German+Folk+Dancing

Sound

The style of dance in Germanic regions varies greatly as you go from region to region within German, Austria, and Switzerland. In the northern part of Germany, couple dances are the most common and loved. In the southern part of Germany, couple dances are also popular.

Many of the dances are common in different regions with slightly different music, steps, and names. For example, Dätscher is the name of a simple clap dance in Bavaria, while in the Schwabenland, it is called Patscher. The difference between the two is a very small.

The German dances that most Americans know are only a small group of the native dances of Germany, and they are not the most common ones in Germany.

Johann Strauss was a famous composer. Johann Strauss wrote dances, marches, and waltzes. The most famous march was known as the Radetzky March. Some other examples are: Vienna Blood; On the Beautiful, Blue Danube; Tales from the Vienna Woods and much more.

We hope you all will learn alot, and enjoy everything that you will be reading!

= Notes = Johann Strauss composed over 150 waltzes and many other dances and also marches.The most known march is the //Radetzky March// in 1848.

From 1863 -1871, Strauss served as director of music of the court balls in Vienna. During this period, he wrote many famous waltzes such as: On the Beautiful, Blue Danube in 1867, Tales from the Vienna Woods in 1868, and Wine, Women, and Song in 1869.

In 1871, Strauss gave up the director of music and began to compose operettas (opera's). He also composed many other popular waltzes including: Vienna Blood in1883, and The Emperor Waltz in 1888. Among Strauss's popular polka dances are: Thunder and Lightning in 1868, and Pizzicato Polka in 1870, which he composed with his brother Josef. Johann Strauss Junior died on June 3, 1899. Source: [|www.wordbook]

The style of dance in Germanic regions varies greatly as you go from region to region within German, Austria and Switzerland. In the northern part of Germany, 4- couples dances (Quadrille, or square dance) are the most common. In the southern part of Germany, couple dances are prevalant.

Several of the dances exist in different neighboring regions with slightly different music, steps, and names. For instance, Dätscher is the name of a simple clap dance in Bavaria, while in the Schwabenland it is called Patscher. The difference between the two is a very small difference in the clapping sequence, and a music change to accompany to the dance. The dance Kreuzpolka is a very common dance in Germany and it exists in many different forms in several different regions.

The German dances that most Americans know are but a small subset of the native dances to Germany, and are usually not the ones most commonly danced there. One example is the Zwiefache, which is a dance form commonly known to American "International folkdancers". The way it is danced by folkdancers in the USA is quite different than how it is danced in Germany.

Source: []

The Circle Dance phenomenon was developed by the German dancer Bernard Wosien, who encountered circle-type folk dances in his European travels. Wosien was impressed with the spirituality they inspired in him. He found an established spiritual and ecological community at Findhorn, Scotland and joined the group in 1976. More dance groups have formed in Scotland and England and have also spread from there.

Source: []