If you share my love of folk traditions, then you'll love this post by Selenak.  Many people are familiar with Russian decorated eggs, and I showed you Czech ones the other day, but the German painted egg tradition is different again.

At  Easter, the wells are decorated with garlands of hand-painted eggs and greenery.  The designs are usually ( Read more... )

 There was quite a bit of interest in my previous post on Carnival Morris, so I'll try and show the evolution.

Here, one of my favourite pieces of morris insanity is the Saddleworth Rushcart procession:

Click to view

Now, the Rushcart procession often used to be accompanied by morris dancers dancing as part of the procession.  Why aren't they dancing with it now ( Read more... )

 Trying not to bore you with all my findings - I'm adding about a country a day at present.

However, Peru is something totally different!

The only two examples I've found there so far both use the maypole as a processional item.  They dance with the maypole, rather than round it.

Click to view

This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth where it has
( Read more... )

Found a Hungarian dance - with a move I haven't seen before. Annoyingly, the photographer doesn't show you the top of the pole, so I can only guess at the pattern it makes.
Szalagos tanc translates as 'strip dance', thus demonstrating the dangers of translation...

Click to view

and Indonesia!  With the same dance!

 This maypole research is growing by the day.

I've realised that it isn't just dance figures, but also the type of pole used, the kind of music, the stepping, the costumes and the places where they are danced.

I'm starting to create a spreadsheet to follow these factors through and to make the patterns show more clearly.

My cousin Patsy who lives in ( Read more... )

I've started work on the French and Italian dances, but still a way to go there.

In the meantime, here is the most joyous dance I've found yet. It's just a simple plait, but it's wonderful. It's from a Portuguese speaking area (possibly, but not definitely, Brazil.)

The Brazilian (and Cuban) dances are the most 'living tradition' I've yet found.

( Read more... )

 I really wasn't going to post any more maypole dances today, because I thought you'd be sick to death of them, but I've started work on a group of dances with Spanish ancestry (looking quite different - on  the basis of the ones I've found so far - to the Portuguese ones)

Just look at this one from the Dominican Republic.  How could any self- ( Read more... )

With a complete change of style and music, I now take you to the Caribbean.

I don't yet know the origins of this Cuban dance, but it involves some moves that are not seen in the classic British dances. Possible some Spanish origins? (Haven't yet found any Spanish dances, but will start looking)

Click to view

Grenada next - not nearly as good as the Cuban dancers ( Read more... )

 I've been doing a lot more looking at maypole dances, and some of the cultural patterns are fascinating.

Just as the German Bandertanz has ended up unchanged in Brazil, I've now found the Basque Zinta Danza in identical form in Argentina - sure enough, Wikipedia tells me that around 10% of the Argentine population comes from the Basque country.

See ( Read more... )

Dances move and evolve.  Watch this sequence.

Some of you may remember my post a while back about the German maypole dance - the Bandertanz.

There is a large German community in Brazil, and they are very keen on maintaining their traditions.

Here is the Brazilian bandertanz - absolutely identical in music and figures to the German ones I've found.

Click to view

But ( Read more... )