ABSTRACT
That the festival’s packaging glossed over differences in performers’ philosophies and styles while its structure manifested those differences is reflected in a terminology problem. In 1998-9 I noted a contrast between the words used to describe performers’ goals and their manner of presenting folk material. Even if ensembles present folk performance bleached of individuality and local color, they still proclaim they are ‘preserving the original traditions’ of their region or of Russia.22 This phenomenon arose because the oppositional folklore movement heavily influenced the way that folklore is talked about and portrayed. Folk groups use Soviet-era rhetoric about folk preservation, but have also adopted new ideas and terminology from the oppositional revivalists.
