Country: Sweden
Type: couple dance
| Varsovienne
Formation: couples in open circle, open waist-shoulder hold, W on partner's R side, facing in LOD. Steps: fryksdalssteg, springsteg (run), vals (waltz) Sheet music: (1) Svenska Ungdomsringen för Bygdekultur/ Musik till svenska folkdanser. Del I.. 2:a uppl. Stockholm: Svenska Ungdomsringen för Bygdekultur, [1975]. p.73.; (2) Svenska Undomsringen för Bygdekultur/ Musik till gillesdanser i Norden - fiol. [Stockholm: Svenska Undomsringen för Bygdekultur], 1970. p. 18.; (3) Folktunefinder.com varsovienne [Same tune used in Finland, Norway, Sweden and parts of Denmark.] Recordings: Folk Dance Orchestra, Victor Olof Scandinavian Dances 1939 [Internet Archive]; Folkcraft International Orchestra 'Swedish varsovienne' [Internet Archive]; Gunnar Hahns Folkdansorkester Nordiska danser track 08; Michael Herman's Folk Orchestra [Internet Archive]; National Folk Dance Players European national dances 'Varsovienne' [YouTube] |
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| Bars | Part | Dance progression: |
| 1-2 | (a) | 'Promenade': Beginning with outside (ML/WR) foot, M swings partner over to his
L side (1), where he receives her in his L arm around her waist, 3 small running steps.
Both finish with outside (MR/WL) heel to floor, toes pointing up (2:1). |
| 3-4 | Repeat with opposite footwork to swing partner to M's R side, as above. | |
| 5-8 | Repeat (a). | |
| 9-12 | (b) | Fryksdalssteg: Beginning with outside (ML/WR) foot, couples dance 2 fryksdalssteg forward in LOD (9-10), followed by M swinging partner over to his L side [ie repeat of bars 1-2] (11-12). |
| 13-16 | [Beginning with outside (MR/WL) foot,] couples dance 2 fryksdalssteg forward in LOD (13-14), followed by M swinging partner over to his R side [ie repeat of bars 3-4] (15-16). | |
| 17-32 | (c) | Waltz: Couples take waltz hold and dance turning waltz steps [moving in LOD]].. |
| Repeat from (a) as desired.
In some parts of the country, parts (a) and (b) have been danced with M somewhat behind and to L of this partner, both facing in LOD, and holding L-in-L and R-in-R in shoulder height. M and W change places by W dancing sideways under M's raised arms. [SUB/ Beskrivning av gillesdanser i Norden p.58.] Lyrics:
See video from/with [unattributed] 2018 Source:
Svenska Ungdomsringen för Bygdekultur/ Samkväms och gillesdanser. Stockholm: Svenska Ungdomsringen för
Bygdekultur, 1965. pp. 48-49.
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| Varsovienne från Arbrå, Hälsingland
Formation: couples in open circle, open waist-shoulder hold, W on partner's R side free hands hanging, facing in LOD. Steps: fryksdalssteg, sidsteg (side-step), springsteg (run), gammalvals ('old time' waltz), polska från Arbrå Sheet music: (1) Norman, Ingvar/ Musik till svenska folkdanser del II.. [Stockholm]: Svenska Ungdomsringen för Bygdekultur, 1971. p. 71. (2) Danser från Hälsingland - Låtar till...[appendix] nr. 8 . s.l.: Hälsinglands Distrikt av Svenska Ungdomsringen, 2002. [p.49]. A variant of Folktunefinder.com varsovienne Recordings: Jonssonlinjen Spelar musik till Hälsingedanser track 8 |
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| Bars | Part | Dance progression: |
| 1-8 | 1 (a) | 'Promenade': Couples, beginning with outside (ML/WR) foot, run forward in LOD
with 3 small steps (1). Both finish with inside (MR/WL) heel to floor, toes pointing up (2:1).
Beginning with inside (MR/WL) foot, M swings partner over to his L side (3), where he receives her in his L arm around her waist, 3 small running steps. Both finish with inside (ML/WR) heel to floor, toes pointing up (4:1). Beginning with inside (ML/WR) foot, couples run forward in LOD with 3 small steps (5). Both finish with inside (MR/WL) heel to floor, toes pointing up (6:1). Beginning with inside (MR/WL) foot, M swings partner over to his R side (7), where he receives her in his L arm around her waist, 3 small running steps. Both finish with outside (ML/WR) heel to floor, toes pointing up (8:1). |
| 9-16 | (b) | Fryksdalssteg: [Beginning with outside (MR/WL) foot,] couples dance 2 fryksdalssteg
forward in LOD (9-10), followed by M swinging partner over to his R side [ie repeat of bars 3-4] (11-12).
Repeat (b) with opposite footwork, swinging partner back to M's R side (15-16). |
| 17-32 | (c) | Gammalvals: Couples take gammalvals hold (M has R arm around W's waist, W places R hand on M's upturned L hand and her L hand on M's upper arm. Hands at shoulder height, bent and somewhat stretched out) and dance turning gammalvals [moving in LOD]].. |
| 1-8 | 2 (a) | 'Promenade': In 'reverse' varsovienne hold - M in front and to L, W behind and to R, holding L-in-L and R-in-R at shoulder height - repeat (1 (a)), with partners changing sides sideways, without dropping hold. |
| 9-16 | (b) | Fryksdalssteg: In 'reverse' varsovienne hold, repeat (1 (b)), sideways as in (2 (a)). |
| 17-32 | (c) | Gammalvals: Repeat (1 (c)). |
| 1-8 | 3 (a) | 'Promenade': In double circle, M facing out and W facing into centre of circle3, [beginning
with outside (ML/WR) foot], couples dance 3 sidesteps in LOD (1), then pause with a light stamp (2).
Repeat in RLOD with opposite footwork (3-4).
Repeat (3 5-8).a)) ( |
| 9-16 | (b) | Polska: Couples take polska hold and dance turning polska without promenade steps [moving in LOD]. |
| 17-32 | (c) | Gammalvals: Repeat (1 (c)).
See video from/with Kvarnakullen. Provenance: Sequences 1 and 2 based on informant Olof ('Hälls-Olle) Andersson, Arbrå. Documented by Ingvar Norman, Säter, 1960-1962. Sequence 3 - 'pariserpolka' - based on informants Mårten and Marta Andersson, and Olof and Lisa Andersson, Arbrå. Documented by Johan Larsson, Gagnef, and Ingvar Norman, Säter, 1965. Source: Svenska Undomsringen för Bygdekultur/ Svenska folkdanser del II. 1971 års uppl.
[Stockholm]: Svenska Ungdomsringen för Bygdekultur, 1971. pp. 91-92.
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Provenance: Seemingly unrelated to the Baroque dance of the 1600-1700s, of the same name, described in Feuillet notation in
the 1704 Recueil de dances contenant un tres grand nombres,
des meilleurs entrées de ballet de Mr Pécour, ... [pp.10-19, 176-194].
The earliest published music appears to be in:
Dannström, Isidore/
Theorie Complete De La Mazurka with sheet music for La Varsovienne and La Suédoise. (Mazurkas favorites, no. 2) Paris: Heugel, 1844.
The earliest description, a quadrille dance, appears to be in:
Laborde, Corralli, E. Coulon (dance), Jullien (music)/ (c. 1845).
The Celebrated Mazurka and the Cellarius Waltz accompanying sheet music for The Original Mazurka. London: Jullien, [ca 1845].
The varsovienne as a couple dance is discussed in: Eugène Coulon/
The Warsaw Varsoviana. London: Louis Antoine Jullien,(c. 1855).
According to Böhme, "'Varsovienne' or 'Warschauer Tanz' (dance from Warsaw), a variant of masurka, also played in slow
3/4-time, was very popular in Germany around 1850-1870."
Nordstedts uppslagsbok 1948 ed,. defines it as "a mazurka-like couple dance in 3/4 time, modern in
France during the Second French Empire [Napoleon III, 1852-1870] [and] in Sweden during the 1860s.
Appears as a 'new' couple dance in Russia in 1897.
In the Nordic countries, it ccurs in
Denmark,
Finland,
Norway and
Sweden
as well as the Faroe Islands and Iceland.
See also:
-- Sjöberg, Henry/ Folklig dans 3: 1800-talets pardanser. 6:e uppl. s.l.: [Brevskolan], 1974. p.52.
-- Böhme, Franz Magnus/ Geschichte des Tanzes in Deutschland. Beitrag zur deutschen Sitten-, Litteratur-
und Musikgeschichte : nach den Quellen zum Erstenmal bearbeitet und mit alten Tanzliedern und Musikproben. Teil 1.
Leipzig: Druck und Verlag von Breitkopf & Härtel, 1886. p.223. .
-- Vogt, Margrit/ nr 18 'Warschauer (Varsovienne)' in: Alte niederdeutsche Volkstänze.
(Beiträge zur Volkskultur in Nordwestdeutschland, herausgegeben von der Volkskundlichen Kommission für Westfalen, Landschaftsverband
Westfalen-Lippe, Heft 53) Münster: F.Coppenrath Verlag, 1986. pp. 59-59, 151.
-- 'Varsovienne' in: Nordstedts uppslagsbok 1948 ed. p. 1908
-- Wikipedia Varsovienne.
Description: Laine Ruus, Oakville, 2022-08-16, rev. 2023-08-19.
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