FOREIGN FOLK

DANCES
 ASIAN
FOLK
DANCES
CHINESE FAN DANCE
 HISTORY
• It is originally used as a shelter from the sun and a shield to
blowing sand.
• Around 200 AD during Han Dynasty it is considered the first Chinese
dynasty that cared about promoting and preserving artistic
tradition.
• The dance was developed in the 7th century
• It is performed in celebration of Chinese culture.
• Symbolized : beauty, grace and delicacy, according to the Chinese
Educational Development Project. It also expresses feelings of joy.
• This dance developed as a way to share stories, preserve
the culture and to communicate feelings and emotions
without words
• The dance is originated from Chaoxian
• Fan Dance traditionally has been performed by groups of
female dancers.
• The Chinese character for “fan” is historically derived
from a picture of feathers under a roof. The Chinese fixed
fan, pien mien, means “to agitate the air”
 TWO DIFFERENT DANCES
Chinese dance was divided into civilian or military dance and
their movements can vary based upon the classification.
• CIVILIAN - fan dances tend to be more flowing and detailed,
celebrating grace and beauty. They derived from early dances
celebrating the distribution of the food gathered from hunting and
fishing; people would dance holding feathered banners.
• MILITARY - dancing was done with weapons, in coordinated group
movements. This evolved into the movements used in military
exercises.
 FANS
• The fans are used to highlight the graceful
movements of the dancers and extensions of very
delicate poses. They can be used as a sort of prop,
representing a basket of food, a gift or a found
treasure the fans are made of variety of materials
including feathers, paper or bamboo and they reflect
the highest level of craftsmanship and artistry.
 TYPES OF FAN
• The fans still created using materials such as bamboo, ivory, jade, bird feathers,
plant leaves and various others.
• BAMBOO W/ SILK
•IVORY
•JADE
• BIRD FEATHERS
 COSTUMES
• Traditional Chinese garment (female)
• Modern lyrical dresses or dance wear
JAPANESE PARASOL DANCE (UMBRELLA DANCE
 JAPANESE PARASOL DANCE (UMBRELLA
DANCE
• This dance is mainly performed at spring festivals.
performed on a song called ‘Mikado’.
• it has essentially been derived from a dance tradition
followed in Okinawa referred to as “Higasa Odori”.
• It was during the 18th and 19th centuries that a dance
technique called “Higasa Odori” was developed by a
man called Tamagusuku Seiju in the Ryukyuan court
in Okinawa in Japan.
•HIGASA ODORI is a dance meant to evoke
the summer season and the happy carefree
feeling of a maiden playing in the fields.
•These dances were primarily performed
to honour and amuse Chinese
ambassadors.
 Five distinct dance genres:
•wakashu-odori: “Young people’s dance”
•Rojin-odori: “the dance of the elderly”
•Uchikumi-odori: Dramatic dance
•Nisei-odori: a dance for men
•Onna-odori: a dance for women
 COSTUMES
• KIMONO
•PARASOL (UMBRELLA)
• WOODEN SHOES
EUROPE
FOLK
DANCES
VARSOVIENNE
•The Varsoviana or Varsovienne* is an "graceful
and elegant“
•Varsovienne known originated around 1850
in Warsaw, Poland in honor of Mount
Versevius
•introduced to France by a young dance
instructor named De’sire’ in America in 1853.
•The dance was popular in 19th century in
America, where it was danced to the
tune Put Your Little Foot.
•It combines the elements of waltz, mazurka,
and polka.
•It became a favorite folkdance in
Scandinavian countries as well.
•The unique arm hold (promenade hold) - used
in other dance styles such as American square
dance, contra dance and some ballroom
dances.
•Varsovienne is form Pomeranian and danced
in a Weizacker costume.
•Time signature: ¾
•Music is in the tune of Put Your Little foot
THE UNIQUE ARM HOLD (PROMENADE HOLD)
 COSTUMES
• MEN
The attire worn includes black pants, coloured stockings, gray coat, a full
shirt, and round green felt hat with ribbons.
COLORED STOCKINGS GRAY COAT
FULL SHIRT HAT
•FEMALE
The attire worn includes short full
dark shirt, white blouse, black velvet
bodice, coloured apron, and large black
bow.
 STEPS FORMATION
• PART I (Rocking)

(a) Take twelve rocking steps forward and backward alternately,

starting with the L foot falling forward (12 cts.). Hands holding skirt
... 6 M

(b) Break: Jump to feet apart sideward (ct. 1), jump to close feet
together (ct. 2), hop on L and raise the R foot in rear with knee
bent (ct. 3), hop on L foot again and kick R foot forward (ct. 4).
Hands on waist ... 2 M
• Repeat all (a and b), starting with the other foot
forward ... 8 M

PART II (Kick)

(a) Hop on R foot and raise L foot in rear (ct. 1),

hop on R and kick L foot forward (ct. 2), hop on L
and raise foot in rear (ct. 3), hop on L and kick R
foot forward (ct. 4). Hands on waist ... 2 M
•(b) Repeat (a) two more times ... 4 M

(c) Break - Repeat fig. I (b) ... 2 M

(d) Repeat all (a-c) ... 8 M

TARANTELLA
• La Tarantella Italiana Southern Italy serves as the
birthplace for the folk dance known as the
“Tarantella” originating as far back as the 16th
and 17th centuries yet more prevalent during the
Middle Ages/Renaissance.
• This dance also known as “the dance of the
spider,” the Tarantella is derived from the Italian
word tarantola, meaning “tarantula.”
•The tarantola gets its name from the town of
Taranto in Puglia, where the bite of the local
wolf spider (the tarantula) was widely
believed to be highly poisonous and led to a
condition known as “tarantism.
•Tarantism was an epidemic that swept
through Taranto and other parts of Italy
between the 15th and 17th centuries.
•Primarily this dance form started off as a
solo dance to cure disease yet
transitioned into a dance of courtship
years later.
•A cultural experience of the Tarantella
comes from the occurrence of a spider
bite from the well known Tarantula.
• Usually women were affected by the dangerous
spider, possibly because of their work in the fields
and also belonged to the lower class of Italy in
most cases. It is believed that once bitten, the
venom caused one to fall into a trance, only
curable through a frenzy of dance and music. The
non-stop, fast paced dancing would help the
victim sweat out the poison.
• It is unclear how it transitioned into a courtship dance
however most likely occurred during the later Middle
Ages.
• It can be explained through the myth that a group of
young Italians (males and females) were outside of the
church St.Magnus when they were struck by the
Tarantula and disturbed the priest while dancing their
way to a cure. In addition it came to be that it was very
unlucky to dance the Tarantella alone for reasons
unknown.
• Accompanying this dance form are instruments such
as the mandolin, guitar, tambourine and the
accordion.
• Traditional costuming includes colorful knee length
skirts paired with a white blouse with loose sleeves
under a black yest for the women. Black or colorful
knee length pants paired with long white socks for
the men are customary, along with a white shirt and
colorful vests.
• It has been said the the Tarantella values the
woman over the man and her ability to resist or
ignore the admiration of the opposite gender. This
could be seen maybe in the way the man kneels
at the woman while she dances above and around
him.
• The courtship form is very different and has
evolved into more of a dance of pursuit between a
man and woman through a variety of steps.
• It varies between crossing the feet over the other as well as low kicks
while transferring the weight and traveling backwards in a
clockwise/counterclockwise position. The woman may have the
tambourine first hitting it on her shoulder and hips while performing the
basic tarantella step with her counterpart in a do-si-do fashion. The
man may then take it kneeling while playing the tambourine as the
women does a mixture of basic steps in front of him. Then the
following 16 counts of music the women performs eight steps
counterclockwise as his tambourine shakes. From there two couples
can face each other reaching up towards the center completing about
eight tarantella steps clockwise and hitting the tambourine on the last
step and likewise in the opposite direction.
• Time signature: 3/8 or 6/8
 COSTUMES
Costume for men are specially made shoes,
three quarter pants, a black vest and generally a
little cap.
Props used in the Tarantella dance are the hoe,
the well, the tambourine and vines from the
vineyard.
The women traditional costumes are
white, gathered skirts, white aprons,
and a scarf around the neck.
IRISH LILT
• It begins with the Celtic peoples, also known as the
Gaels.
• These peoples spread over Western Europe including
France, Northern Spain, and the British Isles, spreading
to Ireland in the 3rd century BC.
• Saint Patrick introduced Christianity into the country in
the 5th century AD. In this period the artwork survived
and has influenced irish dance costumes.
• The Viking raids during the 10th century destroyed
most of the books in existence
• the Irish dances had a faster tempo.
• Irish dance and culture continued to evolve and in the
mid 1700's, Dance Masters began the tradition of
traveling village to village teaching the various dance
steps they had created. It is from these teachers that
the current day Irish set and ceili dances originated.
• This is a very lively dance especially suitable for girls.
• MUSIC - is composed of one part of sixteen measures.
• COUNT - one, two, or one, two, and to a measure or
one, two, three, four to two measures.
• FORMATION - this is a solo dance but any number of
participants may take part. They may be arranged in
any desired formation.
 The four basic types of modern-day Irish music and
associated dances are:
• The JIG, which was referenced in ancient Ireland, has
several variations including the SINGLE JIG and SLIP
JIG. The slip jig is the most graceful of the Irish dances
and features light hopping, sliding and skipping. ONLY
WOMEN dance the slip jig. JIG music is 6 TIME; SLIP
JIGS are in 9 TIME.
• The REEL originated around 1750 in Scotland and the
Irish dance masters brought it to its full development.
WOMEN AND MEN BOTH dance the reel. Women
perform it as a LIGHT, RAPID SOFT SHOE DANCE that
often includes leaping and always demands a high
level of energy. MEN usually DANCE the reel in HARD
SHOES. Reel music is in 4 time and is usually danced
to a fast tempo. The music accents the first beat.
• Many of the designs on current day costumes are based
upon illustrated manuscripts of the Bible, the most famous
of which is the Book of Kells.
• SET DANCES are performed by individual dancers to a
specific tune with each set dance having its own tune. Some
of the tunes are more than 250 years old. Ceili (pronounced
Kay-Le) dances are similar to the set dances, however these
are performed by a group of dances. A "ceili" is Gaelic for a
gathering for music and dance.
•The HORNPIPE also began in the mid 1700's
and evolved from English stage acts. It was
originally danced EXCLUSIVELY BY MEN, but
NOW, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN perform this
dance. The hornpipe is in 4 time and is 4
similar to a slow reel but has accents on the
first and third beat.
 COSTUME
•Girls - Emerald green blouse, short dark
skirt, white kerchief around neck, green
kerchief on the head tied under chin, green
stockings, flat black shoes.
FLAMENCO
•Flamenco is a song, music and dance style
which is strongly influenced by the Gitanos
•Singing was then the primary aspect of
flamenco, dancing and musical
accompaniment being secondary.
•Flamenco culture originated in Andalusia
(Spain)
• By the end of XIX century, Flamenco was already
spread across Andalucía, starting to be one of the
most popular arts in the region, and with it came the
first openings of “Cafés Cantantes”, which were
nightspots where people used to enjoy drinking and
seeing music shows. These establishments allowed
the “cantaores” (Flamenco singers) to improve their
performances and exposed them to the public.
•The word Flamenco in Spanish
originally meant Flemish.
•"Nuevo Flamenco", or New Flamenco,
is a recent variant of Flamenco which
has been influenced by modern musical
genres, like rumba, salsa, pop, rock and
jazz.
•The normal costume though will
comprise of a shirt underneath a short
black jacket or vest. The trousers are
also traditionally black, and also tight-
fitting. On top of this, sometimes, a scarf
or hat might be incorporated into the
costume for extra flair.
•The traje de flamenca ("flamenco
outfit") or traje de gitana ("Gitana
outfit") is the dress traditionally worn by
women at Ferias (festivals) in Andalusia,
Spain. There are two forms: one worn by
dancers and the other worn as a day
dress.
TRAJE DE FLAMENCA TRAJE DE GITANA
AMERICA FOLK
DANCES
LA CUCARACHA
•La Cucaracha means “The little
cockroach” this dance known to all
Mexico
•“La Cucaracha” is a traditional
Mexican/Spanish folk song.
•This dance is usually performed during
the social gatherings.
•it is about Mexican revolutionary Pancho
Villa’s car, which frequently broke down
and earned the nickname la cucaracha
from villa’s troops.
•the music for this dance is divided into
two parts. A and B with the counting of
one, two and three to a measure.
• Music: the music for this dance is divided into two
parts. A and B with the counting of one, two and three
to a measure.
• Formation: couples are arranged informally around the
room. The boy clasps his hands around his back, the
girls’ holds her skirt gracefully at the side or the
participants may be arranged in any desired formation.
Partners stand side by side, the girl in the right of the
boy.
 COSTUMES
MEN
The boy or the male wears “blousy” shirt, a
low cut vest, a jacket cut something like a long
bolero, and long rather tightly fitting pants
decorated sometimes with silver buttons. On
his head, he has a huge sombrero and on his
arm he carries his brightly colored zerape.
White short-sleeved blouse heavily embroidered in
beads with a full skirt of green and red (occasionally
white). The skirt reaches down to the ankle. High heeled
slippers are worn. Over the blouse a long sash or scarf
called a "roboza" is arranged in a certain way. At its
middle it is drawn straight across the waist of breast,
crossed at the back, and the ends drawn up over the
shoulders and left hanging down loosely each side in
front or else the ends are tucked down each side under
the sash in front. The hair is worn in two braids.
 Music A. Play once
Partners stand side-by-side facing fronts.
Throughout the figure, partners turn slightly away and
toward each other. They perform cross-waltz steps in
place. The first step (ct. 1) is strongly accented with a
decided “dip” of the knees in this dance. Starting with
the inside foot, take eight cross-waltz steps in place. Girl
holding the skirt, boy clasping hands
behind……………………………………8M Figure II
 Music A. Play Once
Partners face each other and do the cross-
waltz steps revolving around each other. Starting
with the R (right) foot, take eight cross-waltz steps
forward moving clockwise. Crossing the R foot over
the turn the body, to the left and bring them into a
position touching R elbows. When the L (left) foot is
across the R, the left elbows are
touching……………………………..8M Figure III
 Music B. Play Twice

• Partners are side-by-side facing steps front. The following directions are for the boy; reverse for the
girl.

• Boy steps sideward L (ct. 1), steps R close to the L foot (ct.2), steps L sideward left again (ct. 3),
stamps R foot in place (ct. 1), pauses (ct.2 and 3), puts weight on the R
foot……………………………….2M

• Three steps turn L away from the partner (ct. 1, 2, 3). Stamp R foot twice, keeping the weight on the
L Foot (ct. 1,2), pause (ct. 3) ……………………………………………8M

• Steps R sideward toward to the partner (ct. 1), step L close to R foot (ct. 2), step R sideward again
(ct. 3). Step L foot in place (ct. 1), stamp R foot twice (ct. 2, 3)………………………………….2M

• Starting with the r foot, three steps sideward F to change place with partner. The girl passes in the
front of the boy (ct. 1, 2, 3). Stamps L foot (ct. 1), pause (ct. 2, 3)………………………………….2M

• Repeat all from steps A-D starting with the opposite foot, finish in to the original
position………………………...8M