Faroese chain dance

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Part of popular culture that is still alive today: chain dance in the Faroe Islands. This Faroese stamp shows the picture Føroyskur dansur á Viðareiði by the Danish painter Emil Krause , which he painted in 1904. At the same time it was the 100th stamp that the Polish-Swedish master engraver Czesław Słania created for the Faroe Islands in 2003.
This sculpture by Janus Kamban was created in 1939. The chain dance is a frequent motif of the sculptor.
Chain dance

The Faroese chain dance ( føroyskur dansur - Faroese dance) is handed down from the Middle Ages and is still cultivated today as part of the folk culture of the Faroe Islands . This brauchtümliche folk dance is the dance used almost disappeared elsewhere in Europe.

introduction

The essence of the Faroese chain dance consists essentially in the fact that the accompaniment is provided by singing, Faroese ballads , heroic songs and folk music , which are sung by one or more singers, where at the end of each verse all participants join in. The content of the folk songs is closely followed by the dancers, and when there are poignant climaxes, this is reflected in the facial expressions and gestures of those involved - in the general hustle and bustle one shakes hands when the narrative victory has been achieved and begins, to jump cheerfully.

The dance itself only consists of holding on to each other, forming a circle and then many others joining it, so that a ring is created and another circle within it. When the number of dancers increases and the space allows it, a circle is created in it. These are all unbroken chains, and everyone who takes part moves with them and is sometimes in the outermost circle and sometimes in the middle. The dancers all pass each other face to face and meet twice per tour.

The melodies of the songs are accompanied by a very firm, uniform stamping of the feet. The general type of steps is called stígingarstev .

Sequence of steps

The steps of the so-called stígingarstev consist in the dancers simply stepping forward to the left, so that the whole beat of the melody is accompanied by six kicks with their feet.

  1. The left foot takes a step to the side.
  2. The right foot steps where the left was.
  3. The left foot goes one step forward again.
  4. The right one follows.
  5. The right foot now steps to the right to the side or one step back.
  6. The left foot follows the right, and so it continues uninterrupted to the beat of the melody.

If it is a serious tune that is sung more slowly, the dance is also slower and more sedate.

Trokingarstev

Another type of dance is the so-called trokingarstev (“trokingar step”) (from the Faroese verb troka “to gather, to squeeze into a crowd”), where you usually hold hands in an unbroken circle, but more or less stands still or steps back a little while the verse of the song is sung, and so it continues with the same steps each time the refrains are sung. This particularly requires songs that are fast and lively. This species has ceased to exist in the nordfjord (north of Sandoy ), but has been preserved on Suðuroy , and there especially in the southernmost villages. The dance group from Sumba is famous and received the European Prize for Folk Art in 1977 . Here one understands how to give the dance a completely different expression than nordfjords , where one usually puts emphasis on the monotonous stamping of the feet.

Banda dansur

A third type, where songs and ballads are used in equal measure , is just as easy and quick as the trokingarstev and is called banda dansur ("band dance"). You stand in two rows with a distance of 1 to 2 cubits - men on one side, women on the other and hold a ribbon between you. While the song is being played, you stand in the same place and do the usual firm kicks with your feet to the beat. But when the refrain is tuned in, the hands holding the ribbon go up, and from the ends of the rows, facing each other, you bend in pairs under the raised ribbons until you get to the end of the row where you turn around and grab the ribbons again and lift them over those you meet. You then stand in the place from which each couple started and then start over in the same way until the end of the song. This is a very lively, but somewhat tiring dance.

Games

In addition to the dance, there are many different Christmas games , some of which are accompanied by chants that are special. Some are specially Faroese songs and others come from outside. Jens Christian Svabo already described a number of such games in his travelogues, both those that take place at meetings at home and in the open air.

literature

  • Opielka, Andrea Susanne: Dance on the Faroe Islands - Studies on an ancient dance tradition . Master's thesis, Ruhr University Bochum 2003

swell

  1. The article is based on a description by VU Hammershaimb from 1891, which is still valid today: digitized version of the text
  2. Bibliography of the Danish translation

Web links

Commons : Faroese dance  album with pictures, videos and audio files