Kurgan retirees dance in museum square
«Saturday evening, and here I am again getting ready to go dancing.» This line from a song by Mike Naumenko could be dedicated to all older residents who dress up for a retro night and head to the square of the Muzey istorii goroda Kurgana (Museum of the History of the City of Kurgan, Kurgan, Russia). Such discos used to be called «For those over…»; now, without naming an age, they’re simply called «Everyone to the Dance!».
There was a time when outdoor dance floors were an everyday sight: ensembles and brass bands played in parks. Your parents will surely remember the «skovorodka» circular dance floor in Kurgan’s city garden. Today musicians have been replaced by a computer, but there are no fewer dancers. Older Kurgan residents gladly arrive by five o’clock for dance evenings in the museum’s square to chat, meet new people, and enjoy themselves.
Museum staff recall that it all began five years ago, when a stage with a platform appeared on the improved grounds of the Berezin family estate, where the museum is located — that’s where they decided to revive street dancing. At first the discos were sparsely attended. But over five years the dances have become so popular that, as soon as the weather warms in May, the museum’s phone rings off the hook: «So when will the dances for us start?».
Benches around the museum square fill well before the evening dances begin.
And this Saturday, an hour before the disco, the benches in the square were already full. Two elegant women I know sit not far from the stage. I often see them among the spectators at city festivities.
«We’ve been coming here for three years now — three summers,» the women tell me.
«So how do you like it?» I ask.
«It’s good — why shouldn’t retirees enjoy themselves? We come for free, dance, socialize.»
«Do you come here every time?»
«We try to. Sometimes we go visit the grandkids, but mostly we come here.»
«Don’t you have a dacha? In summer there are so many people here — I know some hurry in from their vegetable plots to the square.»
«We don’t, but there are plenty of gardeners here — they come too, they make it. In summer some even arrive by bicycle. It’s about the socializing here; we learn news from each other, dance, talk, make friends.»
I ask them what has changed at the disco over three years. They reply that, generally, everything is as before — they haven’t noticed any big changes, except a café opened nearby.
«If only the music were a bit more cheerful, more energetic. We don’t like every track. Slow ones aren’t interesting to dance. Those are meant to be danced with men, and few men come,» the women lament.
While we were talking, a message came over the speakers: «Remember, social service employees do not call about financial matters and do not ask for bank card details, passwords, or SMS codes.» This audio clip is played as a precaution, since retirees are more easily caught by fraudsters and can lose their savings. So the museum team came up with this reminder. Police officers also drop into the square to offer safety tips in person.
As soon as the voice grew louder, people from every corner of the square began gathering by the stage. Sometimes the retro evening coincides with a concert and the dances take place to live music. This time the stage had no performers, but it quickly filled with ladies’ handbags — dancing with a purse in hand isn’t very convenient.
Participants leave handbags on the stage before heading to the crowded dance floor.
After the public-service clip, another voice sounds: «We’re happy to welcome everyone to our retro evening “Everyone to the Dance”. Your virtual DJ is Mikhail, and we’re starting.» By the way, Mikhail’s voice is real. In the last dance season at the Museum of the History of the City of Kurgan, Mikhail Grachev worked there and truly became a star of the retro evenings.
«When I saw how the retro evenings were going, I immediately wanted to make changes. I didn’t just play music — I also sang, danced with everyone, demonstrated the moves. I created an atmosphere; I was the spark for everyone,» Mikhail says.
Mikhail Grachev worked at the museum in 2024 and became a retro-evening favorite.
Once, in bad weather, he had to hold the dances inside the building called Gorod masterov (City of Craftsmen) here in the square — in earlier times it was a merchant stable, and now, under the museum, it hosts creative master classes, with a pottery workshop operating in summer. The small space quickly filled with dancers, and the evening passed in a slightly cramped but cozy setting.
Now Mikhail has moved to nearby Yekaterinburg, but at the request of regulars he made special trips back to Kurgan this summer to run a retro evening and chat with townspeople who are almost like family. When Mikhail isn’t in Kurgan, it’s his recorded voice that greets the dancers. At the first notes of a dance tune, those gathered rise from the benches and start moving. By the stage I notice two men and ask how often they come to the square.
«It’s my first time here, but my friend» (he points to the second) «comes often,» one man says.
«And how did you find out about this place? Did your friend invite you?» I continue.
«No, not this one. It was a woman, I think. We used to go dancing together at DK Gorkogo (Gorky House of Culture), where retro evenings are also held when it gets colder outside and the weather doesn’t allow for the square.»
«What draws you to evenings like this — besides the chance to dance?»
«I play the bayan (button accordion) myself, sing in a choir, and I like to dance. I’ve loved music since childhood — I’ve played the accordion since age seven.»
«And how do you feel about the repertoire? Some are asking for more energetic music,» I try to find the secret of what tracks suit dancing.
«Sometimes it’s good, sometimes not so much. I, on the contrary, love lyrical, singable songs — so I can sing along,» the man replies, heading to the dance floor.
The playlist spans 1980s disco and contemporary hits, keeping the crowd constantly moving.
The repertoire here is varied. Hits of the 1980s alternate with contemporary songs. Slow dances are almost never played. The local dancers want something faster. True, when I ask for specifics, they usually don’t name particular artists — the main thing is that it’s livelier. It brings to mind the film «Afonya» (1975), when Kuravlyov’s companion declares: «This is an energetic dance.»
«May I ask you something? The women say they don’t like slow numbers because men don’t invite them to dance…» I ask the men in the center of the floor.
«I invite them — all the time. The only thing is, there’s tile here, so it’s not great for waltzing, and we’re not at the age for jumping,» one of the dancers replies.
The guests’ ages vary. There are no restrictions. It both surprises and delights that Kurgan residents of very advanced years meet here.
«I have two sons: one died in Afghanistan, the other is 64, and I’m 88. I come here — or rather, my son sends me out: “Go on, dad. Get moving. Your back hurts.” But I’m fine — I come to stomp a bit, to limber up. Put on something modern for me, and maybe I’ll even dance a little ‘Gypsy-style’ number with a flourish,» says Dmitry, one of the regulars.
At age 90, Anatoly Sharov celebrated his birthday here, proving dance welcomes every age.
Museum staff recall that in five years they’ve seen all sorts of things here. In 2022, Anatoly Sharov celebrated his birthday on one of the evenings. His son brought Anatoly Alekseyevich to the square, and on his 90th birthday the man, cane in hand, danced along with everyone. The audience had prepared balloons and a congratulatory speech for the jubilarian.
There is always a person on duty at the retro evenings, keeping an eye on order and helping if anything happens.
They also say indefatigable dancers come to the square in any weather. On one rainy day, few participants gathered, and during hail and a downpour everyone fit on the stage under the roof. Despite urgings to continue the dances, the museum team didn’t turn the music back on.
Not everyone dances; some wait until a favorite song finally plays.
Despite the many people dancing, I see some women sitting on a bench and ask why they’re seated.
«We’re waiting for suitable music. We don’t like foreign songs — we’d prefer something of ours,» a visitor comments.
«This isn’t your first time in the square…»
«I like everything — it’s very good, very proper. People come here from Glinki and Zaozyorny; I’m from Nekrasova. Sometimes they even take people away by ambulance from these dances.»
«That happens?!» I’m surprised.
«It happens — a grandmother will come, watch, her blood pressure goes up, and they take her away in an ambulance.»
The second interlocutor has come to the retro evening for the first time, even though she lives across the street.
«Curious — these dances have been going on in the square for five years, and you lived across from it and didn’t know at all?» I ask.
«No, I didn’t. I often hear music playing, but I didn’t know about the dances — I thought it was coming from the embankment,» the woman says.
«And today is your very first visit — how do you like it?»
«Well, I saw online about Valentina Ivanovna — she’s 90 and dances in Sokolniki Park in Moscow. The atmosphere here is similar. I came out of curiosity, and I like it. The organizers are great — after all, this is movement, life! They say there was even a granddad who came who was 96.»
Older residents gather for retro dance evenings in the museum’s tree-lined square.
Even those who sat on benches for half the evening stand up and head to the center when a song sounds from the speakers that could be called the anthem of the retro evenings.
«Eighteen — I’m eighteen again; I want to sing, dance, and fall in love,» sing the Buranovo Grannies together with Dmitry Nesterov. The playful melody leaves no one indifferent. You look — and truly it’s as if our dancers are 18 again, that’s how nimbly they tap their feet.
Among the audience’s favorites are Tatyana Kurtukova’s «Mother Earth» and SHAMAN’s «Open Soul». Some happily dance to 1980s disco hits as well. I notice a man in a red jacket and a Gucci baseball cap. He stands out because he hasn’t sat down all evening — he dances to every track.
An avid music fan dances to every track and attends city dance events regularly.
«Did you study dance anywhere?» I ask him.
«No — I just feel the music myself,» the man replies.
«Are you a music lover? You dance so actively to everything.»
«I’m about to turn 60. Since childhood I’ve practiced — I played the balalaika and the bayan. Music is my thing. I can’t live without it.»
«You’ve probably been coming to the square for years?»
«Yes — and not only here; wherever there are discos in Kurgan. I go dance at Sovremennik (Sovremennik cultural center), for example. And I come here to really cut loose.»
Learning that I’m a journalist, one of the women approaches me.
«Here’s what I want to say. The music is good — we really like it, for those of us of a certain age. I’m 85; at home you don’t know what to do, but with good spirits you go to the dances. I want to wish the organizers happiness and cheerful, joyful days. There are lots of people here — it’s fun, it’s nice. I come every year, and this year it’s good they extended the dances through September.»
Over five years the audience for the «Everyone to the Dance» retro evening has grown. There are regular participants. Even though everyone’s musical taste is different, Kurgan residents return again and again to the square of the Museum of the History of the City of Kurgan. After all, some who come here have no one else; and even if they do, children and grandchildren are often busy with their own lives, while retirees crave company. The retro evening is not just a disco — it’s a club for the older generation, a place participants want to return to over and over.
