This study examines the trends related to dance as a performance art during the early period of the Soviet Union, a time in which art was broadly used for public enlightenment, the promotion of socialist ideology, and national integration and establishment in the 1920s and 1930s. Dance in this period will be investigated with the aim of determining who produced and appreciated dance performance, the format and genre of the dance performances, and the themes and contents of the performances. Throughout the 1920s and 30s, efforts were made to develop a new form of art that would be appreciated and accepted by Soviet people from various social classes and would help to lead the newly born country, based on Lenin’s idea of popularizing art for the general public. It was a critical period that shaped the characteristics, format, and direction of performing arts in the Soviet Union. In looking at this period, three phenomena stand out. First, ordinary people emerged as both producers and viewers of the performing arts, and an amateur performing arts group (Soin Yesuldan) became popular. Second, Estrada and folk dance became popular during this period among the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural people of the Soviet Union, which greatly influenced the birth of a folk dance company with ballet choreographers. Third, at a meeting of the Pan-Soviet Writers Alliance held in 1934, Gor’kii M. declared that socialist realism should be the principle for creating Soviet art. Subsequently, young Soviet ballet masters developed new forms of ballet in which the themes and contents were in accord with the government agenda. Dance as a performing art in the early period of the Soviet Union greatly influenced not only the art movements in other socialist countries but also Minjok and Minjung chum in Korea in the 1980s and 1990s. In this regard, future research should investigate how dance formats and characteristics from the Soviet Union have been accommodated and reflected in Korean Minjok and Minjung chum.

DUTBEKI is a dance which has been most widely performed by public folks in many parts of KYUNGSANGDO. ULSAN is within the cultural sphere of KYUNGSANGDO. This study intends to analyze the motion forms of a DUTBEKI which have been performed in ULSAN district through an aesthetic approach. This DUTBEKI has been transcended from the past according to the customs of public folks. It was diversely grafted into village shrine rituals and seasonal customs derived from agriculture. As to the form of dancing, it could only be seen as a formless primitive gesture, in the process of dancing in the excess of their mirths. But it has an implicit sense of ritual. It also has politeness and stylishness. So, whenever this dancing was performed in a feast, the loud noise died away and village folks held their breath saying only 'good!' as a cheering word. Needless to say, everybody danced his own dance boasting of his own stylishness in a round circle called 'NANJANG'. The researcher has taken part in these village feasts of ULSAN district and enjoyed this dancing together with village folks from 1981 to 2018. As to the method of analysis, on the basis of this field experience and different documents, the researcher identified and sheded the light on the unique traits of flow and repetitive common motions in this dance from aesthetical standpoints. This approach will help to establish ULSAN DUTBEKI as a cultural asset of ULSAN district and give a basis for preservation and transmission of it.