Navigation

You are here: Home › Kyrgyzstan

Tag Archives | Kyrgyzstan

This Kyrgyz video is THE FUTURE

We end our week in Kyrgyzstan with Malika Dina.

…and, we end our week of musical explorations in Kyrgyzstan with the future. Kyrgyzstan may be geographically distant from western nations that generate most of the world’s most popular music, but today human beings are only as far away from all others as their iPhone. Generations of “distant” musicians are growing up with instant access to everything, and they are going to amaze and enlighten us with the international cross-pollination of culture that results. As in this video (featuring our new favorite Kyrgyz pop star, Malika Dina), that means Kygryz musicians will now forever have the chance to fall in love with global pop music, Latin dance and all the super-fun features of their new video effects program.

Kyrgyz dance isn’t all about the twirl

Kyrgyz folk dancing can be delightful — colorfully-dressed dancers spin in circles, flowing with eager grace, the embodiment of a twirling wind on the Central Asian plains.

Though twirling Kyrgyz folk dancing isn’t the only game in town. Below we meet a revival of a very different dance known as the Kara Jorgo, or the “Black Stallion,” which is equally connected to traditional life in Kyrgyzstan.

(Happen to be on a trip in Bishkek with a hankering to salsa dance? YOU CAN!)

 

Kyrgyzstan: at the core of Central Asia

All Around This World South and Central Asia map featuring Kyrgyzstan

This week our online classes take us all the way to Kyrgyzstan in the center of Central Asia. The recorded history of Kyrgyzstan stretches back thousands of years, to a time when Kyrgyz nomads roamed vast Central Asian lands and Kyrgyz warriors conquered and were conquered by people like the Mongols, the Uighur and, in the 20th century, the Soviets. This week we’ll go that far back, but also keep one foot firmly in the Kyrgyzstan of today.

Absolutely inspired by Manas

If we’re going to be in Kyrgyzstan we must certainly meet some Manaschi.


The most popular Kyrgyz “song” is the epic of Manas — at 500,000 verses, it is considered the longest epic poem ever. “Manaschi,” like those featured in this video, are Kyrgyz storytellers who retell the tale to audiences today, breathing vibrant new life into this ancient story, crafting their improvised interpretations cleverly, keenly using the lessons of the past to inform discussions about the pressing issues of today.