The Nordic “folkedansstemne” A participatory intention in folk dance meetings across borders

Abstract

In the Nordic countries folk dancers tended to avoid the term festival for their festive reunions, calling them “stemne”. The idea behind was that dancers from folk dance clubs met to socialise and dance together. The Nordic «stemne” did not have competitions or thoroughly choreographed stage shows, but perhaps a well-planned and rehearsed mass performance at the sports stadium, where everybody could join in. They did, however, also show their dances to each other, particularly early on, when they had not learned each other’s dances well enough to dance together. Participatory dancing was, however meant to be the focussed idea behind, whereas many folk dance festivals in other parts of Europe would be focussed more on exchange through the presentational mode. This presentation will look at the background for this difference and how it stands today.