Pecularities of Dance Amateur Activities Functioning in the Ternopil Region of the Soviet Period

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify the peculiarities of the functioning and the political and ideological context of dance amateur performances in the Ternopil region of the Soviet period. Methodology. The objectivity of the study was ensured by the use of analytical (analysis of literature and sources, including archival documents, facts), historical (presentation of material in chronological sequence), culturological (consideration of events through the prism of the socio-cultural situation) approaches. Scientific novelty. For the first time, attention is focused on the political and ideological context of the amateur performances' development in the Ternopil region; new archival materials were introduced into scientific circulation. Conclusions. In the 50-80s of the twentieth century in the Ternopil region, as well as throughout the USSR, an extensive network of amateur dance groups was created, which can be regarded not only as a manifestation of moral upsurge after liberation from the Nazis but as a latent form of struggle to preserve national and cultural identity. The absence of a professional folk dance ensemble in the region until 1961 made it possible to stabilize the repertoire of amateur groups in close connection with folklore, without focusing on the achievements of professional art. The historical and political specificity of the Ternopil region manifested itself in the increased attention during the organization of foreign tours to the participants of dance groups, whose relatives were associated with waves of emigration from Western Ukrainian lands, as well as with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The main factors that determined the activities of amateur art groups were not only creative but also political and ideological as a sign of the system of a totalitarian society with command and control.