Dances of Sweden

The lakes and pine forests of Sweden are a natural setting for peasant arts and crafts, and these, particularly the Swedish folk dances, are justly famous wherever such things are loved and appreciated. There is something for everyone in these dances: in Gubbdunder, the Old Men's Dance, the younger folk have to leave the floor to their elders, but they come into their own again with a remarkable display of athletic virtuosity in Huppleken, the Jumping Game.




The author of this book, Dr. Erik Salven, has played no small part in the revival of Swedish folk dancing. As Director of the Halland Museum, Halmstad, and a member of the International Folk Music Council, he writes with authority on the traditional Swedish dances and folk songs. His introductory essay on the various dances, music and costumes can be read with interest even by those who cannot tell a Hambo from a Minuet. Selected dances are more fully described, with step notation, music and diagrams, and the correct costume for each one is shown in all its gay colours.