Hopak
Ukrainian folk dance
Hopak (Ukrainian: гопак, IPA: [ɦoˈpɑk]) is a Ukrainian folk dance originating as a male dance among the Zaporozhian Cossacks, but later danced by couples, male soloists, and mixed groups of dancers. It is performed most often as a solitary concert dance by amateur and professional Ukrainian dance ensembles, as well as other performers of folk dances. It has also been incorporated into larger artistic opuses such as operas, ballets and theatre.
The hopak is often popularly referred to as the "National Dance of Ukraine" and has become very popular in Poland. There are similar folkloric dance tunes known as Sirmpa in Leros, Greece.
Etymology
The name hopak is derived from the verb hopaty (Ukrainian: гопати) which means "to hop", as well as the corresponding exclamation hop! (Ukrainian: гоп) which can be uttered during a jump as an expression of surprise or amazement.
History
Medieval history
The Hopak developed initially as a Cossack social dance (Ukrainian: побyтовi танці, translit. pobutovi tantsi), and was practiced in the lands of present-day Ukraine beginning in the 16th century. While the militaristic Zaporizhian Sich generally frowned upon amusements and diversions from military training, such regulations were overlooked when Kozaks returned victorious after battle.
The public source identifies “Hopak” as ukrainian folk dance. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hopak, Ukrainian and folk.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hopak” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.