Part II -- Two Swedish Folk Dances

In Part II the SCANDANS Scandinavian Folk Dancers of North Carolina perform the second of two dances that explore the very human traits of attraction, jealousy and conflict. Part I featured the Trekarlspolska ("Dance of the Three Guys") in which one fellow tried to flirt with every woman he saw. In Part II the second dance -- the Oxdans -- is a tongue-in-cheek look at conflict resolution! SCANDANS is a non-profit cultural/educational organization whose goal is to share the rich cultural heritage of the Nordic countries through traditional dance and authentic ethnic costumes.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• SCANDANS
• Scandinavian
• folk
• dance
• Nordic
• Swedish
• dances
• Trekarlspolska
• Oxdans

[madfortrad07]

Is that really a Swedish Folk dance ? :-D

[Scandanser]

Yes, it is! According to Swedish dance historians, it originated in the 1800s and was danced in western and southern Sweden. Now it's danced all over the country. In Sweden it is usually danced in a more sedate fashion, but our guys like to ham it up a bit. The kids love it!

[JJabberwock]

Not always so sedately... in my folk dancing team the lads would pretend to knock each other out at the end. One couple always drew great applause from the audience, since one was 1 m 95 and the other much shorter. At the end, it was the short lad who knocked out the tall beefy one and carried him off the scene...

[Aspsusa]

When I've seen it danced in Finland it has if anything been even *more* vigorous and hamming it up. Also usually at least 6 dancers, and danced with a greater distance between the dancers - makes for more exagerrated movements.

First time I saw it I was probably 3 or 4, and I got really scared by all these big angry-looking men that made loads of noise.

[sbarr10]

This is charming!