Abstract
A CONFERENCE on folk-dancing, which is being held in London on July 15-20 in connexion with an International Folk-Dance Festival, will afford an exceptionally favourable opportunity for the comparative study of this survival of European folk art and ritual. Students from all parts of Europe, it is stated in a preliminary announcement by a correspondent of The Times in the issue of July 6, will be present, and will discuss selected and especially significant dances still found among the peasantry of the remoter parts of Europe. These will be illustrated in many instances by dancers of the country of origin, who are attending the conference specially for the purpose, thus Roumania will be represented by the seasonal hobby-horse dance performed by the CaliSari with their heavy bells. The dance and its numerous seasonal parallels in other parts of Europe will be demonstrated and discussed by Prof. Vula. A Bulgarian theme, the ‘spring maiden’ of folk dance and song, will be analysed by Mme. Raina Katzarova, of the Ethnographical Museum, Sophia, who will illustrate her argument with movements by Bulgarian dancers. The interesting form of the sword dance found in Piedmont, with its singular combination with the maypole ritual and its resemblances in detail to the sword dance of Britain, will also be shown and afford an opportunity for comparison with a presentation of the Austrian sword dance, which has given evidence for an alternative explanation of the dance to that generally accepted. Britain, the Netherlands, France and Norway are among other countries providing material for discussion. The international folk-dance festivals which have been held in London in recent years have provided much interesting material for consideration, but on this occasion the conjunction of a conference dealing with study of the rituals, of which the dances preserve the evidence, should do much to advance the scientific study of this important department of primitive religion. The Conference will meet at the Cecil Sharp House, Regent's Park, London, N.W.I.
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Conference on Folk-Dancing. Nature 136, 59–60 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136059d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136059d0