Somebody just sent me this question, if a dance that appears early in the novel and movie "War and Peace" by Tolstoy is real, and if so, what are its origins?
The dance is called the "Daniel Cooper". It certainly does not sound Russian. Do you know anything about this, or do you have suggestions about who could have information about this?
I have copied and pasted a response from my dear and educated friend, Svetlana, from Moscow:
As for your question. It seems that "Daniel Cooper" (in Russian version, "Danilo Kupor") was an actual dance - to be more precise, contradance (sp.?), an old English dance characterized by quick and easy movements. F. F. Wiegel in his "Memoirs" (part 1, M., 1864, p. 62, first published in "Russky Vestnik", 1856) wrote that "one of these contradances was named a Danilo Kupor, probably after its composer, a certain Englishman Cooper".
I hope this of interest and help in your search for feedback to this question.
> Somebody just sent me this question, if a dance that appears early in > the novel and movie "War and Peace" by Tolstoy is real, and if so, > what are its origins?
> The dance is called the "Daniel Cooper". It certainly does not sound > Russian. Do you know anything about this, or do you have suggestions > about who could have information about this?
