Trepak also referred to as the Russian dance, is one of the character dances from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s famous 1892 ballet The Nutcracker. Trepak (or tropak is a traditional East Slavic folk dance (Russian and Ukrainian). Russian researchers have pointed out the similarities to the Kamarinskaya or Barynya, meanwhile Ukrainian researchers have compared it to the Hopak with nuances of a Kozachok. The dance is included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, whose form is preserved in Tacheng. The dance is a brisk allegro in 24 time in a major key. Accompaniment is usually on two alternating chords; dominant and tonic.
Russian researcher Larisa Timoshenko describes the process as follows: “The Trepak usually began with an “entrance.” The man who wanted to dance would step into the middle of the circle, straighten up, tilt his head back slightly, put his hands on his hips or cross them over his chest, and stand there for a while, concentrating before the dance and allowing the audience to feel the importance of the moment. After a few seconds, another dancer would come out to meet him and take the same pose. The accordionists would sharply stretch the bellows of their accordions, the first dancer would strike the ground with the sole of his foot, wave his arms widely, with his right arm raised higher than his left, and the dance would begin. One stood in place, performing various knee movements with his feet, moving his shoulders and the entire upper part of his torso. The other dancer spun around in place, threw himself to his knees, rushed around in a squat, crawled, twisted, and kicked his legs in different directions. All this was performed with enthusiasm, passion, and complete dedication.
The piece is part of the Divertissement in Act II, Tableau III. The other character dances in this divertissement are: Chocolate (Spanish dance), Coffee (Arabian dance) and Tea (Chinese dance). Tchaikovsky’s Trepak is written in AABA form. Its tempo is molto vivace – prestissimo, the time signature is 24, and the key is G major.
The Trepak is used in the Disney film Fantasia. In the sequence, flowers take the place of the Cossack dancers, with thistles resembling men in fur hats and orchids as women with bonnets. Different short arrangements of the first notes are used as the victory fanfare for the Game Boy version of the Tetris video game. The Trepak is used in The Comeback as Valerie Cherish’s ringtone.The Trepak also remixed during the third stage of Parodius Da!, alongside Trepak is followed by “William Tell Overture”. The first beat of Trepak is remixed as a part of Tire & Ice theme from Crash Tag Team Racing beside Russian folk song “Kalinka” and “Hungarian Dance No. 5” by Johannes Brahms. In Season 1, Episode 11 of How I Met Your Mother, the Trepak can be heard as a background music.
