The Lachian Dances (in Czech: Lašské tance) was the first mature work by the Czech composer Leoš Janáček. Originally titled Wallachian Dances[1] after the Moravian Wallachia region, Janáček later changed the title when the region's name also changed, since it reflects folk songs from that specific area.
Janáček began to compose the first set of instrumental arrangements of folk dances in 1888. The first performance took place on 11 January 1889 in Olomouc.[1] The composition was reworked again in 1925, when Janáček made a new selection and ordering of numbers, including some changes in instrumentation.[1] The work was printed in 1928, shortly before Janáček's death, by Hudební matice in Prague.
The work is split into six separate dances: