Every nation has its own folklore. Usually these are dances, songs, epics, fairy tales. From father to son, from mother to daughters, tales of the past are passed down. In difficult times, people turn to their origins. Around the historical roots there is a national unity. In our time, interest in its history has unusually increased. And what is history without folk art? After all, the patriotic education of a person begins precisely with the awareness of his roots, this is laid from childhood in the family and school.
Folk Art
Russia occupies one of the leading positions in the world in the issue of preserving its history through folk songs and dances. From year to year, cultural institutions hold amateur art reviews and festivals of folk art. Increasingly, teenagers and children are attending these events. Every year more and more people are involved. Recently, there has been a trend, according to which not only children, but also families participate in the shows. This indicates the increased interest of Russians in history.home.
Folk creativity could not have found such a wide distribution without amateur art. Songs, dances, playing folk instruments, staged holidays that once existed in Russia - all this helps to preserve one's roots, cultivates respect for one's ancestors.
Festivals and amateur performances
Usually, the initiators of festivals and reviews of folk art are the houses of culture, local history museums, historical patriotic circles. The day of the event is agreed in advance with the administration of the city or region. The event is trying to coincide with the date of an important event for the area. It can be victories in wars and battles, the birth of famous people, ancient holidays.
The festival or review itself becomes part of the festivities. The celebration goes according to a pre-prepared scenario. Not only well-known folklore ensembles, but also local amateur art groups perform at amateur performance reviews. Contests are a huge success. For groups of folk art and circles that revive old crafts, such shows are an opportunity to show themselves to the people, to arouse people's interest in the work of the team.
Scenarios
Scenarios of amateur performances are very diverse. If the holiday is timed to coincide with some significant event for the area, then the script is written taking into account its specifics. If for the basisreview or festival, an all-Russian holiday (New Year, Christmas, Easter) or an old holiday (Maslenitsa) is taken, then the scenario of the amateur art review is fully based on this event.
How is the show going
The show itself takes place in the form of a series of competitions among dance and song groups. Among them are the following:
- Amateur competition for the best dance.
- For the best suit.
- On the originality of the arrangement.
- For the best song performance.
- To the best song team.
Usually, the goals of the competitions are to draw the attention of the viewer to the creativity of the people and to increase the level of patriotic education. Competitions between groups reveal the strongest. The winning groups are waiting for prizes.
Competition program
Competitions include amateur performances presented by artists. Each group exposes several participants with a certain musical number. It can be a single or group dance, folk song, choral performance, various acrobatic and comic performances, recitation of poems and small theatrical works, playing musical instruments. It all depends on the specifics of the celebration.
Long before the show itself, intensive preparations begin. The number of participants in amateur performances is determined. Costumes are sewn, repertoire is chosen, rehearsals are held. Muchdepends on how the band or performer performs. The advertising of the team is of great importance. It is equally important to attract new talents to the team.
Mugs of folk crafts
It has already become a common practice to invite various circles to festivals, whose members revive folk crafts. Anyone who has visited a festival or competition can buy a souvenir here. It can be a product created according to ancient technologies of folk crafts. Souvenir products can be from different materials. Pottery, leather accessories, glass or metal jewelry, antique clothing (bast shoes, onuchi, malachai, scarves, lace), wooden utensils and antique-style household utensils are very popular.
Amateur show as a weekend holiday
Although festivals and reviews are timed to coincide with a certain event, they are scheduled for the closest day off to this date. This allows you to attend a cultural event with the whole family. People don't need to rush anywhere. They have time to relax, have fun, learn something new for themselves, get interested in the history of their region and the folk art of their children, even discover hidden talents in themselves and their loved ones.
Initiative and assistance of the administration in holding the event
Often the initiator of folk festivals, the program of which includes reviews of art groups, is the administration of a city or region. For competitions, separatevenues and stages. Order is guarded by police officers. During such regional holidays, retail trade in confectionery and drinks is organized. The organizers think over the program in such a way that amateur art shows would be of interest to the majority of visitors. This is achieved by the fact that dance, choral and song numbers alternate in the program.
Single art contests
Reviews of amateur performances can be focused not only on some significant event, but also on a certain type of art. So, reviews and festivals of oriental dance popular in our country are often held. Dance groups from all over the country and neighboring countries are invited to such an event. The building of the House of Culture is rented for the competition. In the foyer there is an exhibition and sale of costumes, accessories and jewelry. The concert hall hosts performances by amateur groups and individual performers. The concert is guarded either by employees of a private security agency or by the permanent guards of the House of Culture. The whole event lasts one, and sometimes two days. The host party undertakes to meet and accommodate its guests.
A bit of history
Amateur art originated in Tsarist Russia. Then circles of folk art were organized at factories and factories. They included lovers of folk dance, songs, craftsmen who made folk instruments (balalaikas, pipes) and played them. The activities of these groups werestrict supervision of the authorities, who saw all sorts of provocations in the meetings of ordinary people.
After the revolution, folk art began to develop rapidly. In the 1920s, the performances of such groups often had a propaganda background. The repertoire of the groups included not only folk works, but also satirical ditties, ridiculing private owners (kurkuli), lazy people lagging behind in production, and so on. At the same time, theaters of working youth began to appear. Amateur art reached its greatest upsurge by the mid-1930s. At that time, amateur dance, song, and choral ensembles were created in many republics. Later they were awarded the title of folk art groups and folk theaters.
During the Second World War, amateur performances continued their activities. Participants who did not go to the front gave performances in hospitals, at defense industry enterprises, for local and evacuated residents of the rear. In the post-war period, amateur art activities became widespread. It began to develop not only in the USSR, but also in other fraternal countries. In this regard, international competitions and reviews of amateur performances began to be held. In particular, they were held in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany.
In our time, amateur art groups are being created in many countries of the world. So, they are in France, Finland, Switzerland. There are about sixty amateur orchestras in Sweden. In the USA, bigstudent folk theatres, orchestras, and choral groups have become widespread among young people. In Greece, not a single holiday is complete without the performance of folklore groups, whose participants are people of different ages and generations. Grandfather, father, son and grandson can perform in one group.
It's nice to know that in our country, amateur art reviews are given so much attention. Folk groups exist at the expense of patrons and public organizations. Participants create many costumes and decorations themselves. It is gratifying that there are such enthusiastic creative people who create all the conditions for doing interesting and useful work.
Today, amateur art groups are invited to perform at fairs, various events dedicated to important events in cities and towns. Now there is a trend of revival of ancient holidays. This is not only the beloved Maslenitsa, but also the holiday of Ivan Kupala, as well as the Mermaid Week, the Harvest Festival and others. It is important that young people are involved in folk art groups. This indicates that the connection between generations has not been broken. If we remember the history and culture of our ancestors, we will have something to pass on to our descendants.
