The world is bountiful of culture, no matter where you turn. There are great cultural blogs in all languages such as jannikeermedial.com. Every country has a touch of history and artistic integrity that makes it uniquely it’s own. This can be seen through many forms, including the legacy that is kept in traditional folk dances. For many of these countries, it is a genuine way to stay connected to their history, to their ancestry, and to preserve those memories of where they came from and how they came to be today. In this article, we are going to explore seven of these many traditional folk dances that span the world, and discover how they came to be.
The Netherlands:
Traditional Dutch folk dances include little jumps and slow movements with couples and children in circles and lines. The Dutch also perform these dances in their wooden shoes to provide unique sound with their dance steps.
Ireland:
The Irish perform traditional River dances or step dances, which are fast paced, with quick foot movements and up beat tempos. Often, these dances are also performed with little to no arm movements in order for precision and effect.
Spain:
When you think of Spain and Spanish folk dances, the first thought that comes to mind is Flamenco. Flamenco stems back many decades, and is performed in brightly colored dresses and heeled shoes used to make sound. The dance is often performed with music played by guitar and singing.
The Native Americans:
The traditional dances performed by the Native American tribes were deemed very important to their culture, often performed for religious events and other ceremonies within the tribe itself. The movements of each specific dance were meant as interpretation and illustrated the reason for the dance.
Russia:
Russian traditional folk dances were an important part of their culture in earlier times, and are still quite relevant today. It derives from several different Russian cultural aspects, and was often more than not performed by those in lower class statuses back in the day.
Japan:
In ancient Japanese culture, Geisha women were taught the arts of music and dance at a very young age, in which every aspect was rather strict. These strict movements are used to tell a story throughout their dance, and essentially holds great symbolism that only those with a keen eye can interpret.
India:
There are a wide variety of culturally traditional dances in the country of India. Each has its own diversity, but uses the same or similar hand movements and body motions to portray a sense of celebration as well as a religious aspect. Some of these dances are typically performed in temples for the gods and goddesses.
No matter where in the world you are, there is always a touch of history and culture in every aspect. There are many things that we can learn from these characteristics of different cultures, including those found in traditional folk dances. It gives us all an insight into how things were in the past, and how we continue to cherish these traditions in the years that follow us.