Griboyedov’s Ball in the System of Historical Ballroom Dancing Traditions

The article deals with the ballroom dance practice peculiar to the culture of Russian society of the early 18th—19th century. Ball tradition is a “polyfunctional sociocultural phenomenon”, realizing important functions of culture, activating the process of aesthetic and ethical education of a personality involved in historical ball events. Historical ball culture is one of the forms of sociocultural practice of the nobility, which participated in dance celebrations according to the established ball structure, having a ceremonial form and its own aesthetic stylistics. One of the main motives for the fascination with balls was the aspiration of a part of the educated nobility for its own socialization within the estate. The period of flourishing of the ballroom dancing tradition fell on the second half of the 18th — first half of the 19th century. After the Imperial Court Ball in 1904 in the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg, the tradition of this type of festivities was interrupted. In the 1980s and early 1990s, through the efforts of enthusiastic constructors, ballroom dance programmes began to revive. In modern Russia, the institute of historical ballroom dancing clubs has been formed, and an institutional environment of entities engaged in the study and promotion of historical ballroom traditions is gradually forming.

Ballroom culture is characterized by a whole range of developmental functions that contribute to the formation of a socially adapted personality. The author proposes to supplement the communicative and marketing group of functions, inherent in the revival of historical ballroom traditions, with the function of social mythologization. To prove this thesis, the author defines the properties of ball culture as a social myth, which possesses rationality (consciousness), conceptual development (ceremoniality), aesthetic orientation, the presence of intension, communication, presentation or marketing purposes of the groups of people involved in it.

The symbolic experience of re-enactors in recreating historical dances is largely mythologemic in nature, appealing to some of today’s youth and adults. Passionate about ballroom culture under the guidance of experienced choreographers, they create memorable aesthetic ballroom symbols, involving patrons and supporters in the process. Griboyedov’s historical ballroom dance programmes are part of the institutional environment considered in this article, correspond to the style of the noble era, have a ceremonial and entertaining context and contribute to the promotion of the cultural heritage of the great Russian playwright and diplomat A.S. Griboyedov.

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