Question
My sister will be married in the Orthodox church this November.
She has asked that I prepare a tape of all of the “popular” russian folk dances that are typically played at the wedding reception (she is having a DJ rather than a polka band).
Do you know where I can find 2-3 cd’s that would have the majority of the songs I am looking for? (e.g., Domino, Bridal Dance, Troika, Never-On-A-Sunday, etc.)
Answer
Unfortunately, I am not aware of any sources for such music. You may wish to check with a CD shop or key in words such as “Troika” or “Domino” on a search engine or through a search at Amazon.com or some other cyber music vendor and see what may be available.
I might add that some of these dances—notably the polka, domino, and Never-on-Sunday, are not Russian. If I am not mistaken, the polka is of central European origin, while I think the domino is a spin-off of the polka. Never-on-Sunday has a Greek flavor but, as a theme of a movie from three decades ago, is probably American in origin.
Many of the Russian dances—Troika, Korobushka, etc.—may be difficult to locate on CD as they are really no longer done on a popular level in Russia but, rather, are primarily the grist of folklore groups.