2026. no 2. Refat Izzetov, Abibulla Useinov

Varilyach is an Ancient Crimean Dance

Refat Izzetov
Simferopol, Russian Federation

Abibulla Useinov
Fevzi Yakubov Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University
Simferopol, Russian Federation

Abstract. This article analyzes the lost example of the Crimean folk choreography: the song-dance “Varilyach” (“Varirach”). Based on published sources from the late 19th and 20th centuries, archival materials and field recordings, the article examines variants of the song-dance “Varilyach” in the traditions of the Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Urums. Particular attention is paid to the song-dance’s existence, musical and structural features, dialectal and local names, as well as problems of attribution and interpretation of early recordings. The article demonstrates that “Varilyach” was a group, primarily round dance, song-dance complex, likely associated with the female choreographic tradition and originating from a female name. A comparison of Crimean Tatar, Karaite, and Urum variants reveals common typological features and local characteristics of the genre, as well as outlines prospects for further research, related to the search for new sources and the possible reconstruction of this lost choreographic practice.

Keywords: Varirach; song-dance; Crimean Tatars; Karaites; Urums; folk dance; round dance

For citation: Izzetov R.A., Useinov A.E. Varilyach is an Ancient Crimean Dance. Krymskoe istoricheskoe obozrenie=Crimean Historical Review. 2026, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 146–162. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2026.2.146-162 (In Russian)

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Refat A. Izzetov – Independent researcher of the musical culture of the Crimean Tatars, regional ethnographer (Simferopol, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0009-0000-8467-9062. E-mail: ibragimov.refat@gmail.com

Abibulla E. Useinov – musician, postgraduate student at the Department of Preschool Education and Pedagogy, Fevzi Yakubov Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University (8, Uchebniy lane, Simferopol 295015, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0009-0005-5225-5392. E-mail: abibulla.useinov@bk.ru

Received 07.03.2026

Accepted 14.03.2026