In 1948, on the stage of the Hermitage theater in a pop program with the participation of such masters of domestic pop as Shulzhenko, Utesov, Garkavi, Mironov, an amateur group from Kalinin appeared for the first time on the stage. 16 girls in Russian sundresses moved smoothly in a bewitching round dance. This was the first performance of the ensemble "Birch".
The creator of the team was Nadezhda Nadezhdina, a former classical ballet dancer, later a choreographer. The first performance of the ensemble in Moscow made a splash! It was absolutely not like what the audience had seen before, the new choreographic ensemble was very different from the well-known pop and folk groups.
Why birch?
The first dance with which the ensemble debuted on the Moscow stage was the Birch dance. It was a folk dance-round dance, known in the regions of Central Russia and in Belarus. It was performed during the festival of spring castings.
Its obligatory element was birch branches in the hands of the participants - this symbolized the spring revival of nature.
. Nadezhda Nadezhdina staged a stage version of this dance. It was performed to the famous music for the folk song "In the field stood a birch."
As in the traditional round dance, the girls moved smoothly in a circle, holding handkerchiefs and birch branches. The audience was especially struck by the special sliding step of the dancers. Dressed in long sundresses on the floor, they seemed to just stand still, and underneath the scene moves - their movements were so smooth. It was this glide across the stage that became the hallmark of the ensemble, which got its name from its debut dance.
