Kazaky (also known as The Boys In Heels) is an all-male Ukrainian dance group. Assembled by choreographer Oleg Zhezhel, the group has released several songs which have garnered popularity on YouTube. The group confronts gender norms by fusing masculine and feminine attributes together, most notably by regularly wearing stiletto heels."Kazaky" is the Russian pronunciation for the word "cossacks". The cossacks had a very prominent role in the shaping of Ukraine's national history and culture.Athough the group claims that the name has nothing to do with the cossacks:
Kazaky consists of four members: Oleg, Artur, Kyryll and Francesco. Their rise in popularity is mostly due to the viral nature of the internet and YouTube. Their first single "In the Middle" was released at the end of 2010, earning them the award of "Breakthrough of the Year" at the Myway Dance Awards 2010.Kazaky has been reviewed in the New York Post, GQ, DNA Magazine, Attitude, Dorian, Instinct, L'Officiel, Marie Claire, 10Magazine, Billboard, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and GOSSIPS (Japan).In June 2011, Kazaky performed at DSquared Men Spring/Summer 2012 runway show.
On 16 July 2011 they made their US debut at Club 57 in New York City and performed their single "I'm Just A Dancer" for the first time.On 8 August 2011 Francesco Borgato replaced original group member Stas Pavlov who left the group.They are featured in the Madonna video "Girl Gone Wild".After Anna Osmekhina made their outfits for the music video of "Love", Kazaky hired her to design their outfits. Their high heel shoes are all 5.5 inches and they're designed comfortably for their stage performances.Fashion, singing and dancing are the three points that are very special to them.DSQUARED2 and Mugler are two fashion brands who want Kazaky to wear their outfits in their consents.
