According to the definitions used in this article, this dance is clearly a “folk dance,” being performed by peasants. The people of the village of Molodiatyne, near Kolomyia in western Ukraine, are...
This dance can be considered both a “folk dance” (as it is inspired by hopak dances performed by peasants in villages in central Ukraine from the 17th to the 20th centuries), and an “ethnic dance,”...
This dance is an excellent example of a Ukrainian dance that is not “folk dance” according to the proposed definition (not inspired by any dance performed by peasants in Ukraine, nor by peasant...
“Folk dance” and “ethnic dance” are terms that have multiple and loaded meanings, often engaging deeply held assumptions. Neither popular usage nor scholarly literature on these terms has established consensus.
In this article, I propose that “folk dance” is most useful today when speaking of the dance of peasants, as well as dances performed by other people but which are explicitly inspired by peasant dancing. By contrast, I propose that the term “ethnic dance” be reserved for those dances in which cultural boundaries are actively engaged.
In the article, we look at three Ukrainian dances that each have different relations with the categories we are exploring. A hutsulka in the village of Molodiatyne, western Ukraine is proposed as a “folk” dance that is not “ethnic” in its original context. A hopak performed during a multicultural festival in Canada is proposed as an example of a dance that is both “folk” and “ethnic.” A choreography presenting an urban soccer match is proposed as an “ethnic” dance that is not “folk.”
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