Georgian Folk Dance

Kartuli - The dance Kartuli many times reminds the audience of a wedding . Kartuli is a truly romantic dance. It is performed by a dance couple and incorporates the softness and gracefulness of a woman and dignity and love of a man. It shows that even in love, men uphold their respect and manners by not touching the woman and maintaining a certain distance from her. The man focuses his eyes on his partner as if she were the only woman in the whole world. He keeps his upper body motionless at all times. The woman keeps her eyes downcast at all times and glides on the rough floor as a swan on the smooth surface of a lake. The utmost skill, which is necessary to perform Kartuli, has earned the dance a reputation of one of the most difficult dances. There have been only a few great performers of Kartuli. Some of these are Nino Ramishvili, Iliko Sukhishvi

li, Iamze Dolaberidze and Pridon Sulaberidze.

 

                                                                                       

Acharuli has also originated in the region of Achara. It is where the dance gets its name from. Acharuli is distinguished from other dances with its colorful costumes and the playful mood that simple but definite movements of both men and women create on stage. The dance is characterized with graceful, soft, and playful flirtation between the males and females. Unlike Kartuli, the relationship between men and women in this dance is more informal and lighthearted. Acharuli instills the sense of happiness in both the dancer and the audience.

Mtiuluri - is also a mountain dance. Similar to Khevsuruli, Mtiuluri is also based on competition. However, in this dance, the competition is mainly between two groups of young men. It is more like a celebration of skill and art. At first, groups compete in performing complicated movements. Then, we see the girl’s dance, which is followed by an individual dancer's performance of amazing "tricks" on their knees and toes. At the end, everyone dances a beautiful finale. This dance truly reminds us of a festival in the mountains.

Mkhedruli dance The word "Mkhedari" means cavalryman and the Mkhedruli is, therefore, a cavalryman's dance. The dance begins in a raging tempo, becoming more and more violent. The legs of the cavalryman imitate the fast movements of the horse, while their body and arm movements impersonate the battle with enemy.