Folk dance from Denmark

Snurrebocken (Whirring Buck)
Niels Mejlhede Jensen, Bøgeløvsvej 4, 2830 Virum, Denmark. e-mail (web master)

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Link to the page with design of the music for Snurrebocken (Whirring Buck).

Dance description:

 
Animation of the dance

Snurrebocken (Whirring Buck)

  • Dance of couples, can be a mixer
  • Polska steps and running steps (3 steps per bar)
  • The dance is in 3 sections: a, b, c :
    • a: bar 17-19 greet each other and greet the ballroom
    • b: bar 1-8 dance around couple wise
    • c: bar 9-16 run and turn around couple wise
  • ---
  • The dance suddenly stops after section a, just before the couple dance around.

 
Animation of polska steps

Snurrebocken steps, polska steps (Whirring Buck steps)

  • Beat 1, beat 2, beat 3, are with displaced steps for gent and for lady:
  • Gent: "left, together, right"
    • "left" is: marked left foot on marked beat 1, and slightly bent knee
    • "together" is not more together, than the lady right foot is in between
    • gent right foot only touches the floor in "together"
  • Lady: "together, right, left"
    • "together" is: marked together, both feet on the floor, and slightly bent knees
    • "right and left" is more light and "gliding"
The animation figure here is very schematic, and using only 4 directions of the feet.

 
 
 

Snurrebocken (Whirring Buck) - dance of couples
bar 17-18 Greeting partner Gent and lady greet each other, low bow and curtsy.
(Those bars here with greetings are played slowly with pause notes).
Then you turn around away from each other.
bar 19 Greeting the ballroom Gent and lady greet the ballroom and audience, greet away from each other, back to back.
Then they turn to each other to dance the following couple dance together.
Or: the gent or the lady sees his/her opportunity to sneak away during this low bow to steal a new partner from somebody else engaged in a graceful curtsy.
Or the dance leader can propose an organized mixer where everybody from the back to back position turn to the left to get a new partner.
bar 1-8 Snurrebocken steps around Dance around in couples, progressing in the line of dancing in the ballroom.
Find some way to dance around and enjoy this dance as a whole, specially if it is a mixer.
If you are experienced with Scandinavian dances and Swedish dances in particular, you enjoy dancing Snurrebocken steps, i.e. polska steps, with gent: left foot and with lady: feet together, on beat 1. That is a most wonderful dance. But very difficult until you know it. And not easy just to let your new partner in on during the dance, because the steps for the gent and the lady are displaced. Learn this dance, its a gift of joy when both know it well.
(Hambo steps have gent right foot on beat 1, etc.)
bar 9-12 Running forward Couples run forward, gent's right arm around his lady's waist, the other hand free.
bar 13-14 Turning Keeping this open position, couple turns anti clock wise, i.e. lady forward and gent backwards, one turn.
(Or turn the other way around a few times).
At many places the dancers wait with this turning around untill bar 15-16.
bar 15-16 Straightning up Then there are just a couple of steps or so left to straighten up by running forward again.
From here the dance starts from the beginning again with the courtesy greeting.
--------

FINE
bar 20

 Suddenly stop --------------------------------------------------

After the dance has been played a number of times, then the music suddenly goes from bar 19 to Fine in bar 20. That is: after the gent and the lady has greeted away from each other, and just are ready to dance around with snurrebocken steps, then they suddenly get only one forceful last tone for a stop.

The dance is repeated as long as pleased.
 

Foot note:

This dance, Snurrebocken, is described in the British booklet: A Selection of European Folk Dances, from Society of International Folk Dancing, 1956 with many later reprints. The description is a little different from mine: hambo steps (instead of polska steps) in bar 1-8, and only running forward in bar 9-16. This is OK with me. As long as we have joy. It is a couple dance so the gent decides and leads.

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