Austrian folk dance
Encyclopedia
Schuhplattler
The Schuhplattler is a traditional Austro-Bavarian folk dance evolved from the Ländler.-Origins:The origins of this social dance are found in an early courtship display...
, Ländler
Ländler
The ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, south Germany and German Switzerland at the end of the 18th century.It is a dance for couples which strongly features hopping and stamping...
, Polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
or Waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
. However, there are other dances such as Zwiefacher
Zwiefacher
The Zwiefacher is a south German folk dance with a quick tempo and changing beat patterns.- Location :The Zwiefacher is danced primarily in Bavaria, especially Lower Bavaria, Hallertau and Upper Palatinate; it is also known in the Black Forest, Austria, Alsace, the Czech Republic and Sudetenland.-...
, Kontratänze and Sprachinseltänze.
Types of dance
In Austria, folk danceFolk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
s in general are known as Folkloretänze, i.e. "folklore dances", whereas the Austrian type of folk dance is known as Volkstanz (literally "folk dance").
Figure dancing is a type of dance where different figures are put together with a certain tune and given a name. Round dancing
Round dance
There are two distinct dance categories called round dance. The specific dances belonging to the first of these categories are often considered to be ethnic, folk or country dances...
, which includes the waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
, the polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
, Zwiefacher
Zwiefacher
The Zwiefacher is a south German folk dance with a quick tempo and changing beat patterns.- Location :The Zwiefacher is danced primarily in Bavaria, especially Lower Bavaria, Hallertau and Upper Palatinate; it is also known in the Black Forest, Austria, Alsace, the Czech Republic and Sudetenland.-...
etc, involves basic steps which can be danced to different tunes. In folk dancing, the waltz and the polka are in a slightly different form to standard ballroom dancing
Ballroom dance
Ballroom dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, ballroom dance is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television....
.
Sprachinseltänze (literally "language island dances") are those dances which are actually by German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking minorities (see German as a Minority Language
German as a minority language
German-speaking minorities live in many countries and on all six inhabited continents: the countries of the former Soviet Union, Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Belgium, Italy, the United States, Latin America, Namibia, South Africa, Israel, and Australia...
) living outside Austria, but which originate in Austria, e.g. those of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. One example of this type of dance is the Rediwa.
Misconceptions
There are some misconceptions about Austrian folk tradition:- The "LändlerLändlerThe ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, south Germany and German Switzerland at the end of the 18th century.It is a dance for couples which strongly features hopping and stamping...
", as performed in the film The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (film)Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
, is not a traditional Ländler, but a choreographed derivative of this Austrian form of folk dance. - The "Chicken DanceChicken DanceThe "Chicken Dance" is an oom-pah song and its associated fad dance is now a contemporary American folk dance. The song was composed by accordion player Werner Thomas from Davos, Switzerland, in the 1950s....
" is not an Austrian folk dance, nor is it from Austria. - The song "EdelweissEdelweiss (song)"Edelweiss" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is named after the edelweiss, a white flower found high in the Alps...
" is not an Austrian folk song, and it is not the national anthem of Austria. The national anthem of Austria is "Land der Berge, Land am StromeLand der Berge, Land am StromeLand der Berge, Land am Strome is the national anthem of Austria.Nineteen days before his death on December 5, 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his last complete work, the Freimaurerkantate, K. 623. In parts of the printed edition of this cantata there appeared the song K. 623a ""...
". "EdelweissEdelweiss (song)"Edelweiss" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is named after the edelweiss, a white flower found high in the Alps...
" was created specifically for The Sound of MusicThe Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
. Actually, "EdelweissEdelweiss (song)"Edelweiss" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is named after the edelweiss, a white flower found high in the Alps...
" is mostly unknown in Austria, as is The Sound of MusicThe Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
.
Festivals
Austrian folk dance festivals follow a common sequence:- everybody gets onto the dance floor and dances the opening round
- a welcoming speech is made
- waltzes are danced in blocks, with breaks in between.
- finally a special dance, often with a goodbye song.
Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
festivals usually have four long sets of dances, with long breaks and figure dancing in between. Other parts of Austria have a larger number of shorter blocks (three to five dances each) with shorter breaks between them, and more figure dancing.
Though attended only by a tradition-minded minority, Vienna folk dance events are carefully organized events often taking place at extraordinary locations, such as, the Alpenverein, the Autumn Dance at baroque Belvedere (palace)
Belvedere (palace)
The Belvedere is a historical building complex in Vienna, Austria, consisting of two Baroque palaces the Upper and Lower Belvedere, the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the 3rd district of the city, south-east of its centre. It houses the...
, the Ländler
Ländler
The ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, south Germany and German Switzerland at the end of the 18th century.It is a dance for couples which strongly features hopping and stamping...
dances (the traditional music of which bears the rhythm from which in the 19th century the Vienna waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
music was developed), and the summer dances which take place twice each week during summer holiday season (July & August).
For further details, see Volkstanz.at).
Musical instruments
Typical instruments for Austrian folk dance are the Styrian harmonica (a type of accordionAccordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
), the fiddle
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, the harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
s. Dances are often accompanied by the contrabass
Contrabass
Contrabass refers to a musical instrument of very low pitch; generally those pitched one octave below instruments of the bass register...
or the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. Unlike modern Austrian folk-pop music, drums are not used.
Folk dances
- Boarischer
- Eiswalzer
- Hiatamadl
- Jägermarsch
- Krebspolka
- Kreuzpolka
- Kuckuckspolka
- LändlerLändlerThe ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, south Germany and German Switzerland at the end of the 18th century.It is a dance for couples which strongly features hopping and stamping...
- Lunzer Boarischer
- MazurkaMazurkaThe mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...
- Neudeutscher
- PolkaPolkaThe polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
- Poschater Zwoaschritt
- Rediwa (Sprachinseltanz)
- Rheinländer
- SchuhplattlerSchuhplattlerThe Schuhplattler is a traditional Austro-Bavarian folk dance evolved from the Ländler.-Origins:The origins of this social dance are found in an early courtship display...
- Siebenschritt
- Studentenpolka
- WaltzWaltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
- ZwiefacherZwiefacherThe Zwiefacher is a south German folk dance with a quick tempo and changing beat patterns.- Location :The Zwiefacher is danced primarily in Bavaria, especially Lower Bavaria, Hallertau and Upper Palatinate; it is also known in the Black Forest, Austria, Alsace, the Czech Republic and Sudetenland.-...
See also
- Folk dancing and Folk danceFolk danceThe term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
- TrachtTrachtTracht is a traditional national costume in German-speaking countries. Although the word is most often associated with Austrian and Bavarian costumes, many other peoples of Germany have them.-History:...
(traditional clothing) - Folk musicFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
- German folk dance
- Music of AustriaMusic of AustriaVienna has been an important center of musical innovation. 18th and 19th century composers were drawn to the city due to the patronage of the Habsburgs, and made Vienna the European capital of classical music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Strauss II, among others,...
External links
- Videos and information of Austrian folk dances (Site in German and English, see the flags)
- General information regarding Volkstanz.com(in English)
- Basic Austrian folk dances(no English)
- http://www.dancilla.com in English
- A huge collection of folk song lyrics/texts, in German(no sound, only lyrics/texts)
- Calendar of events(no English, in German)
- Magazine: Der Fröhliche Kreis,(no English, in German)
- Folk dancing and Schuhplatteln from Austria(no English, in German)
- Treu dem guten alten brauch founded in New York City in 1928