Tikho nad Richkoyu is a modern circle folk dance with Ukrainian-style choreography by Heather (Cook) Thompson to the folk song of the same name. Although there are many recordings of the song that are appropriate—and beautiful, the original choice was of the American women’s Eastern European singing group Kitka‘s recording from their album Voices on the Eastern Wind, 1992. According to description notes of the NJ Dance Vids YouTube demo video, most groups are doing some of the dance steps “incorrectly,” including in their own video. Their source is the choreographer herself, Heather Cook, now Heather Thompson, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Widespread exposure to IFD came through a Stockton Folk Dance Camp introduction in 2001 by Suzanne Rocca-Butler, who learned it from Jane Kitchel at Berkeley Folk Dancers in 1999, who had learned it from the Bay Area Sacred Circle Dance group. The IFD variant is distinct, but not that different. There is a third variant taught by (started by?) Tom Masterson of Boulder, Colorado that features a different ending. I wouldn’t get too worked up about the details, because you’re only going to find the dance at international folk dancing and Sacred Circle dance groups, so just do whatever your group likes best.
| Dance Name: | Tikho nad Richkoyu |
| Original Script: | Тихо над річкою |
| Pronunciation: | TEE-kho nahd rrich-KOH-yoo |
| Translation: | Quiet over the river |
| Aliases: | Tykho nad richkoyu, Kitka |
| Country (Style of): | Ukraine |
| Choreographer: | Heather (Cook) Thompson Nashville, Tennessee, USA |
| Year: | c. 1994 |
| Dance Type: | Circle/Chain/Line: Non-partner |
| Dance Category: | Modern RIFD |
| Folk Status: | Arranged Folklore |
| Skill Level: | Easy |
| Energy Intensity: | Gentle |
| Song: | Tikho nad Richkoyu |
| Recording | Kitka: Voices on the Eastern Wind, 1992 Many others on YouTube |
| Time Signature: | 7/4 x2 + 3/4 x4 |
| Dancer Formation: | Closed Circle |
| Hand Hold: | V-pos |
| Leads to: | R w/ R, facing FWD |
| Date Taught: | 11/12/2024 |
| Teacher: | David |
| Published: | November 2, 2024 |
| Updated: | November 13, 2024 |
The Dance
The dance is simple, symmetrical, and smooth. The original Kitka recording is five minutes. It’s a bit slow, so a speed up around 10% is in order, and you could also edit out a verse, so as not to exceed the typical folk dancer attention span. The time signature switches between 7/4 (4+3) and 3/4, but that’s all just phrasing and nothing to do with rhythm, but you do have to listen to the music a little to follow the rubato. The structure is “A:” 7/4 x2 + 3/4 x4 and the “B:” is the same structure with a repeat. Kitka sings 2 A+B sets then a cello solo and 1 final set = 4 sets total.
Choreographer notes from NJ Dance Vids:
- First 3 steps are done facing center, traveling R (half grapevine):
- R to R, L in front of R, R to R
- Not mentioned in the NJ Dance vid, but different in some videos (but not the IFD notes), the next steps (4-&-5), facing LOD, should be:
- L, R together/close, L
- Tom Masterson’s version specifies 3 traveling steps w/o closing: Ukrainian bihunets step.
- Grapevine begins cross in front:
- R to R, L in front of R, R to R…
- Last time: 3 steps in, 3 back, no turn, lift R and hold until final cymbalom arpeggio starts (depending on recording), grapevine to R & lift L.
- Do not bow at the end.
- Tom Masterson ending (not in any video): keep dancing the progression until the pause before the final arpeggio, then 3-step turn to center and “reach gently toward the center to place your ‘wreath, with a quiet prayer, into the gentle waters of the river.'”
Tom Masterson (Erik Bendix notes) refers to his version of the dance as a khorovod: a traditional Ukrainian women’s circle dance. “This particular khorovod is part of a Ukrainian tradition in which unmarried girls braid wreaths out of flowers [a vinok] and release them into a river. The fellow who plucks a girl’s wreath from the river is the one who by tradition will become her husband.”
The Song
- Synopsis from Kitka: A quiet river runs through an enchanted forest under a star-filled sky, where songs can be heard flowing from afar.
- Various lyrics translations below.
Dancing Examples
Teaching Example
Music Examples of “Tykho nad richkoyu”
Lyrics of “Tikho nad richkoyu”
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/quiet-over-river-lyrics.html and https://sonichits.com/video/Kitka/Tikho_nad_Richkoyu_(Ukraine)Тихо над річкою, ніченька темная,
Спить зачарований ліс
// Ніжно шепоче він казку таємную
Сумно зітха верболіз //
Нічка розсипала зорі злотистії
Ось вони в річці на дні
// Плачуть берези по той бік сріблястії
Стогне хтось тяжко вві сні //
То йому мариться доля щасливая
В хвилях бурхливих життя
// Може озвалося щастя зрадливее
Плаче, шука вороття //
---------------
Tykho nad richkoyu nichen'ka temnaya
Spyt' zacharovanyy lis
// Nizhno shepoche vin kazku tayemnuyu
Sumno zitkha verboliz //
Nichka rozsypala zori zlotystiyi
Os' vony v richtsi na dni
// Plachut' berezy po toy bik sriblyastiyi
Stohne khtos' tyazhko vvi sni //
To yomu maryt'sya dolya shchaslyvaya
V khvylyakh burkhlyvyh zhyttya
// Mozhe ozvalosya shchastya zradlyvee
Plache, shuka vorottya //Dark is the night, over the river and dale,
Enchanted wood sleeps at night
// It tenderly whispers a mysterious tale
With sadness the willow sighs //
The night scattered gold stars around
There, in the river they swim
// Silvery birches on the other side are crying
Someone heavily groans in his dream //
Then he is dreaming of heaven-sent fortune
In the stormy waves of his life
// Maybe a treacherous fate called upon him
He is seeking the way back and cry //
----------------
It is quiet on the river, the evening is dark,
The enchanted woods are sleeping.
// Nearby it whispers a story secretly,
A willow sadly sighs. //
The evening spills out silvery stars,
They are reflected on the bottom of the river.
// Birches are weeping on the far tangled shore,
Songs are flowing from afar. //
----------------
Silent, by the river in, the night, that is so dark,
sleeps the enchanted woods.
// Quietly whispering, a tale, mysterious,
willows so sadly there sighing. //
The night, has scattered, the golden stars there above,
Here, in the river below.
// Weeping are the silvery birches there on that side.
Someone there sighing - does dream. //
For him-, fortune is, fleeting, unreachable,
in tempest waves- of life.
// Fortune, revealed itself, maybe, as unfaithful,
Weeping, he seeks it's return. //