Siberian Circle Dances: the New and the Old Communitas

The article explores the link between the circle dance and its cultural and political environment, its situational context. I analyze this phenomenon using the notion of communitas, created by Victor Turner, which relates to the state of a group when the unity, uniformity, and communality become more important than the internal diversity and social structure. The article is based on various material including interviews, records of observation, and visual documentation that I have gathered during fieldwork in ethnic Buryatia in 2000, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014, and in Yakutia in 2013. Presently in both republics circle dances often accompany ceremonies, celebrations, or cultural festivals organized by the authorities (state or local administrations, or non-governmental organizations.