Volkstanz

Folk Dancing: The roots of Austrian folk dancing lie not only in the rural peasant milieu, but numerous elements of dances cultivated at the Imperial Court and in towns can also be found in the folk dance. Folk dancing in Austria takes on a variety of forms and is performed for various reasons: to cultivate social contacts and preserve traditions and for prestige or image purposes. Organised dances only take place at specific times (Carnival season, May dances after Easter, harvest dances in autumn) or on certain occasions (weddings, fairs, balls). Ritual mask dances are mostly related to customs of the Christmas season. Among the most widespread dance forms are the "Kranzltanz" (taking off of the bridal wreath, Wedding Customs), "Bandltanz" (ribbon dance), "Sechsertanz" (six-dance, Austrian contredanse from Vorarlberg), Schuhplattler (originally a courtship dance performed and freely interpreted by single dancers during which the dancer hits his shoe soles with the flat hand, today always performed by groups of dancers), and Ländler. The basic dance forms, which are danced in all of Austria, are the open waltz, "Hiatamadl" (shepherdess´s dance), "Bauernmadl" (peasant girl´s dance), "Schottischer", "Neudeutscher" ("new German" dance), "Siebenschritt" (seven-step), "Studentenpolka", "Kreuzpolka" (cross polka), "Jägermarsch" (hunter´s march), "Rheinländer", "Schwedischer", "Bayrisch-Polka" or "Boarischer" (Bavarian polka), "Neubayrischer" (new Bavarian polka), and "Krebspolka" (crab polka). There is a close connection between the emergence of the folk dancing movement in Austria and the first attempts to document and describe folk dances, with R. Zoder starting his activity in this field before the First World War. Availing himself of the precise language of gymnastics, he was the first in Austria to link the description of dance movements to the leading melody of a particular dance, and his students continued his analyses in the German-speaking areas of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In the time between the two World Wars, the cultivation of folk dancing, which has always been associated with the cultivation of the Folk Song and folk costumes (Trachten), was actively supported by the Austrian state. In some areas, the traditional folk dance culture has been handed down through the generations without interruption and is still very much alive today. Dance events, both for training and entertainment, are organised by the various folk dance groups and circles which exist in all the provinces. The oldest among them is the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wiener Volkstanz-Gruppen" (association of Viennese folk dance groups, founded in 1949), the organiser of the famous "Wiener Kathreintanz" (Vienna St. Catherine´s dance), which attracts more than 1,000 dancers every year. The federal umbrella organisation "Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft österreichischer Volkstanz" publishes the journal "Der fröhliche Kreis".

Literature: R. Wolfram, Die Volkstänze in Österreich und verwandte Tänze in Europa, 1951; I. Peter, Tanzbeschreibungen, Tanzforschung, 1983; O. Schneider, Tanzlexikon, 1985; Schriftenreihe Volkstanz, 1988ff. - Tanzbeschreibungen: R. Zoder, Österreichische Volkstänze, 3 parts, 1946-1955; A. Novak, Steirische Tänze ²1949; H. Lager and H. Derschmidt, Österreichische Tänze, 1959; E. Schützenberger and H. Derschmidt, Spinnradl, unser Tanzbuch, 5 parts, without date; H. Dreo, Volkstänze aus dem Burgenland, 1961; F. Koschier, Kä. Volkstänze, 2 parts, 1963; K. Horak and E. Hofer, Vorarlberger Volkstänze, 1971; K. Horak, Ti. Volkstanzbuch, 1974; L. Berghold, Volkstänze aus Niederösterreich, 2 parts, 1975-1988; I. Peter, Salzburger Tänze, 1975; H. Lager and H. Seidl, Kontratanz in Wien, 1983; H. Derschmidt, Tänze aus Oberösterreich, 1985.