Georgian Dance

Great video of Georgian Dance group Erisioni. They call it “folk” dance, but it is competitive professional dance, partially sponsored by the state. I think I saw this group live around 1990 before the end of the Cold War. They were more neutered back then.

I did about three years of professional Ballet. Georgian dance is one of the roots of Ballet, and Ballet had a big influence on Georgian dance as well. I took a few Russian Character Dance classes back then too, and they are even closer to this sort of dance.
For Baguazhang practitioners notice how much power they get in the spins and how committed they are to them. Spinning is a major defining element of Baguazhang, I love to spin, I suspect the old school Baguazhang performances in Beijing before the Boxer Uprising were street displays, rituals of speed and power, with incredible whirlwinds of spinning. That’s the descriptor they use to describe Dong Haichuan’s movement on his tombstone (dated 1883). Much more about this will be revealed in my next book! But for now, enjoy the video.

Read about the group here. And here is their website: Erisioni