by Sille Kapper
The aim of this article is to show what is the living dance tradition in Estonia like, by whom and how traditional... more
The aim of this article is to show what is the living dance tradition in Estonia like, by whom and how traditional elements are used in spontaneous amusement dance situations.
The main data have been collected by observant participation in 2010 at Viljandi Folk Music Festival where contemporarily arranged folk music was played and the audience was encouraged to dance. Based on the data, one can conclude that nowadays the traditional dance is very much improvisational and individual in fact, because usually the limits of the tradition are chosen by each dancer individually.
Dance as a culture-bound bodily means of communication is, however, an opportunity to identify with some groups of people sharing similar values and folklore. Looking at dance movements and performance styles, one can identify the dancers’ dance competencies and based on this, imagine communities with certain common background. In those imagined communities, entitled in the article as „dance club people“, „folk dancers“ and „active audience“, their traditions are invented in different ways, based on different movement materials deriving from the past. The „dance club people“ and „folk dancers“ share some repertoire but their overall performance style is rather different. The „active audience“ has no significant former experience in traditional dancing but this audience knows some widespread movement elements that are considered traditional among them. Some soloists with richer movement competencies belong to every community and some dancers move between different communities, adapting their dancing according to situations.
Today, traditional dancing is very much influenced by conscious learning through more or less organised, regular or irregular activities like dance clubs, stage folk dance groups, and festival workshops. Professional dance teachers and some musicians, especially interested in traditional dancing have taken an important role in disseminating the dance repertoire as well as performance styles. In dancers’ movement their dance learning past and background reveals.
Historically, traditional dancing in its entertainment function has been rather international, but the imagined community of Estonian folk dancers is distinguished by their rather conservative attitude, expressed in quite clear ideas about “our own” and “foreign” elements in dancing while dance club people or active audience do not prefer dances with longer local history. The identity of “folk dancers” seems to be more connected
with an ideal culture, based on archival data about Estonians’ dancing (deriving mainly from in the end of 19th century) while the dancing behaviour of “dance club people” could be described as intended culture which is more flexible and open. This way, comparing the dancing of both communities, a reflection of continuous balance seeking of overall Estonian culture can be seen.
Openness also seems to be the main value of “active audience” whose dancing is based on every dancer’s individual movement memory. Core traditions that would be valued by community members are hard to determine in this case. If the “active audience” can be imagined as a community, the distinction from overall public comes from their interest towards folk music but not from special dancing competencies.
Nowadays, in most dancing events the improvisation is used but the level of improvisation – conservative, innovative or free – depends on individual values and decisions of dancers as well as the music, companions, place and space. Creative use of
older traditions is the domain of small number of devoted enthusiasts. Generally, older traditions are unknown and their limits are not adhered to, because of the very tolerant
overall cultural environment. Instead of local traditions, still inner rules of imagined communities can be noticed. Instead of limiting, traditions are rather used by individuals in the role of inspiration source.
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