Blog, Blog 2015, Edition 2015, TC 2015

Galoppe…Kreuz…legs up!

Looking for possibilities to learn Swiss folk dance in Zurich, we consulted youtube videos, online dance archives and we visited a folk dance groupe course of the Volkstanzkreis in Zurich  – a quite exotic experience for both of us.

MG_7767_72ppi_web-1024x683

Kreuzfassung vorne

In the frame of our research we made a series of experiments in deconstructing the formal elements of Swiss dance we had learned. This procedure revealed to us, how much Swiss dance – often used for the representation of swiss national identity – has always been inspired by foreign cultures, as it is actually hugely constructed by steps borrowed from German, Austrian, Eastern European dances.

Hüpftanz verboten!

https://vimeo.com/138651613

Swiss Folk Dance Gymnastics 

https://vimeo.com/138734086

by Mayumi Arai, Nina Willimann

All video & picture credits: © Mayumi ARAI &  Nina Willimann, 2015