Uzundara

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Folk dance from the South Caucasus region

title: "Uzundara" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["music-of-azerbaijan", "azerbaijani-dances", "music-of-armenia", "armenian-dances", "turkic-words-and-phrases"] description: "Folk dance from the South Caucasus region" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzundara" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Folk dance from the South Caucasus region ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox dance"]

FieldValue
nameUzundara
native_name

| | image | Танец "Узундара" в исполнении армянки из Ахалцихе.jpg | | caption | Uzundara performed by an Armenian girl, Akhaltsikhe | | genre | Traditional dance | | signature | (), () | | origin | Karabakh, Western Armenia (Erzurum) | ::

| name = Uzundara | native_name =

| image = Танец "Узундара" в исполнении армянки из Ахалцихе.jpg | alt = | caption = Uzundara performed by an Armenian girl, Akhaltsikhe | genre = Traditional dance | signature = (), () | inventor = | year = | origin = Karabakh, Western Armenia (Erzurum)

Uzundara or ouzoundara (; ) is a lyrical Armenian and Azerbaijani dance traditionally performed by women. Today, the dance is famous throughout the South Caucasus region; in particular Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Etymology and origin

The place of origin is either Nagorno-Karabakh, or Western Armenia (Erzurum). 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. According to Azerbaijani scholars, the dance originates in a Uzundara valley between Aghdam and Baş Qərvənd in the region of Karabakh. 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.

In Armenian, particularly in the western Armenian dialect "Uzundara" translates to "They wanted her, They took her". With "Uzun" being "they wanted (her)" and "Daran" 'They took (her)". It showcases the metaphor of a bride being taken from her family.

Translated from Azerbaijani, the word Uzundara means "long gorge" or "long valley". 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 origin and means "gorge". Armenian ethnographer Srbuhi Lisitsian notes that "dara", in addition to a "gorge", can also mean a "pit".

Performing

The dance is performed easily, smoothly. Circular strokes and small lateral steps are coordinated with gentle movements. 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.

According to Tamara Stepanovna Tkachenko, three elements alternate in Uzundara in the following order: moves in a circle, "syzme" (small, "floating" steps) and small movements forward or from side to side such as "khyrdalyk". She described those elements as "main elements of Azerbaijani female dance", while pointing out that "syzme" is an "integral part of Armenian dance". 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".

File:Uzundara dance melody at the opening of Kharibulbul Festival in Shusha.ogg|Melody of Uzundara dance at the opening of Khari Bulbul Music Festival in Shusha performed by kamancheh players

References

References

  1. Младенова Т.В.. (2010). "Музыкально-исторический процесс в Крыму конца XIX начала ХХ столетия". Научный журнал «Культура народов Причерноморья».
  2. Николай Иосифович Эльяш Балет народов СССР. — Знание, 1977. — p. 59. — 166 pp.
  3. 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.]
  4. Ткаченко, 1967, с. 307: Этот танец также характерен для Армении. [This dance is also typical for Armenia.]
  5. (1950). "Bol'shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia". Izd-vo Bol'shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia.
  6. (1998). "Большой энцклопедический словарь: Музыка". Научное изд-во "Большая Российская энциклопедия".
  7. "Узундара — Музыкальная энциклопедия".
  8. Т. С. Ткаченко. Азербайджанский женский танец «Узундара» [Azerbaijani female dance «Uzundara»] // Народный танец / под ред. Н. И. Львова. — М.: Искусство, 1967. — 656 с.
  9. 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]
  10. 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»."]
  11. Kamal Hasanov. (1978). "Azerbaijani Folk Dances". [[Iskusstvo publishing house]]: Research Institute of Culture.
  12. Uzundərə // Muğam Ensiklopediyası / Edited by T. Mammadov — Baku, 2008. — P. 197.
  13. Gary and Susan Lind-Sinanian. (1982). "History of the Armenian Dance".
  14. "Nayiri.com".
  15. "Armenian Verbs {{!}} LEARN101.ORG".
  16. "Armenian Vocabulary - Quick Online Learning".
  17. "Armenian Verbs {{!}} LEARN101.ORG".
  18. "Armenian Vocabulary - Quick Online Learning".
  19. Tretyankova, T. N.. (2000). "Основы эстетики и художественной деятельности; музыка народов мира: учебное пособие". ЮУрГУ.
  20. (1966). "Узундара". Советская энциклопедия.
  21. (1964). "Узундара". Музыка.
  22. (1981). "Узундара". Советская энциклопедия, Советский композитор.
  23. "Узундере".
  24. Shamamyan, Narine. (2016). "Uzundara solo dance: An attempt of a historical-ethnographical research". [[National Academy of Sciences of Armenia]].
  25. Lisitsian, Srbuhi. (1958). "Старинные пляски и театральные представления армянского народа". АН АрмССР.
  26. Uzundara // Big Soviet Encyclopedia, 1965. — V. 44. — P. 50.
  27. 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".]
  28. ''Т.С. Ткаченко.'' Основные движения армянского танца // Народный танец. — Искусство, 1954. — p. 500.
  29. Tamara Stepanovna Tkachenko: Армянский танец // Народный танец. — Искусство, 1954. — p. 481

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