The Dancing Bear – Volume 3

Foreword

Into the dancing fun! The selection in this collection is an invitation to all the colorful things that dance brings with it: pulse and rhythm, turning, creating together, enjoying music, being there with all your senses. The book offers step sequences and sequences, talks about the character of the dances and wants to hint at where it can go beyond that. Naturally, it points from browsing at home to the dance floor.

When we were asked to conceptualize and design this third volume of the successful Tanzbär series, we were delighted at first, then thought about it for a while, and subsequently discovered that it would take a lot of work and dedication.

We – as enthusiastic dancers and musicians, long-time practicing dance instructors, but newcomers to writing – have become thoughtful about how we want to convey our knowledge on the two dimensions of paper. It’s not just the “technical” that should come across, but much more the fun, the intensity, ultimately even those subtleties of feeling that are perhaps only perceptible after the third waltz towards midnight.

The result was a concept: this book conveys the basics of the dances in a clear, visually and didactically contemporary form. Wherever possible, we use graphics to bring the image on paper closer to the perception on the dance floor. We talk about the style and character of the movements. And very importantly, we want to include the music as an essential part of understanding the dances.

We have compiled dances from France, Germany, England and Sweden, among others, for this volume. Branles, or chain dances, are a focal point. But there are also simple mixers, Central European couple dances and a few specialties for the more experienced. The dances cannot be categorized uniformly, which is a good thing. For this reason, an approximate order has been chosen in the book: first mixers (circle dances with partner changes), then circle and chain dances, then dances in smaller groups, and finally pure couple dances.

In most of the descriptions we have also included comments on how to teach the dance: our experience of how to teach a step sequence well, where things often get stuck, what variations are possible, and sometimes a little philosophy.

The accompanying CD is a joint production of the groups Hay-Non, Die Hayner, Wechselbalg and Au Gré des Vents. The melodies used are traditional or composed for the respective dances. The pieces on the CD and the dance instructions in the book are coordinated in their selection and interpretation. All the groups performing for Tanzbär combine concert elements with many years of dance music experience. We are pleased and grateful that the musicians were involved in the project with such commitment, so that the CD enriches the instructions in this volume with the musical side. At the same time, the recordings offer an attractive cross-section of current dance music interpretations.

Our thanks go to the authors of the first two Tanzbär volumes, Elke Rogge, Gert Dannemann and Dieter Rurländer, and to all those who contributed words, deeds and ideas to the realization of this book: Danyèle Besserer, Gabi Haun, Sibylle and Gert Dannemann, Margarete Teuscher and Sabine Oberländer.

The illustrations are by Uli Teuscher. At his home on Rävskar in Sweden, he has created a selection of pencil drawings for us that vividly depict music and dance. His drawing on the cover is from 1954.

And now: clear the dance floor!

Munich/Langweid, November 1999
Wolfram Dietz, Tilman Teuscher