Many of the dances favored by American folk dancers come from the Ukraine, where Cossacks lived. Cossack dancing is reflective of the spirit of fearless soldiers and superb horsemen. It is exuberant, exciting, and characterized by fast running, leaping, and pas de basque steps, and by the difficult knee bend or prysiadka steps, used by the men. Also characteristics are turning, spinning, stamping, and heel clicking. The Ukrainian dancers are unsurpassed for their vitality, competitive spirit, and endurance.
The Cossacks danced a little bit different from other Cossacks, depending on what region of Ukraine they were from. The different kinds of dances are Bukovanian, Transcarpathian, Poltalvski (sometimes known as a Hopack), Hutzul, Volyn, Lyrical, and in some places they even have Gypsy, and also the one they performed just for fun, my favorite dance to perform, is the character dance.
The further north you go in Ukraine, the slower the dances would get. If you went towards the south the more upbeat and energetic it would be. Also, each type of dance has a certain type of clothing. That is because of the weather in certain regions. The colder the weather the warmer the costume.
The Cossacks danced for entertainment, and for the fun of the competition.
The dances may not be the same as they used to be, because people found out about new and exciting dance moves. This type of dancing is still very popular today.
All of the immigrants that came to Canada, brought with them their customs and dances of the Ukrainian people. They taught it to other people, then they taught it to the next generation of people to come, and so on. Now today, I am one of the people being taught. And I am proud of that. Maybe someday, I could teach this to other generations to come.

By: Justin