Decades of expeditions in one YouTube channel. Mikola Kozenka's video archive with folk dances and rituals presented in Belarus
A presentation of the digital version of the archive of the renowned ethnochoreographer Mikola Kozenka took place at the Yanka Kupala Central Library in Minsk. A large collection of video materials, gathered across the country over four decades, will now be available to the public on popular video platforms. This is an attempt to bring living folk dance back from a narrow academic environment into everyday use.
Couple's dance "Tsernitsa" in the village of Vuhalets, Stolin District. 1991. Video screenshot
The official opening of the archive took place on Saturday, February 14, in the library building at 16 Vera Kharuzhaya Street.
The project for processing and publishing the recordings was the result of a volunteer initiative, which systematized video materials made by Mikola Kozenka during the period from the 1980s to the 2010s.
Currently, over a hundred video clips have already been uploaded to the YouTube channel @archiu-kozenka. Although the project's official accounts on Instagram and TikTok currently remain empty, it is clear that they will also be filled with archival video content.
What to see
The main body of recordings uploaded to date covers Western Polesia and neighboring regions — Byarozauski, Stolinski, Kobrynski, Ivacevicki, Ivanauski, Drahichynski, Pinski, Luninetski, Malarytski, and Kamyanyetski districts. The earliest footage dates back to 1991.
Viewers can see not only popular "Aberak" or "Polka," but also the lesser-known "Lysy" (Karapet), as well as unique local variations like "Sinkevich Quadrille."
Recordings from 1999–2006 are of particular value, when Mikola Kozenka recorded complex ritual complexes: "Vadzhenne Kusta" (Driving the Bush) on Trinity Sunday in Kalansk, the Christmas "Konia Vodyty" (Leading the Horse) in the village of Dziamienichy, and the wedding "Svatanne" (Matchmaking) from Radastova. Also, recordings where not only the dances themselves are captured, but also comments from informants about dance etiquette, invitation style, and the role of song.
The Researcher's Profile
Mikola Aliakseevich Kozenka, a native of Telepuny in the Mazyr region, dedicated half a century to traditional culture. His biography is a journey from a ballet dancer in a military ensemble to a leading researcher at the Institute of Art History and organizer of the prominent festivals "Berahinya" and "Belarusian Polka."
Despite having over 170 publications and state recognition, his main work — a thousand-page manuscript titled "Chachersk Folklore in Modern Recordings" — still remains unpublished. This fact only emphasizes the importance of the emergence of the YouTube archive as an alternative way to preserve this heritage.
The publication of the archive provides a good basis for folklore groups, who can now adopt the style of Belarusian dance directly from its bearers.
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