Virtuosity in Ukraine's Folk Dance Ensembles of the Soviet Era

The purpose of the article is to identify the main aspects of the development of virtuosity in folk dance ensembles of Ukraine of the Soviet era. Methodology. The historical method is applied for an objective consideration of the historical and political context; systematization of information about virtuoso movements in the dances of different choreographers; an art criticism analysis of folk stage dances was used to identify virtuosic choreographic vocabulary. Scientific novelty. For the first time, the virtuoso vocabulary of Ukrainian folk dance was analyzed in the activity of folk dance ensembles of Ukraine in Soviet times through a historical and cultural prism. Conclusions. In line with socialist realism, proclaimed the leading aesthetic and cultural landmark of the artistic sphere in the early 30s. XX century in the USSR, the creation of professional and amateur folk dance ensembles took place under the slogan of preserving national identity. At the same time, Ukrainian folk stage dance turned into one of the instruments of Soviet propaganda. The works of K. Baloh, K. Vasylenko, P. Virskyi, L. Kalinin, A. Kryvokhyzh, V. Petryk, Y. Chuperchuk and other choreographers in amateur and professional folk dance ensembles in Soviet times allow us to talk about highlighting the phenomenon of virtuosity in folk stage dance, which is a reflection of one of the leading trends in choreographic art – the complication of vocabulary of folk stage dance. In the context of the socialist realism art, the phenomenon of virtuosity was of a contradictory nature. On the one hand, there was a complexity of traditional and use of new virtuosic movements from the arsenal of classical ballet, interaction with sports testified to the development of virtuoso vocabulary of folk stage dance, enrichment of its expressive means, on the other, virtuosity in Soviet times is a substitute for the emasculated traditional content of folk dance.