Russian Cossack Dance Company coming soon

EAST Londoners are in for a treat as the Russian State Kuban Cossack Dance Company are coming to town in April.

These world famous dancers, who conjure up images of brave warriors of the Russian steppes, will be putting on a single show at the Orient Theatre on Wednesday April 26.

The company is one of the leading and most popular of it's kind in Russia. Their creative work is based on the traditional song and dance culture of the Kuban Cossacks.

Cossack is the name given to a group of Russians who live mainly on the steppes north of the Black Sea and Caucasus Mountains and which extend eastwards to the Altai Mountains in Siberia.

Those living in the region of the Don and Kuban rivers are known respectively as the Don and Kuban Cossacks.

Led by artistic director Victor Zakharchenko, the Kuban Cossack Dance Company have toured Japan, China, Vietnam, Poland, France, Italy, Norway and the USA among many others.

Their creative work is based on the traditional song, choruses and dance culture of the Kuban Cossacks.

Some historians trace the origins of Cossacks to serfs who fled the principality of Moscow in the 1400s and 1500s and established settlements in river valleys such as the Don and Kuban.

The name Cossack is derived from the Turkish work, kazak, which means free person.

As the Russian Czars extended their influence, Cossacks were mainly used in military cavalry regiments and later as special troops used to supress internal strife and in pogroms against the Jews.

Although Cossack culture survived under Communism, it was only during the last years of the USSR that Cossack organisations experienced a revival.

Don't miss this first for East London. Book now to avoid disappointment.

Tickets are available at R95, R85 and R75 from the Guild Theatre. The show starts at 19h30.