Vincenzo Galeotti’s Norwegian “Springdans” – stereotype or fantasy?
(Egil Bakka, Anne Fiskvik)
Whereas both Sweden and Denmark had well established court ballets in the latter part of the 18th century, Norway had neither court, nor state supported opera or ballet. (Actually, our National Ballet was not established until 1957). The situation was quite different regarding the folk- and social dance; we had at that time, as well as today, a strong and rich Norwegian folk- and social dance tradition. This is due to the fact that the main population consisted of peasants, whose traditional social- and folkdance was an important and integrated part of society. Still, the number of bourgeois (and a few upper-class) families was steadily increasing around the middle of the 18th century, and the folk-and social dance material became a source of inspiration for the theatre dance performances that took place in larger cities like Oslo and Bergen.
Using Vinzenso Galeotti’s “Springdans” from 1786 which seem to refer to the Norwegian traditional dance "Springdans” as an example, in this paper we discuss possible connection between the folk dance and the theatrical dance. Which elements of theatrical tradition of Galeottis “Springdans” can be related to the Norwegian popular tradition of the same dance? The presentation will be accompanied by video material of a (modern) performance of Galeotti’s “Springdans” by The Royal Danish Ballet, and by excerpts of Norwegian folkdance video material.
Egil Bakka, Trondheim, Norway:
Egil Bakka is professor of dance studies Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and director of the Norwegian Centre for Traditional Music and Dance at NTNU. He has been part of a number of national and international researh projects and has published extensively.
Anne Fiskvik, Trondheim, Norway:
Anne Fiskvik holds a position at the Department of Musicology, Program for Dance-Studies at the University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway. Alongside her career as a dancer and choreographer, her main research areas are the relationship between theatre dance and music, and the history of Norwegian theatre dance.
