Rostov Don Cossacks - Ансамбль донских казаков

Rostov Don Cossacks State Academic Song and Dance Ensemble from the Don River region of Russia, town of Rostov-Na-Donu, was established in 1936 to preserve the four centuries old folk art of the Cossack peoples who inhabited the wide plains along the Dom River in Russia's southern and eastern frontiers.
The Don Cossacks of Rostov reproduces the ethnic songs and dances of the region in their original form. Songs painstakingly selected from an immense historical catalog accompany dances that range from explosively energetic to gracefully elegant. The melodious songs encompass joyful wedding and holiday music, military and march pieces, plaintive laments of loss, songs of the fierce Cossack warriors, and humorous songs of village life.
The ensemble strives to present the Don Cossack folk songs (and dances) it performs not only as beautiful relics of the past, but also as the living art of the present.
The ensemble consists of up to 30 singers, 30 dancers, 14 musicians and the managing and directing staff of six. Total 80 people.

[dwbush]

I remember seeing this group back in 1975 for the first time! Changed my life, really!