Mass og Lasse

Country: Vest-Agder & Hallingdal, Norway
Type: line dance mixer
Formation: any number of couples in broken or closed circle, M standing to L of W, all facing RLOD.
Hold: færøytaket - holding hands in line, palms together, so that thumbs are crossed and R arm is over L arm of danser on one's R side and held to chest with R elbow down to make the hold fast, L arm being similarly held by dancer on one's L side.
Steps:

kvilesteg - step L forward [in RLOD](1:1), close R (1:2), step forward L and touch R (1:3-4), step forward R and touch L (2:1-2), step L forward (2:3), close R (2:4), step forward L and touch R (3:1-2), step forward R and touch L (3:3-4).
[Ie 2 full kvilesteg over 3 bars of music. All steps are danced with a svikt (=lift), but those over 2 beats have 2 lifts.]
hoppsteg (step-hops) [Note: rhythm is 4/8-time.]

Sheet music: Semb, Klara Norske folkedansar: songdansar. Rev. ed. by Noregs Ungdomslag. Oslo: Noregs Boklag/Det Norske Samlaget, 1985 p. 187; arr. Joh. D. Behrens
Recordings sung by Hammer, Rolf (Victor 65931, 1914) in U.S. Library of Congress National jukebox; sung by Gunnlaug Lien Myhr and Inger-Marie Lien Rust from Norske ballader released by Grappa Musikkforlag A/S, 2010

Bars		Dance progression
1-6	(a)	Starting with L foot, move CW with 4 kvilesteg.
7-10	(b)	Chorus "Me sku skjøte'n sa'n Mass..." Couples take closed waist-shoulder hold (samdanstak 2), slightly to L of each other, and beginning with L foot dance 8 step-hops turning CW on the spot. On the last beats, M continues turning CW and finishes on R side of partner. All resume færøytaket.
\|:1-10:\|		Repeat (a) and (b) with each verse of the ballad. Couples change partners with each verse.
1-6	(a)	Final verse (10th) Repeat (a) above.
7-10	(b)	"Så køyrde han inn i ..." All make a fist with R hand and mimic stabbing someone with a knife.

This was one of the samdanser for Nordlek 1979 in Holstebro, Denmark.
This comic ballad tells the tale of Mass and Lasse who shoot a bear. They drag the bear home to Hosløse village, and celebrate the hunt with a feast which ends in a fight in which Lasse kills Mass, who had drunk all his beer.
The ballad, lyrics and music, was collected by Hulda Garborg (lyrics) and Olav Sande (music) from Lars K. Liestøl (1839-1912) It was published in Norsk folkedikting. There are Danish and Swedish versions, the Danish version having been written down in 1664. The dance is a simplified form of the Faeroese Sandøyardansen.
Source: Semb, Klara Norske folkedansar: songdansar. Rev. ed. by Noregs Ungdomslag. Oslo: Noregs Boklag/Det Norske Samlaget, 1985 pp. 187-189.
Translation: Laine Ruus, Oakville, 2020-06-12.

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