GGIELIFE
Page 5 • Wednesday, September 29, 1999
ively, fierce, mighty and brave are some of the
words Olga Cooke, adviser for the Russian
Club and an associate professor of Russian,
isl> to describe the way the Don Cossacks of Rostov
ra depicted in literature and history.
Bn a program sponsored by the MSC Opera and Per-
Bning Arts Society (OPAS), The Don Cossacks ofRos-
o| dance ensemble will perform Russian folk dances
ftn the Don River region of Russia on Thursday night.
Bleremy Byrd, OPAS chair and a senior psychology
Rior, said the dance troupe will perform many pieces,
nciuding songs of praise, patriotic choral and acro-
Mtic dancing.
■ “Every once in a while, we try to bring something
iljt ^national to [Texas] A&M to expose students to
nlw cultures which they aren’t exposed to as often,”
ard said.
I Sara Peeples, OPAS public relations chair and a ju
nior accounting major, said The Don Cossacks of Ros
tov have been performing for four centuries now.
I “This was established to help preserve Russian folk-
jlore,” she said.
ft Craig Stansfield, president of the Russian Club and
4^e/7yb///?fernational studies major, said he saw a per
formance by a different troupe of Cossacks this past
vner during a visit to St. Petersburg, Russia.
Most of these performances are folk dances,”
sfield said. “They were performed primarily when
vents such as going off to war or courting rituals
k place].”
he Don is a river in what is now the Ukraine where
t of the Cossacks originated.
Rostov is a city on the Don,” Cooke said. “There
different places where Cossacks are located. This
icular group are from southern Russia.”
I’he troupe’s dances and songs illustrate the life of
Russian people who lived on the plains along the
li River.
Cooke said she assumes the men and women of the
sacks will be attired in traditional folk-dance dress.
It is customary for the men to wear big, puffy pan-
ons with a white shirt, which has a very decora-
collar in some dances,” she said. “They are usu-
also in boots and have a sash around the waist,
s is not only [the costume] in Cossacks dancing but
i lot of traditional [Russian] folk dancing.”
The Don Cossacks are most known for singing at
ily gatherings on weekdays after chores were done.
Ivhole village would gather to sing when a major
I ?nt occurred.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DON COSSACKS OF RUSSIA
Cooke said the Cossacks’ performances are not
only artistic performances but also are rich in histo
ry. She said the closest comparison to the Cossacks
she knew of for a lay person to understand was a
film known as Taras Bulba.
“[The film] is the Hollywood version,” she said.
“It [the film] depicts an epic struggle of life — of
warring, romantic intrigues and patriotism to Moth
er Russia.
“Even though they [Cossacks] are very indepen
dent, they are at the same time fiercely patriotic.”
Cooke said the Cossacks changing alliances
forged a colorful history.
“The famous Cossacks incorporate historical
songs,” she said. “They have a real rich folklore.
They have had different allegiances over time. They
are an independent group of warriors.”
Cooke said many songs the Cossacks sing are
based on seasonal cycles.
Anatoili Kvasov, who heads the ensemble, said in
a press release that the ensemble tries to incorporate
modern-day Russian life as well as history in its 21-
piece program.
“The ensemble strives to present the Don Cossack
folk songs it performs not only as beautiful relics of
the past but also as the living art of the present,”
Kvasov said.
According to the press release, one of the features
of this program is a small song cycle unified by com
mon subject matter.
The troupe’s orchestra consists of a flute, four ac
cordions, three trumpets, percussion instruments,
balaikas [a triangle-shape, three-stringed Russian
folk instrument] and a double bass.
It is tradition for the folk songs to be sung with
out accompaniment.
Tomorrow’s program will commence with a piece
titled My Little Meadows, a female lyric love song
about a girl who meets her love only to lose him in
a war on foreign soil. The song is performed by a fe
male singer a capella.
Another piece, illustrating the seasonal cycles, is
Winter Frolic. This song depicts winter along the
Don River, a festive time period featuring snowball
fights, competitions and games.
One of the military pieces is Razin’s Revolt, about
the Cossack hero Stephan Razin, who led the Cos-
saks in a historic rebellion against their oppressors
in the 17th century.
Tomorrow’s performance will conclude with
Mother Evening, a piece of vocal and choreographic
composition about a Cossack and his love gathering
apples in a garden.
lubin and wife
ipecting child
[WASHINGTON (AP) — State De-
Irtment spokesperson James P
pin and his wife, TV reporter
iristiane Amanpour, are expecting
5ir first child next spring.
“Like hundreds of millions of
■ppily married couples, we are
llpngto have a healthy child,” Ru-
n said yesterday.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Rubin lives in Washington while
working for Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright. Amanpour
lives in London while serving as
CNN’s chief international corre
spondent and a contributor to
CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
Gehry to design
new skyscraper
NEW YORK (AP) — Architect
Frank O. Gehry, who designed the
ultramodern Guggenheim muse
um in Bilbao, Spain, has been
hired again by Guggenheim.
This time he will be designing
a dramatic new building in New
York City.
Gehry has designed a building
that rises about 45 stories out of
a cloud-like shape, The New York
Times reported yesterday.
The structure would be on a
platform above piers, along the
East River near Wall Street.
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