Tropak
Encyclopedia
The Tropak is a traditional Ukrainian folk dance from the Slobozhan region of Ukraine
(around the city of Kharkiv
) settled primarily by descendants of the Zaporozhian Cossacks.
The dance is a brisk allegro in 2/4 time in a major key. Accompaniment is usually on two alternating chords; dominant
and tonic
. The tropak differs from the better known Hopak
in chordal use and also in that the tempo gradually speeds up throughout the dance.
The Tropak was one of the traditional instrumental dances played by blind itinerant musicians called kobzar
s on their bandura
s and kobza
s. It was also one of the dances often included in the repertoire of village violinists in Eastern Ukraine.
The tropak went out of fashion in the 1930s during the major transformations in Ukrainian village society and culture that happened in Soviet Ukraine at that time.
One of its best known representations is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
's Trepak from The Nutcracker
(which is also, confusingly, known as the "Russian Dance"). The dance music was also used in the last movement of his Violin Concerto in D major
, Op. 35.
characteristics with the Hopak
. Both developed as Kozak
social dance
s, performed at celebratory occasions. Traditional Tropak choreography did not survive except a simple walk with a syncopated
stamp, often done to a quick duple meter
rhythm
.
On So You Think You Can Dance (Season 4)
, Joshua Allen and Stephen "Twitch" Boss performed a Trepak routine, interpreted as a dance duel, in Week 9 (August 6, 2008).
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(around the city of Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
) settled primarily by descendants of the Zaporozhian Cossacks.
The dance is a brisk allegro in 2/4 time in a major key. Accompaniment is usually on two alternating chords; dominant
Dominant (music)
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
and tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
. The tropak differs from the better known Hopak
Hopak
Hopak , also referred to as Gopak or Cossack dance, is a Ukrainian dance. It is performed most often as a solitary concert dance by amateur and professional Ukrainian dance ensembles, as well as other performers of folk dances...
in chordal use and also in that the tempo gradually speeds up throughout the dance.
The Tropak was one of the traditional instrumental dances played by blind itinerant musicians called kobzar
Kobzar
A Kobzar was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment.-Tradition:Kobzars were often blind, and became predominantly so by the 1800s...
s on their bandura
Bandura
Bandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...
s and kobza
Kobza
The kobza is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family , a relative of the Central European mandora...
s. It was also one of the dances often included in the repertoire of village violinists in Eastern Ukraine.
The tropak went out of fashion in the 1930s during the major transformations in Ukrainian village society and culture that happened in Soviet Ukraine at that time.
One of its best known representations is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Trepak from The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
(which is also, confusingly, known as the "Russian Dance"). The dance music was also used in the last movement of his Violin Concerto in D major
Violin Concerto (Tchaikovsky)
The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1878, is one of the best known of all violin concertos. It is also considered to be among the most technically difficult works for violin.-Instrumentation:...
, Op. 35.
In dance
The Tropak shares many musical and choreographicChoreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
characteristics with the Hopak
Hopak
Hopak , also referred to as Gopak or Cossack dance, is a Ukrainian dance. It is performed most often as a solitary concert dance by amateur and professional Ukrainian dance ensembles, as well as other performers of folk dances...
. Both developed as Kozak
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
social dance
Social dance
Social dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing...
s, performed at celebratory occasions. Traditional Tropak choreography did not survive except a simple walk with a syncopated
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
stamp, often done to a quick duple meter
Duple meter
Duple meter is a musical metre characterized by a primary division of 2 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 2 and multiples or 6 and multiples in the upper figure of the time signature, with 2/2 , 2/4, and 6/8 being the most common examples...
rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
.
On So You Think You Can Dance (Season 4)
So You Think You Can Dance (Season 4)
So You Think You Can Dance is a United States television reality program and dance competition airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company network. Season four premiered on May 22, 2008, with Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy returning as permanent judges and Cat Deeley returning to host...
, Joshua Allen and Stephen "Twitch" Boss performed a Trepak routine, interpreted as a dance duel, in Week 9 (August 6, 2008).