Faroese dance

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Painting of 1904 on a stamp of 2003.

The Faroese dance (føroyskur dansur) is the national chain dance of the Faroe Islands, accompanied by kvæði, the Faroese ballads.

The dance is a mediaeval ring dance, which only survived in the Faroe Islands, while in other European countries it was banned by the church, due to its pagan origin. The dance is danced traditionally in a circle, but when a lot of people take part in the dance they usually let it swing around in various wobbles within the circle.

1 Dance rules
2 Source

[edit] Dance rules

When dancing there are a few rules. One is that your right hand must overlap the left hand of the one next to you while moving your feet two paces to a side and one pace back. The side is chosen by the skiparin, captain. The skiparin is the one who sings and must know all the verses, while the people who are dancing with him in the circle join in at the chorus.

The following description is by V. U. Hammershaimb, Færøsk Anthologi, 1891:

Living heritage: Folk dance in the Faroes

The storyline of the ballad is attended by everybody with great interest, and if something especially pleasant or moving occurs, it can be seen in the look and movement of the dancers – when the rage of the battle is described, the hands are clenched together, and when victory is in hand, the dancers make cheering movements.

The dance in itself only consists in holding each others' hands, while the dancers form a circle. When more and more dancers join the dance ring, the circle starts to bend and forms a new one within itself, and if the number of dancers is high enough and the space in the room allows it, a new one will form within that one too – but of course still in one unbroken circle or chain. This means that every dancer has to follow these curves of the chain, and soon is in the outer circle, then in the middle of the chain. The dancers thereby pass each other face to face twice in each round.

[edit] Stígingarstev - The Common Dance

The tunes of the ballads are in sixth bars and accompanied by a rhythmical, monotonous stamping of the feet. The most common version of the dance is the “stígingarstev” [stamping dance step].

This consists of the dancers slowly moving to their left, with six dance steps between the bars:

Left foot makes a step forward (to the left)
The right foot steps towards the left
Left foot makes another step forward
The right foot steps again towards the left
The right foot steps to the side or one step backwards
The left foot steps towards the right,

and then all over again, between the bars, until the ballad is over. If it is a solemn ballad, which is sung in a slow tempo, then the dance goes at a leisurely pace.

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[edit] Trokingarstev - The Crowding Dance

Another variation of the dance is the “trokingarstev” (from: “at troka” – to crowd). Here people hold hands in the usual circle, but stand still or go a bit backwards while making the usual dance steps while the stanzas are sung, and then suddenly move forwards when the refrain starts. For this dance, the more quick and lively ballads are used. This dance is no longer practiced in the northern islands, but I have often participated in it on Suðuroy, especially in the southernmost villages. The people from Suðuroy do, all things considered, use more expression in the dance than people on the northern islands, where the emphasis is put on the monotonous stamping of the feet.

[edit] Bandadansur - The Ribbon Dance

Bandadansur - the ribbon dance

A third variant of the dance, where quick folksongs and ballads are used as well, is “bandadansur” (The Ribbons Dance). The dancers stand in two rows, two to four feet apart – men on one side, women on the other, holding a ribbon between each couple. While the stanzas are sung, they stand still, while making the common rhythmical stamps with the feet. When the refrain starts, they raise the ribbons, and the people from the end of the row, bend over two by two and move under the raised ribbons, until they get out of the tunnel, where they turn around and raise their ribbons over the following couples. When the refrain ends, the dancers stop and lower their ribbons, and then go on like this, until the ballad ends. This is a very lively, yet rather tiring dance.

[edit] Dance Games

Besides the common dances, there are different dance games, some of which are accompanied by special songs. Some of these games are of Faroese origin, while others originate from other countries. In Svabo's fifth travel book in the Royal Library, he has described several of these dance games, which were played at gatherings indoors as well as outdoors.