Why do Scandinavian dancing?

This question really has two parts. The first is "why do dancing"? That question is easy to answer. Dancing is one of the most enjoyable, healthy, social, and stimulating activies you can do. It's a great way to spend an evening, or even a weekend or longer. You'll meet lots of nice, friendly people who enjoy similar activites. It's healthy because it's good exercise, and often very aerobic.

Dancing involves all parts of one's being - physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. It combines movement, music, timing, social interaction, thinking, feeling, and expression. Dancing involves both the left and the right brains. It's a great way to develop coordination, timing, and balance. And of course appreciation for music and the ability to listen and hear the nuances. Dancers learn how to lead and follow and appreciate the role of their partner. And dancers, no matter how seriously they are about their dancing, always have fun! No wonder some people make dancing their life after work!

The second part of the question is "why Scandinavian dancing in particular"? The answer to that question is a little more involved. Traditional Scandinavian dancing falls into the category of folk dancing, that is, dancing done by regular folks like you and me. International folk dancing became popular in America and Europe in the last 50 years or so. The great thing about folk dancing is that anyone can do it. You don't have to take expensive lessons or have special talent, strength or skill. This is dancing for the common people, and it's open to everyone. If you've done any international folk dancing, you may already be familiar with some of the Scandinavian dances, such as schottis, hambo, vossarull, polka.

Almost every country has its own folk dances, and some countries have many different dances. Scandinavian folk dances are almost always couple dances. So if you enjoy dancing with a partner of the opposite sex, then that's a plus! Most Scandinavian dances, such as the polska, involve a lot of turning. In fact they are often called turning dances. Perhaps you enjoyed spinning around as a child. If you enjoy turning around, then you'll probably like Scandinavian dancing! In fact, it has been found that spinning has health benefits, too. And don't worry if you find you're getting a little dizzy. There are ways to minimize the dizziness, and after a while the tendency will subside. And you can always stop and rest any time.

Scandinavian turning dances usually consist of a turning figure and a resting figure, and sometimes additional figures. There are actually many ways to make a complete turn to three or four beats of music, which is why there are so many different turning dances. Foot placement, timing, balance, weight, and body movement are all important. It takes some time to learn and coordinate all these elements, but having mastered the essentials, there is nothing like the feeling you get from doing a dance the way it was meant to be done and experiencing the unique character of that dance. Another one of the unique elements of Scandinavian dances is "svikt", which means the pattern of up and down motion of the body while dancing. Each dance has its characteristic svikt pattern.

This isn't to say that all Scandinvian couple dances are that challenging. There are many simple and easy dances that we do which are lots of fun, too! But when you've practiced a dance for a while and everything comes together just right, the feeling is almost magical.

Scandinavian couple dancing can be very intimate, and that is certainly one reason for its appeal. The dancing combines intimacy, elegance and precision in a unique way. In addition, Scandinavian dance music is very special. Some of the dance tunes are very beautiful. Scandinavian music can have subtleties that are not found in music from other countries. In some tunes, particularly the Norwegian ones, the beats may be unevenly spaced with the measure. The timing of the beats is characteristic of the type of dance. The difference in emphasis of each beat is another characteristic of the dance type. Some Scandinavian music even has quarter tones, which are like "notes in the cracks" between the piano keys.

Most traditional Scandinavian dances are played on the flat fiddle, or violin. However, there are two uniquely Scandinavian instruments which give certain Scandinavian music a special flavor. The Norwegian hardingfele (hardanger fiddle) looks basically like an ordinary fiddle, but it is usually very ornate, and it has four resonant strings in addtion to the regular bowed strings. The resonant strings are not played, but they add harmonies to the main strings, giving the instrument a rich, almost eerie sound. The hardingfele is used mostly for the Norwegian springar and gangar types of dances. The Swedih nyckelharpa (or keyed fiddle) looks more like a hurdy-gurdy. It has wooden keys instead of frets, and it has twelve resonant strings in addition to the four bowed strings. It also has a very unique sound, and is characteristic of the dances from the Uppland region of Sweden.

Another common instrument is the accordion, which has become popular in Scandinavia and in some American-Scandinavian groups. The accordion is a more modern instrument, and while it is popular among some musicians and dancers, it was not used for traditional Scandinavian dancing. Many purists prefer to dance only to fiddle music. Most of the music we use is fiddle music, with an occasional accordion tune thrown in.

There is a wide range of traditional Scandinavian dance music, from the hauntingly beautiful to the lively and energetic. The dance for each tune tends to take on the character of the music, from the simple, almost understated Swedish "Polska from Ore", to the exciting, athletic Norwegian halling.

There are several categories of Scandinavian dances. Gammaldans, such as schottis or vals (waltz), refers to dances which are known throughout most of the Scandinavian countries. Bygdedans means dances from a specific region or village. Many of the bygdedans are named after the town where they come from, such as polska från Åmot (polska from the town of Åmot). A polska is a category of traditional Swedish dance form with three beats per measure. There are many different kinds of polska. A waltz also has three beats per measure, but in a waltz (or Swedish vals), there is more emphasis on the first beat, while in a polska tune all three beats receive more or less the same emphasis. The familiar Hambo is actually a form of polska. Another category of Scandinavian dancing is group dancing, often done in a quadrille or square formation. This type of dance is excellent for performances, but in Skandinöje we only do the gammaldans and bygdedans.

So, why do Scandinavian dancing? The intimate interaction with your partner, the elegance of movement, the high you get from turning, the challenge of coordination, timing, and balance, the subtlety of the rhythms, the beauty of the melody - all these combined make Scandinavian dancing like nothing else!

Many folks who have tried several different kinds of dancing, say that Scandinavian dancing is their favorite. It's easy now to see why!

So come and give it a try! You don't have to be Scandinavian to do this kind of dancing. Most of us aren't! We're just folks who love the dancing and the mustic!