINDROT

1871


ZORN

1890 ODESSA



KLEMM

1884


DEKOLNYAR

1890


YATSKOVSKI

1891 KOSTROMA



STUKOLKIN

1885


TIKHOMIROV

1902


CHALIF

1895 ODESSA



GAVLIKOVSKI 1889

OTTO

1902


SHCHAVURSKIY

1895 ZHTOMIR



STUKOLKIN

1896


PETROV

1903





CHISTYAKOV 1890

BARATKOVA

1953





STUKOLKIN

1894








RAEVSSKI

1896







Can we learn anything from looking at the places of publication of the Russian manuals? It is a little surprising that manuals were first published outside of Saint Petersburg, especially that one from Kharkov, which is far from Russia. Another surprise is Maksin’s Moscow 1839 manual which also predates Saint Petersburg manuals. As we know there were many dance teachers in Saint Petersburg. Perhaps for this reason alone there was not a felt need for manuals as there may have been in Moscow.

We can assume that some of these dance teachers knew of these manuals: they were competitors. Could they not help plagiarizing from them? Or did they all agree what should be a standardized Mazurka, just as dance schools and dance teachers do in our time, for our contemporary Social Ballroom Dances.

As mentioned previously the term “Probezhka,” which means to run occurs with Stukolkin (1885), Raevsski (1896) and Petrov (1903). This run-like step is to be done by the men. Most of the manuals have the Pas de Basque, often cited as the premier or only step for women. This shows that, at least in Russia, the name Pas de Basque lasted a long time, starting with Petrovski (1825).



ORIGINALLY IT WAS OUR INTENTION TO REPRODUCE IN THEIR ENTIRETY ALL OF THE MAZURKA DESCRIPTIONS DONE IN THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE SINCE THESE ARE GENERALLY UNKNOWN OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA. HOWEVER, SINCE VERY FEW OF THESE AUTHORS HAVE ANYTHING UNIQUE TO SAY ABOUT THE MAZUR-MAZURKA, WE HAVE DECIDED ONLY TO INCLUDE HERE REMARKS WHICH SEEM TO BE UNUSUAL OR INTERESTING. WE SHALL QUOTE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCES, THOSE REMARKS WHICH HAVE BEEN REPEATED BY OTHER AUTHORS.

KEEP IN MIND THAT THESE MANUALS COVER MANY OTHER DANCES OF THE TIME OF WHICH THE MAZURKA WAS ONE. MOST OF THE PAGES OF THESE MANUALS DESCRIBED DANCE FIGURES AND THEIR COMBINATIONS INTO FIGURE-SEQUENCES.

APART FROM THE THRILLS AND DELIGHTS OF DANCE RESEARH THE UTIMATE CRITERION IS ONLY WAS IT AND IS IT A DANCE WHICH GAVE AND GIVES AESTHEHICALLY DELIGHTS, PLEASURES AND PROFUNDITIES TO DANCERS TODAY.

Original source Russian language citations are indicated with quotations only and not with italics. Pre-1917 Cyrillic characters have been replaced by their contemporary equivalents. English translations immediately follow the quotation.


PETROSKI 1825 KHARKOV

The earliest Russian dance manual in our possession may be able to help us. It was published in Kharkov in 1825. Kharkov was the site of the first University in the Ukrainian lands. There were many Polish students there. The author of the dance manual was L. Petrovski. 3 It is possible that he may have been of Polish descent.

Petrovski has a long litany of complaints, mostly about the proliferation of steps which have been introduced to the Dance from he states, France and the Ballet World, and well as the manner of the dancing: he preferring and teaching the elegant Noble Form. He was the first to associate the rural-style of dancing the Mazurka with the folk-dances of Kraków, Poland, mentioning the Krakowiak Dance. Many authors then repeat there allusion to the Krakowiak. He believes that there are only three steps which are unique to the Mazurka. These are called by him:
1 Pas de Mazur

2 Pas en cote

3 Pas de Mazur en courre
(Notice here that he uses the Polish term “Mazur.”) The first step is the Pas de Basque—yet nowhere is the term Basque used. It is the same footwork as described by Cellarius in 1847/1848. The second step is the usual heel-clicking step. The third step is a four measure combination done primarily by women. It consists of Pas de Basques and a single measure of three running steps forward done on the balls (toes) of the feet.

Petrovski has invented the French name for this combination. In Russian he calls it, ПОДБЕГАНИМЪ, or podbeganim, which means to run. It is interesting that he has connected these two steps together as they were in Historical competition with each other as to which will develop into the contemporary moving forward step for the Mazur-Mazurka Dance.

Petrovski then gives us several step–movements: two in particular, have been favorites of men for over two hundred years. One is called by him as “Pas Glissé en sautant.” This is a good descriptive name for it although it is not clearly described. It is the usual sliding men’s step. 4 The second is called by him, “Pas de Mazur et en coté.” However he makes it a four measure combination and inverts the usual order: a Pas de Mazur followed by two measures of the heel-clicking step and finishes on the fourth measure with a Pas de Mazur. He also has a heel-click sliding step.5
Although he states that the Polish Form of the Mazur does not start with couples standing in a circle formation and doing balancing he found to his distaste that this was the popular way to start the Mazurka in Russia. He considered it an “innovation.” which did not conform to the Polish way of beginning the Dance. He states:
“Не такъ Давно Мазурку стали начинать кругъ съ валансомъ, что свойственно однимъ толкъ французскимъ въ употребление, то и почитаю нужнымъ несколько поговорить о семъ.” 6
Not so long ago [recently] the fashion of beginning the Mazurka with the circle [formation] with balancing started, which is a feature of only French dances and dances like them: since this is now how the Dance [Mazurka] is done I considerate it necessary to say something about it.
This probably was an innovation introduced by French dance teachers who taught and were teaching in Russia in Petrovski’s time—it does make it easier for people to join-in and start the Dance. As stated above he knew the Polish Mazur—this is why he knows that these are innovations. This is not surprising as Polish families still played important role in Society in the Kharkov region even though these Eastern lands were lost by Poland after the partitions. So he must have learned this form of the Dance from them.

Petrovski then states that this balancing was also done in a “German manner” [maybe hit was in an Austrian manner?]. Here after the initial balancing the circle danced on tip-toes to the center and back.

He mentions some couple turns, in particular, the Hołubiec Couple Turn done with the heel-click step, which he calls, “Pas de cote en tournant.”

He also included a Pas Glissé.

He gives only a few figure-sequences as in his experience people were merely tiring themselves out and the Aesthetic Quality of the Dance was lost. He bowed to the conventions of the time and gave figures which were for the Quadrille. According to his testimony he enjoyed great success with his choreography. This consisted of starting with couples in a circle, balancing, circle right for eight measures, balance, circle left. He used the Grande Chaine7 as an introduction to figures and to return to original positions—all done as in a Quadrille—for four couples.
Was Petrovski ever in Saint Petersburg or Moscow? Was he well-known? From his remarks he certainly knew the prevailing way of dancing the Mazurka in1820s Russia.


MAKSINA 1839 MOSCOW

This is the first manual which was written in the Russian capital city, namely, Moscow. 8 The only step described is the Pas de Basque. On count three, when the foot closes in back of the front foot, into third position, he does say:


“. . . изъ чего и выйдетъ па-де-баска.” 9

. . . and for this reason it is a Pas-de Basque.


This implies that for Maksina the closing of the foot behind is what makes it a Pas-de Basque. In his description the free foot is taken somewhat to the side at the same time that it is placed forward. He also states that it is done on the soles of the feet. This means that it is done “flat-footedly” which reduces its up-down movement and implies its forward motion.

With serious practice this can become the Basic Runs of some Polish authors such as Hłasko, Staczyński, Rochacki, Londyński and leads to the Contemporary Run.

He does not have a Pas Glissé step description.


CELLARIUS 1848 SAINT PETERSBURG
This is a word-for-word translation, in the Russian language, of Cellarius, published in Saint Petersburg in 1848.10 It was approved for publishing in the latter part of 1847, which is the same year of his English edition! One can only speculate as to why or how this came about?

Perhaps it was due to the lack of Russian descriptions? Recall that neither of the two previous Russian descriptions were published in Saint Petersburg.

We have already examined Cellarius’ manual in other works of ours. For us here we shall list the steps and a couple turn which he described:


  1. Pas Glissé / Pas de Mazurka

  2. Pas de Basque

  3. Pas Boite

  4. Coup de Talon

  5. Tour sur Place

Of course, with steps there are variations. What is important here is their order as well. Eight of these Russian manuals follow the same order as occurs in Cellarius and there is a twenty year gap after Cellarius.

We are concerned with the Pas de Basque. But Cellarius’ ordering of the step list is important because it has been repeated often in the History of the Russian manuals. We refer to what he listed as the most characteristic step of the Mazurka, namely, the Pas Glissé which he also refers to as the Pas de Mazurka. 11 Let us cite what he wrote:
“This step is called the mazurka step, because it is the most usual and is unceasingly repeated, either alone or in combination with other steps. The pupil should endeavour to be quite perfect in it before undertaking other and more complicated steps.

The second step is called the pas de basque.” 12
We shall return to this ordering and the effect it has had on the Historical Record of this Dance after we have surveyed the Russian Manuals.

Other of Cellarius’ observations of the Mazurka also occurs in the Russian manuals as well including his example of the Quadrille-Mazurka. This either points to the influence of Cellarius in Russia or to the long-lasting continuity of the Dance or of the way dance teachers in Russia wrote of the Dance.




LINDROT 1871 MOSCOW
Almost twenty years later a dance teacher, N. Lindrot, published his dance manual whose complete translated title reads, “The Primary Rules For The Study Of Ball Dances.”13 He wrote this manual for the non-classical secondary school of the Moscow Nikolaev Orphan Institute. This would be a non-Noble school.

He only described the Pas de Basque and a Pas Glissé. 14 He actually gives two Pas Glissés, the second of which, has the closing foot on count three done as a “coupe” movement, which our work on the Polish Mazur or Mazur-Mazurka is a “Wybijany” step action. If we remember correctly it was Klemm (1855) who gave a clear description of this step. To Polish male dancers these and other step-actions are very exciting ornaments of the Dance.



PETROVA 1883 SAINT PETERSBURG

This is of great interest because it is not by a man but by an authoress! In fact there are two women on our Russian list: Petrova and Bopatkova. We are using Petrova’s 1883 edition, which is her second edition. At this time we do not know the date of publication of her first edition.

The full title of her manual translates to, “The Petersburg’s Newest Teach Yourself Book Of All The Society Dances.” 15 On the title page say states that she is a female teacher of dances in many women’s educational institutions. What is astonishing is that we may have a photograph of this same person actually teaching a dance class! And here it is!
Here is a splendid photograph of young women learning to dance the Mazurka in Russia.

How do we know that they are learning the Mazurka and not the Polonaise? Because the

photographer 16entitled this photograph as “Mazurka.” However the date of this photograph is unknown. Notice several things: they are being taught by women, that their free hand holds their skirt, that they have a nice wide open couple position and that their heads are nicely inclined. Actually, this could be a Polonaise class as well. Or it may have been just practice of a good body position.

This is probably the Ballroom in the Smolny Institute for Noblewomen. This was the most prestigious school for girls. The cosmopolitan nature of Saint Petersburg was reflected in the languages taught at Smolny: all were required to only speak German on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, French on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Russian on Sundays, and English between classes.

Isn’t this interesting? But maybe it is not she. If it is then she would most probably be the woman in the center with the white-colored lapels of her uniform. Note that she has two female assistants. Need we point out how important Social Ballroom Dancing was in this time—so that there was no lack of students—and correspondingly, no lack of dance teachers. Male teachers could teach males and female teachers, females.
Now let us turn to what she wrote:
“Мазурка и Котильонъ—родные въ бальномъ мире: безъ нихъ балъ есть просто танцклассъ, на которомъ пары двигаются подъ музыку, подчиняя себя правиламъ, которымъ подчинялись и матери наши во время своей молодости, впередъ зная, какъ следуетъ поступать, когда раздается пригласительный ритурнель какого-нибудь танца. Мазурка же и Котильонъ—это есть неожиданность; тутъ танцору распорядителю представляется прекрасный случай блеснуть своимъ остроумиемъ, лов костью и находчивостью, но Мазурка имеетъ передъ котильономъ то огромное преимущество, что она действительный танецъ, а не бальная игра.” 17
The Mazurka and Cotillion [Dances]—they are for the world of Balls: without them a Ball is simply a dance class, where the couples merely submit themselves to the usual dance conventions handed down from the time of the youth of their mothers, mechanically responding to the music.

The Mazurka and Cotillion—with them there is something exciting and unexpected; here the dance leader can exercise his skill, his intelligence [in directing the course of the dance], but the Mazurka has a great advantage over the Cotillion in that it is a genuine Dance and not a dance–game of [artificial] figure-sequences. . . .

“Мазурка имееть свою историю, свою народность, свою выразительную характеристику. Она родилась въ Польше и хотя Франция считаеть себя ея второю родиною, но это несправедливо: Мазурка ужилась съ веселыми французами, подчинилась ихъ прихотлвымъ капризамъ, усвоила изменения, дополнения и вставки, которыя сочли нужнымъ ввести въ нее французские артисты, но при этомъ она утратила тотъ великолепный характеръ рыцарскаго благородства и пылкой, молодой удали, царящей въ ней только когла она исполняется природными поляками. ”

The Mazurka has its own history . . . It was born in Poland, although France is reputed to be its second motherland, but that is not just: the Mazurka has been worked on by merry [silly] Frenchmen, molded to their caprices, changed, additions made, things added, which the French actors [dancers] considered necessary; however, these changes have caused the Mazurka to have lost its original character of chivalrous nobility and the ardent boldness of youth—which is seen when danced by native Poles.

“Теперь молодешь смеется, если прежняго времени танцоръ, вставъ на колено, обводитъ вокругъ себя даму и по окончании этой фигуры, поцеловавъ у нея руку, уносится съ нею въ другой конецъ залы, гордо поглядывая на присутствующихъ и молодецки, въ тактъ, прихлопывая каблукомъ. Лучший образецъ польской Мазурки мы видимъ въ опере Глинки Жизнь за Царя, но всетаки это ничто иное какъ оживленный скелетъ, душа же тутъ не существуетъ, да и не можетъ существовать въ танце, исполняемомъ по обязанности.
Now young people laugh at a dancer, who kneels down, leading his Lady around himself, and at the end of the figure, having kissed her hand, quickly dances with her down the room, proudly glancing at the spectators as he beats his heels together. The best example of the Polish Mazurka we can see is in the opera by Glinka “A Life For The Tsar,” however, this is only a stage- setting for the Dance, and not possess the right spirit.

“И французы, и русские, и немцы танцуютъ Мазурка, и кружатся, и ударяютъ каблукъ о каблукъ, и стремительно увлекаютъ даму въ быстромъ променаде, но все это выполняется методически безъ той искорки, которая загорается у природнаго поляка, когда онъ делаетъ свой знаменитый туръ-сюръ-пласъ, зто торжество ловкаго мазуриста. Какъ робкая птичка перепархиваетъ танцорка съ руки на руку кавалера, она кажется, сейчасъ выпорхнетъ изъ засады; она начинаетъ утомляться свомъ собственнымъ кокетствомъ, но мужественная рука поддерживаетъ ея ослабевшиечлены и снова несется пара вдоль залы счастливая, доверчивая, горделивая. ”


And Frenchmen, and Russians, and Germans dance the Mazurka; they circle around, click their heels, and swiftly take the Lady in a fast promenade. But these are all mechanical actions done without the inborn spark of the native Pole. This shows itself when he does the Tour sur Place which reveals the triumphant skill of the [true] Mazurist. Like a timid little bird the Lady flits from one arm [of the Gentleman] to the other [like a caged-bird] as though she wants to escape—she is flirting, she consents—and the manly hands trustfully takes her into a joyful, proud promenade.

Petrova then has the usual remarks about the role of invention and inspiration in the calling and forming of figures. She mentions that there are some standard figures which people know by heart so that the action need not be explained at the Ball.

She states that the music is in either, 3/4 or 3/8 time, with accents on count 1 and count 3. The accents help keep the dancer within the measure of music.
She states that there are only four essential steps. She also notes that there has been [over time] a fusion with other step-movements, however according to her, in recent times a simplification of steps has taken place. The result is four steps presented below.


  1. “МАЗУРОЧНЫМЪ”/ Pas Glissé

  2. Pas de Basque

  3. Pas Boiteux

  4. Coup de Talon

We can see that this is the usual Cellarius’ list. But one thing is curious. Petrova does not use the term for the Pas Glissé even though her explanation is of the Pas Glissé; however, she does use the word “МАЗУРОЧНЫМЪ” which is the adjectival form of Mazurka so its meaning is roughly “mazurka-like” or maybe “in the manner of the Mazurka” or maybe “in the most characteristic way of the Mazurka”—I do not really exactly know why she did not follow Cellarius completely.

After this she writes about the importance of the promenade in that it is to be done before each figure and also of the Hołubiec Couple Turn, Tour sur Place.

The woman’s movement in the Promenade is to be done fluently, lightly with longish glides. Keep in mind that we are dealing with Social Ballroom of the Mazur-Mazurka and not with the Polish Rural Gentry Form as exhibited on the stage, past and present—which is different.


“Дамское па въ мазурке горазло легче мужскаго: въ променадахъ оно образуется изъ длинныхъ глиссадъ съ откинутой на лету ногой, . . . ”
The Lady’s steps are easier than those of the Gentleman: in the Promenade [she does] long glidings with the rear leg raised, . . .
Now this is a surprise since Cellarius states that the Lady’s main step is the Pas de Basque done without undercutting the supporting leg on count three and to “mingle little glissading steps that should be made with great rapidity.” Perhaps Petrova mis-read Cellarius or perhaps this is what she taught. What else does the Lady do or not?
“Cамо собою разумеется, что удары пятокъ не существуютъ для дамъ, но такъ какъ это упущение могло бы повредить правильности музыкальнаго такта, то единовременно съ ударомъ каблука кавалера, дама отбрасываетъ ногу въ сторону. ”
It goes without saying, that heel-clicking is not done by the Ladies, but because such an omission [by the Lady] could upset the musical measure [physical movement or coordination of the couple], the Lady, at the same time that the Gentleman does the heel-click, [simply] throws [carries, raises] her [corresponding] foot to the side.
This Lady’s step-movements are the same as Cellarius. As you will recall this is part of the Mazur’s Polish repertoire and was described by Zofia Kwasńicowa in 1938. 18 It is a simple helping step-movement which can be beautiful in its own right.
Petrova continues:
“По всему этому можетъ показаться инымъ, что роль дамы въ Мазурке очень незамысловата и необременительна, а между темъ хорошия мазуристки также редки какъ ловкие мазуристы, и неопытная танцорка въ Мазурке, более чемъ въ какомъ либо танце есть бремя для своего танцора.”

In this connection others might think that the role of the Lady in the Mazurka is not complicated, that it does not require much effort on her part; however, good women dancers of the Mazurka [Mазуристки—Mazuristki] are as rare as are good men dancers [Mазуристы—Mazuristi] of the Mazurka. An inexperienced Lady in the Mazurka, more than any other dance, is a burden for her partner.


The terms Mазуристки—Mazuristki and Mазуристы—Mazuristi are both in the plural form. The singular forms are Mазуристкa—Mazuristkess and Mазурист—Mazurist.

In summary we can say that her manual is important in that it was written by a woman and seems to be a “Cellarius tradition.”


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