"Sabre Dance" [a] is a movement in the final act of Aram Khachaturian's ballet Gayane (1942), where the dancers display their skill with sabres. [2] It is Khachaturian's best known and most recognizable work worldwide. [3] [4] In the composer’s own words, the “Dance of the Kurds”, which subsequently became the “Sabre Dance”, originated with the insistence of the Director of the Kirov Theatre already after the rehearsal process had commenced. Although Khachaturian considered the score to be complete, he reluctantly agreed to add another dance in the last act. [5] [6] [7]
"Sabre Dance" is considered one of the signature pieces of 20th-century popular music. [8] It was popularized by covers by pop artists, [9] first in the U.S. in 1948 and later elsewhere. Its use in a wide range in films and television over the decades have significantly contributed to its renown. [10] "Sabre Dance" has also been used by a number of figure skaters from at least five countries in their performances.
It is notable for its employment of percussion instruments, especially the xylophone [11] [12] (or tubaphone). [13] Daniel Chetel wrote that it features "very active percussion" with the lead of the xylophone and "dramatic glissandi for the trumpet and trombone." [14]
Its brief middle section in 3
4 includes a prominent
cello
soli in
tenor clef and
alto saxophone,
[14] and is based on an unnamed
Armenian folk song.
[2]
[15] According to
Tigran Mansurian, it is a synthesis of an Armenian wedding dance tune from
Gyumri tied in a
saxophone
counterpoint "that seems to come straight from
America."
[16]
Woodwind auxiliaries include the
piccolo,
English horn, and
bass clarinet. The
harp is active throughout, while the
celesta plays at the very end.
[14]
NPR described it as "one of the catchiest, most familiar—perhaps most maddening—tunes to come out of the 20th century." [17] The New York Times noted that Khachaturian "never disowned the 'Sabre Dance', but he did feel, apparently, that it deflected attention from his other works." He told an American interviewer, "It's like one button on my shirt, and I have many buttons." [18] According to Nikolai Kapustin, Khachaturian did not like "when people are constantly performing his Sabre Dance and whistling at the same time." Kapustin told how Khachaturian once "imitated that kind of performance for us. We were laughing. Khachaturian, as well as Prokofiev, had a special sense of humor. They liked to joke with their friends, but only with close people, not everyone." [19]
Steven Poole notes that its "insistent xylophone-accented melody" has "become a kind of global musical shorthand for cartoonish urgency." [20] Critics Peter G. Davis and Martin Bernheimer have called it "infamous" and "obnoxious," [21] [22] Jed Distler characterized it as "notorious", [23] while David Mermelstein called it "garish and ubiquitous." [24] Other critics have called it "furiously paced", [25] "flashing", [26] "rollicking," [27] "rousing", [28] "bustling," [29] "blazing", [30] "high-tension, catchy and rhythmically insistent". [31]
After World War II, records of dances from Khachaturian's ballet Gayane reached the west and "Sabre Dance" "caused an immediate sensation and straightaway becoming a popular classical hit." [32] In 1948, three records of "Sabre Dance" reached number one in the Billboard Best-Selling Records by Classical Artists: by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Artur Rodziński), [33] [34] by the New York Philharmonic (conducted by Efrem Kurtz), [35] [b] and by the pianist Oscar Levant ( Columbia Records). [37] They were among the Year's Top Selling Classical Artists, [38] and it was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's first million-selling record. [39] A record by the Boston Pops Orchestra also made it to the classical chart. [40]
According to the Current Biography Yearbook, it was Levant's performance that "received popular attention." [41] Levant published a piano solo version of it and played the piece five times on the radio program Kraft Music Hall between December 1947 and December 1948. [42] He also played it on the piano in the 1949 film The Barkleys of Broadway. [43]
"Sabre Dance" has also been recorded by Russian-American violinist Jascha Heifetz (1948, transcribed it for violin/piano), [44] [36] Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Fabien Sevitzky, in 1953), [1] the Hungarian-French pianist György Cziffra (1956), [45] the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Yuri Temirkanov, 1986), [46] the London Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Stanley Black, 1989), [47] the Irish flute player James Galway (1993 album Dances for Flute), [48] the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Alexander Lazarev, 1994), [49] the National Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Loris Tjeknavorian, 2005), [50] Franco-Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulović (2014). [51] [52]
In 1986 Irish flautist James Galway made a flute transcription of "Sabre Dance" along with other works of Khachaturian. [53]
"There's a rash of sabre dance disks based on the familiar excerpts from Aram Khachaturian's Gay[a]ne Ballet Suite."
In 1948 "Sabre Dance" was recorded by a number of singers and became a jukebox hit in the U.S., [58] prompting Newsweek to suggest that 1948 could be called "Khachaturian Year in the United States." [59]
By May 1948, three records of "Sabre Dance"—a pop- boogie hit by Freddy Martin, [60] a dance-band version by Woody Herman, [61] and a vocal version by The Andrews Sisters with harmonica backing [62]—made it to Billboard's Most-Played Juke Box Records at No. 8, No. 13, and No. 28, respectively. [63]
Aside from these three versions, it was also recorded by Victor Young's orchestra ( Decca Records), [36] Ray Bloch's orchestra ( Signature Records), Macklin Marrow's orchestra ( MGM), pianist Oscar Levant ( Columbia Records), the Angie Bond Trio (Dick Records), and the Harmonickings ( Jubilee Records), Macklin Morrow (MGM), Harry Horlick (Crown Recordings). [36] According to John Sforza "Sabre Dance" is a "good example of multiple recordings of the same song in the 1940s recording industry." [64] The pianist David Rose played it on The Red Skelton Show. [36] Charles Magnante offered an arrangement for the accordion and Harry James one for trumpet. [36]
Two decades later, in 1968, when Khachaturian visited the U.S., New York Post music critic Harriett Johnson noted that "Sabre Dance" is Khachaturian's "most popular piece in this country." [65] New York Times critic Harold C. Schonberg agreed, calling it "enormously popular" and adding that the "little whirling piece occupies the same place in his output that the C sharp minor Prelude did in Rachmaninoff's." [66]
"Sabre Dance" has been used in numerous films, animated films, television series, video games, and commercials over the years, oftentimes for humorous effects. [98] The piece's popular familiarity has been enhanced by its traditional use as accompaniment by travelling circuses [99] and on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show when novelty acts such as plate spinners appeared. [17]
In Russia, the KVN team Uralskiye pelmeni performed a sketch using the piece in 2004. [100]
On June 6, 2013, on the 110th anniversary of Khachaturian's birthday a modern take of the Sabre Dance—Sabre Dance on the Street—was performed at Yerevan Cascade by the Barekamutyun dance ensemble and Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra. [101] [102] [103]
Films in which "Sabre Dance" was used include The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), One, Two, Three (1961), [104] The System (1964), The Seven Brides of Lance-Corporal Zbruyev (1970), [105] Amarcord (1973), Well, Just You Wait! 6th episode "Countryside" (1973), Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), Repentance (1987), Punchline (1988), Hocus Pocus (1993), Radioland Murders (1994), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), [106] [107] Don't Drink the Water (1994), I Married a Strange Person! (1997), Vegas Vacation (1997), A Simple Wish (1997), Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), The Lion King 1½ (2004), Kung Fu Hustle (2005), Scoop (2006), Sicko (2007), Ghost Town (2008), Witless Protection (2008), Le Concert (2009), Pájaros de papel (2010), Sabre Dance (2015). [98] In his frenzied comedy One, Two, Three, director Billy Wilder used the dance repeatedly for comic effect, including a crazed chase through East Berlin, and the chaotic closing ride to the airport featuring James Cagney and Horst Buchholz. It was also played briefly in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. A band plays the song in the beginning of the movie Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022).
Some notable television shows that have used it include The Jack Benny Program (1961), " A Piano in the House" from The Twilight Zone (1962), The Onedin Line (1971 and 1972), The Benny Hill Show (1985), Our Very First Telethon episode of Full House (1990), The Simpsons (1991), The Nanny (1996), "Dexter Is Dirty" from Dexter's Laboratory (1997), Two and a Half Men (2004), "Recipe for Disaster" from What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2004), " Peterotica" episode of Family Guy (2006), SpongeBob SquarePants (2007), and The Big Bang Theory (2009). [108] The song was featured in The Amazing Race 28, when teams travelled to Armenia and had to search the Yerevan Opera Theater for their next clue.
Video games in which "Sabre Dance" was used include:
The National Hockey League (NHL)'s Buffalo Sabres have used the piece as a theme song since the team was established in 1970. [109] After a hiatus, "Sabre Dance" was again made their theme song in 2011. [110] [111]
In 2010-2013, "Sabre Dance" was played at Donbass Arena, the venue of the Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, whenever the Armenian football player Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored a goal. [112]
"Sabre Dance" was featured in the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony held in Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi, Russia on February 7. [113] [114] [115]
"Sabre Dance" has been used by numerous figure skaters, including:
The "Sabre Dance" is in the final act. It is where the dancers display their skills with sabres. Its middle section is based on an Armenian folk song ...
... Khachaturian's most popular piece, the Sabre Dance ...
...particularly the "Sabre Dance," which became the single most recognized piece of Khachaturian...
Filled with a sparkling array of folk-inspired tunes, its most famous episode, the manic "Sabre Dance", has had a life of its own, even materializing as a pop single.
Khachaturian employs the xylophone freely in Dance of Young Maidens and Sabre Dance in his Gayaneh Ballet (1942)...
Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" from his ballet called "Gayane Suite" has a challenging xylophone part...
A fine example of its use is in Khachaturian's Sabre Dance from Gayane.
There is a brief moment of contrast at the center, with a quotation of an Armenian folk song.
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...the familiar material, including the infamous "Sabre Dance,"...
The obnoxious "Sabre Dance" rattled brashly, as is its wont.
The same holds true for Khachaturian's Toccata and Oscar Levant's deliciously unsubtle transcription of the notorious Sabre Dance.
...and Khachaturian's rollicking Sabre Dance.
Khachaturian .. famous in the West for some colorful concertos and a ballet suite containing a rousing "Sabre Dance" that became a jukebox hit.
The music is available on records, however, and as a result of its performance by Oscar Levant, the "Sabre Dance," a part of the suite, has received popular attention. Played in four-quarter rather than the three-quarter time in which it was written, "Sabre Dance" is "a juke-box sensation"; an adaptation, "Sabre Dance Boogie," has also been introduced.
Meanwhile a musical revolt was stirred up in Russia by Aram Khachaturian, one of the U.S.S.R.'s leading composers, who wrote the U.S. juke box favorite of 1948, Sabre Dance.
Meanwhile its flashy "Sabre Dance" had conquered the U.S.S.R.'s new American allies and at one time was a standard on juke-boxes.
...the music agenda in this country shows plenty to indicate that 1948 may be Khachaturian Year in the United States.
Not to be outdone by Levant, Woody Herman has recorded a dance-band version of the "Sabre Dance."
Here is Liberace performing Saber Dance from the 50's
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With Mike Douglas * The David Frost Show
Инструментальная пьеса Арама Хачатуряна "Танец с саблями" из балета "Гаянэ" в исполнении Михаила Рожкова (балалайка) и Георгия Миняева (гитара). Центральное телевидение, 1966
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4."Sabre dance" (Aram Khachaturian) 3:46
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Säbeltanz [ 1972 ] [ Khatschaturian ]
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Written By [Inserts From Sabre Dance] – Aram Khatchaturian
Танец с саблями (А.Хачатурян) – эстрадно-хореографический ансамбль танца "Чаровницы"
Sabre Dance Arranged By [Arrangement For Group] – Ralph Hubert Written-By – Khachaturian
"Didn't Know I Had It All"/ "Love Me For A Minute", "Sabre Dance" (9362-41584-2)
Japanese version
"Sabre Dance"
Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" in the midst of "Sodom and Gomorrah" from their way underrated album Death Row.
...irreverent and highly experimental covers of pre-existing compositions (among them Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance"...
Sabre Dance (Aram Khachaturian cover)
Bond has the same disregard for public domain as Barney the dinosaur and renamed "Sabre Dance" something far catchier like "High Strung."
"Highly Strung," for example, tries to marry Khachaturian's manic Sabre Dance to spy movie guitar and chattering electronics, the result being more garishly cartoonish than interpretive.
...a rhythmically stampeding progressive rock version of Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance,"...
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...the Khatchaturian "Sabre Dance" from "One, Two, Three," Billy Wilder's 1961 comedy....
Khachaturian's 'Saber Dance' accompanies the lengthy Hula Hoop montage depicting the toy's highly efficient industrial development from design stage to manufacture and distribution, finally ending up on the hips of an All-American youngster who magically discovers the joys of Hula Hooping and ignites a craze that swept the US in the 1950s.
This signature song is still typically heard at various times during Sabres games, but many fans suggested a return to the tradition of playing the "Sabre Dance" when the team takes the ice. Beginning Sunday when the Sabres host the Senators, the song will be played when the team takes the ice prior to the second and third periods.
Two topics generated significant chatter: music and the team logo. The Sabres will change the tune for their television opening, going from the Scorpions' "Hurricane 2000" to old franchise favorite "Sabre Dance," performed by violinist Vanessa Mae.
Aram Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, the Armenian war dance played each time Mkhitaryan scores, may have become the most popular tune at the Donbass Arena this season ...
...a snippet of Khachaturian's Saber Dance as Soviet-era cars whizzed around...
...Хачатурян (Вальс из музыки к «Маскараду», если не считать еще краткого напоминания о «Танце с саблями» в послевоенном сегменте церемонии открытия).
Հնչեցին հատվածներ Բաբաջանյանի «Աշխարհի լավագույն քաղաքը» երգից եւ Խաչատրյանի «Սուսերով պարից»:
Звучит «Танец с саблями» Хачатуряна. Бестемьянова и Букин за 5-6 секунд рисуют на поле катка целую вязь красивых шагов.
Cophenhagen, DENMARK - 1982 World Figure Skating Championships, Ice Dancing, Free Dance - Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin of the Soviet Union placed 2nd in the Free Dance and ended up winning the Silver Medal.
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...Semanick-Gregory, whose exciting final program included a stirring "Sabre Dance."
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So I went home and was like, what's the funniest piece of music I have in my collection? Oh, it's Sabre Dance.
3. Scott Hamilton, Sabre Dance, Cuban Pete
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1999 Season Notes SP Music: "Sabre Dance" by Aram Khachaturian
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Music Short Program / Original Dance as of 2001/2002 season Sabre Dance by A. Khatchaturian - Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
2001-02 Season Notes SP Music: "Sabre Dance" from Gayane by Aram Khachaturian
Music Short Program / Original Dance as of 2004/2005 season Sabre Dance by Aram Khatchaturian
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"Sabre Dance" [a] is a movement in the final act of Aram Khachaturian's ballet Gayane (1942), where the dancers display their skill with sabres. [2] It is Khachaturian's best known and most recognizable work worldwide. [3] [4] In the composer’s own words, the “Dance of the Kurds”, which subsequently became the “Sabre Dance”, originated with the insistence of the Director of the Kirov Theatre already after the rehearsal process had commenced. Although Khachaturian considered the score to be complete, he reluctantly agreed to add another dance in the last act. [5] [6] [7]
"Sabre Dance" is considered one of the signature pieces of 20th-century popular music. [8] It was popularized by covers by pop artists, [9] first in the U.S. in 1948 and later elsewhere. Its use in a wide range in films and television over the decades have significantly contributed to its renown. [10] "Sabre Dance" has also been used by a number of figure skaters from at least five countries in their performances.
It is notable for its employment of percussion instruments, especially the xylophone [11] [12] (or tubaphone). [13] Daniel Chetel wrote that it features "very active percussion" with the lead of the xylophone and "dramatic glissandi for the trumpet and trombone." [14]
Its brief middle section in 3
4 includes a prominent
cello
soli in
tenor clef and
alto saxophone,
[14] and is based on an unnamed
Armenian folk song.
[2]
[15] According to
Tigran Mansurian, it is a synthesis of an Armenian wedding dance tune from
Gyumri tied in a
saxophone
counterpoint "that seems to come straight from
America."
[16]
Woodwind auxiliaries include the
piccolo,
English horn, and
bass clarinet. The
harp is active throughout, while the
celesta plays at the very end.
[14]
NPR described it as "one of the catchiest, most familiar—perhaps most maddening—tunes to come out of the 20th century." [17] The New York Times noted that Khachaturian "never disowned the 'Sabre Dance', but he did feel, apparently, that it deflected attention from his other works." He told an American interviewer, "It's like one button on my shirt, and I have many buttons." [18] According to Nikolai Kapustin, Khachaturian did not like "when people are constantly performing his Sabre Dance and whistling at the same time." Kapustin told how Khachaturian once "imitated that kind of performance for us. We were laughing. Khachaturian, as well as Prokofiev, had a special sense of humor. They liked to joke with their friends, but only with close people, not everyone." [19]
Steven Poole notes that its "insistent xylophone-accented melody" has "become a kind of global musical shorthand for cartoonish urgency." [20] Critics Peter G. Davis and Martin Bernheimer have called it "infamous" and "obnoxious," [21] [22] Jed Distler characterized it as "notorious", [23] while David Mermelstein called it "garish and ubiquitous." [24] Other critics have called it "furiously paced", [25] "flashing", [26] "rollicking," [27] "rousing", [28] "bustling," [29] "blazing", [30] "high-tension, catchy and rhythmically insistent". [31]
After World War II, records of dances from Khachaturian's ballet Gayane reached the west and "Sabre Dance" "caused an immediate sensation and straightaway becoming a popular classical hit." [32] In 1948, three records of "Sabre Dance" reached number one in the Billboard Best-Selling Records by Classical Artists: by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Artur Rodziński), [33] [34] by the New York Philharmonic (conducted by Efrem Kurtz), [35] [b] and by the pianist Oscar Levant ( Columbia Records). [37] They were among the Year's Top Selling Classical Artists, [38] and it was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's first million-selling record. [39] A record by the Boston Pops Orchestra also made it to the classical chart. [40]
According to the Current Biography Yearbook, it was Levant's performance that "received popular attention." [41] Levant published a piano solo version of it and played the piece five times on the radio program Kraft Music Hall between December 1947 and December 1948. [42] He also played it on the piano in the 1949 film The Barkleys of Broadway. [43]
"Sabre Dance" has also been recorded by Russian-American violinist Jascha Heifetz (1948, transcribed it for violin/piano), [44] [36] Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Fabien Sevitzky, in 1953), [1] the Hungarian-French pianist György Cziffra (1956), [45] the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Yuri Temirkanov, 1986), [46] the London Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Stanley Black, 1989), [47] the Irish flute player James Galway (1993 album Dances for Flute), [48] the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Alexander Lazarev, 1994), [49] the National Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Loris Tjeknavorian, 2005), [50] Franco-Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulović (2014). [51] [52]
In 1986 Irish flautist James Galway made a flute transcription of "Sabre Dance" along with other works of Khachaturian. [53]
"There's a rash of sabre dance disks based on the familiar excerpts from Aram Khachaturian's Gay[a]ne Ballet Suite."
In 1948 "Sabre Dance" was recorded by a number of singers and became a jukebox hit in the U.S., [58] prompting Newsweek to suggest that 1948 could be called "Khachaturian Year in the United States." [59]
By May 1948, three records of "Sabre Dance"—a pop- boogie hit by Freddy Martin, [60] a dance-band version by Woody Herman, [61] and a vocal version by The Andrews Sisters with harmonica backing [62]—made it to Billboard's Most-Played Juke Box Records at No. 8, No. 13, and No. 28, respectively. [63]
Aside from these three versions, it was also recorded by Victor Young's orchestra ( Decca Records), [36] Ray Bloch's orchestra ( Signature Records), Macklin Marrow's orchestra ( MGM), pianist Oscar Levant ( Columbia Records), the Angie Bond Trio (Dick Records), and the Harmonickings ( Jubilee Records), Macklin Morrow (MGM), Harry Horlick (Crown Recordings). [36] According to John Sforza "Sabre Dance" is a "good example of multiple recordings of the same song in the 1940s recording industry." [64] The pianist David Rose played it on The Red Skelton Show. [36] Charles Magnante offered an arrangement for the accordion and Harry James one for trumpet. [36]
Two decades later, in 1968, when Khachaturian visited the U.S., New York Post music critic Harriett Johnson noted that "Sabre Dance" is Khachaturian's "most popular piece in this country." [65] New York Times critic Harold C. Schonberg agreed, calling it "enormously popular" and adding that the "little whirling piece occupies the same place in his output that the C sharp minor Prelude did in Rachmaninoff's." [66]
"Sabre Dance" has been used in numerous films, animated films, television series, video games, and commercials over the years, oftentimes for humorous effects. [98] The piece's popular familiarity has been enhanced by its traditional use as accompaniment by travelling circuses [99] and on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show when novelty acts such as plate spinners appeared. [17]
In Russia, the KVN team Uralskiye pelmeni performed a sketch using the piece in 2004. [100]
On June 6, 2013, on the 110th anniversary of Khachaturian's birthday a modern take of the Sabre Dance—Sabre Dance on the Street—was performed at Yerevan Cascade by the Barekamutyun dance ensemble and Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra. [101] [102] [103]
Films in which "Sabre Dance" was used include The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), One, Two, Three (1961), [104] The System (1964), The Seven Brides of Lance-Corporal Zbruyev (1970), [105] Amarcord (1973), Well, Just You Wait! 6th episode "Countryside" (1973), Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), Repentance (1987), Punchline (1988), Hocus Pocus (1993), Radioland Murders (1994), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), [106] [107] Don't Drink the Water (1994), I Married a Strange Person! (1997), Vegas Vacation (1997), A Simple Wish (1997), Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), The Lion King 1½ (2004), Kung Fu Hustle (2005), Scoop (2006), Sicko (2007), Ghost Town (2008), Witless Protection (2008), Le Concert (2009), Pájaros de papel (2010), Sabre Dance (2015). [98] In his frenzied comedy One, Two, Three, director Billy Wilder used the dance repeatedly for comic effect, including a crazed chase through East Berlin, and the chaotic closing ride to the airport featuring James Cagney and Horst Buchholz. It was also played briefly in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. A band plays the song in the beginning of the movie Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022).
Some notable television shows that have used it include The Jack Benny Program (1961), " A Piano in the House" from The Twilight Zone (1962), The Onedin Line (1971 and 1972), The Benny Hill Show (1985), Our Very First Telethon episode of Full House (1990), The Simpsons (1991), The Nanny (1996), "Dexter Is Dirty" from Dexter's Laboratory (1997), Two and a Half Men (2004), "Recipe for Disaster" from What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2004), " Peterotica" episode of Family Guy (2006), SpongeBob SquarePants (2007), and The Big Bang Theory (2009). [108] The song was featured in The Amazing Race 28, when teams travelled to Armenia and had to search the Yerevan Opera Theater for their next clue.
Video games in which "Sabre Dance" was used include:
The National Hockey League (NHL)'s Buffalo Sabres have used the piece as a theme song since the team was established in 1970. [109] After a hiatus, "Sabre Dance" was again made their theme song in 2011. [110] [111]
In 2010-2013, "Sabre Dance" was played at Donbass Arena, the venue of the Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, whenever the Armenian football player Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored a goal. [112]
"Sabre Dance" was featured in the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony held in Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi, Russia on February 7. [113] [114] [115]
"Sabre Dance" has been used by numerous figure skaters, including:
The "Sabre Dance" is in the final act. It is where the dancers display their skills with sabres. Its middle section is based on an Armenian folk song ...
... Khachaturian's most popular piece, the Sabre Dance ...
...particularly the "Sabre Dance," which became the single most recognized piece of Khachaturian...
Filled with a sparkling array of folk-inspired tunes, its most famous episode, the manic "Sabre Dance", has had a life of its own, even materializing as a pop single.
Khachaturian employs the xylophone freely in Dance of Young Maidens and Sabre Dance in his Gayaneh Ballet (1942)...
Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" from his ballet called "Gayane Suite" has a challenging xylophone part...
A fine example of its use is in Khachaturian's Sabre Dance from Gayane.
There is a brief moment of contrast at the center, with a quotation of an Armenian folk song.
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...the familiar material, including the infamous "Sabre Dance,"...
The obnoxious "Sabre Dance" rattled brashly, as is its wont.
The same holds true for Khachaturian's Toccata and Oscar Levant's deliciously unsubtle transcription of the notorious Sabre Dance.
...and Khachaturian's rollicking Sabre Dance.
Khachaturian .. famous in the West for some colorful concertos and a ballet suite containing a rousing "Sabre Dance" that became a jukebox hit.
The music is available on records, however, and as a result of its performance by Oscar Levant, the "Sabre Dance," a part of the suite, has received popular attention. Played in four-quarter rather than the three-quarter time in which it was written, "Sabre Dance" is "a juke-box sensation"; an adaptation, "Sabre Dance Boogie," has also been introduced.
Meanwhile a musical revolt was stirred up in Russia by Aram Khachaturian, one of the U.S.S.R.'s leading composers, who wrote the U.S. juke box favorite of 1948, Sabre Dance.
Meanwhile its flashy "Sabre Dance" had conquered the U.S.S.R.'s new American allies and at one time was a standard on juke-boxes.
...the music agenda in this country shows plenty to indicate that 1948 may be Khachaturian Year in the United States.
Not to be outdone by Levant, Woody Herman has recorded a dance-band version of the "Sabre Dance."
Here is Liberace performing Saber Dance from the 50's
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With Mike Douglas * The David Frost Show
Инструментальная пьеса Арама Хачатуряна "Танец с саблями" из балета "Гаянэ" в исполнении Михаила Рожкова (балалайка) и Георгия Миняева (гитара). Центральное телевидение, 1966
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4."Sabre dance" (Aram Khachaturian) 3:46
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Säbeltanz [ 1972 ] [ Khatschaturian ]
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Written By [Inserts From Sabre Dance] – Aram Khatchaturian
Танец с саблями (А.Хачатурян) – эстрадно-хореографический ансамбль танца "Чаровницы"
Sabre Dance Arranged By [Arrangement For Group] – Ralph Hubert Written-By – Khachaturian
"Didn't Know I Had It All"/ "Love Me For A Minute", "Sabre Dance" (9362-41584-2)
Japanese version
"Sabre Dance"
Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" in the midst of "Sodom and Gomorrah" from their way underrated album Death Row.
...irreverent and highly experimental covers of pre-existing compositions (among them Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance"...
Sabre Dance (Aram Khachaturian cover)
Bond has the same disregard for public domain as Barney the dinosaur and renamed "Sabre Dance" something far catchier like "High Strung."
"Highly Strung," for example, tries to marry Khachaturian's manic Sabre Dance to spy movie guitar and chattering electronics, the result being more garishly cartoonish than interpretive.
...a rhythmically stampeding progressive rock version of Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance,"...
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...the Khatchaturian "Sabre Dance" from "One, Two, Three," Billy Wilder's 1961 comedy....
Khachaturian's 'Saber Dance' accompanies the lengthy Hula Hoop montage depicting the toy's highly efficient industrial development from design stage to manufacture and distribution, finally ending up on the hips of an All-American youngster who magically discovers the joys of Hula Hooping and ignites a craze that swept the US in the 1950s.
This signature song is still typically heard at various times during Sabres games, but many fans suggested a return to the tradition of playing the "Sabre Dance" when the team takes the ice. Beginning Sunday when the Sabres host the Senators, the song will be played when the team takes the ice prior to the second and third periods.
Two topics generated significant chatter: music and the team logo. The Sabres will change the tune for their television opening, going from the Scorpions' "Hurricane 2000" to old franchise favorite "Sabre Dance," performed by violinist Vanessa Mae.
Aram Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, the Armenian war dance played each time Mkhitaryan scores, may have become the most popular tune at the Donbass Arena this season ...
...a snippet of Khachaturian's Saber Dance as Soviet-era cars whizzed around...
...Хачатурян (Вальс из музыки к «Маскараду», если не считать еще краткого напоминания о «Танце с саблями» в послевоенном сегменте церемонии открытия).
Հնչեցին հատվածներ Բաբաջանյանի «Աշխարհի լավագույն քաղաքը» երգից եւ Խաչատրյանի «Սուսերով պարից»:
Звучит «Танец с саблями» Хачатуряна. Бестемьянова и Букин за 5-6 секунд рисуют на поле катка целую вязь красивых шагов.
Cophenhagen, DENMARK - 1982 World Figure Skating Championships, Ice Dancing, Free Dance - Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin of the Soviet Union placed 2nd in the Free Dance and ended up winning the Silver Medal.
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...Semanick-Gregory, whose exciting final program included a stirring "Sabre Dance."
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So I went home and was like, what's the funniest piece of music I have in my collection? Oh, it's Sabre Dance.
3. Scott Hamilton, Sabre Dance, Cuban Pete
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1999 Season Notes SP Music: "Sabre Dance" by Aram Khachaturian
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Music Short Program / Original Dance as of 2001/2002 season Sabre Dance by A. Khatchaturian - Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
2001-02 Season Notes SP Music: "Sabre Dance" from Gayane by Aram Khachaturian
Music Short Program / Original Dance as of 2004/2005 season Sabre Dance by Aram Khatchaturian
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