danila cooper

http://www.barynya.com

Ensemble Barynya performs Danila Cooper - dance of the Russian Nobility during Russian Nobility Ball 2008 in New York City.

"Daniel Cooper" (also sometimes spelled as "Danila Kuper" or "Daniel Kupor") is the dance of the Russian Nobility during Napoleonic wars (in Russian version, "Danilo Kupor") was an actual dance - to be more precise, contradance, an old English dance characterized by quick and easy movements. F.F. Wiegel in his "Memoirs" (part 1, M., 1864, p. 62, first published in "Russky Vestnik", 1856) wrote that "One of these contradances was named a Danilo Kupor, probably after its composer, a certain Englishman Cooper".

Daniel Cooper dance was briefly mentioned in world-known novel by Leo Tolstoy "War and Piece": The dance grew livelier and livelier. The other couples could not attract a moment's attention to their own evolutions and did not even try to do so. All were watching the count and Marya Dmitrievna. Natasha kept pulling everyone by sleeve or dress, urging them to "look at Papa!" though as it was they never took their eyes off the couple. In the intervals of the dance the count, breathing deeply, waved and shouted to the musicians to play faster. Faster, faster, and faster; lightly, more lightly, and yet more lightly whirled the count, flying round Marya Dmitrievna, now on his toes, now on his heels; until, turning his partner round to her seat, he executed the final pas, raising his soft foot backwards, bowing his perspiring head, smiling and making a wide sweep with his arm, amid a thunder of applause and laughter led by Natasha. Both partners stood still, breathing heavily and wiping their faces with their cambric handkerchiefs.
"That's how we used to dance in our time, ma chere," said the count.
"That was a Daniel Cooper!" exclaimed Marya Dmitrievna, tucking up her sleeves and puffing heavily

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• russian
• english
• dance
• Danila
• Cooper

[kurtvonschleicher]

voina i mir!!! by the way, does really still exist a russian nobility? aren't the peolpe in this video kind of petroleum oligarchs?

[nigel106]

Fantastic! Thank you for posting!

[adsmack]

me too. p73. **takes deep breath and keeps reading****..... long way to go......

[gohmifune]

It is funny that I came to this video just because of that reference. Anyone else who follows will likely do the same.

[nitrate6971]

Tolstoy wrote a scene in War and Peace about Natasha's father dancing the Daniel Cooper at a party in Moscow.