Balfolk

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Bal Folk is a dance event for folk dance and folk music in a number of European countries, mainly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. It is also known as folk bal.

History

Dancing to folk music is gaining popularity since the 70's. The traditional dances come primarily from the French tradition, with additions from all parts of Europe.

There are numerous organisations that organize such dance events monthly and at a lot of folk festivals there are both concerts and dances.^[1]

In France some villages have their own annual folk festival.

In Flanders, Boombal is the biggest organisation for the popularization of bal folk. Their influence is so great that the term Boombal is more known than the term bal folk.

Although there are similarities, the dances of bal folk are not the same as dances danced by traditional folkdance groups.

1. Traditional folk dances have more extensive choreographies and may be danced with traditional clothing. The preservation and/or presentation of a tradition is important here. Music is sometimes played live, sometimes pre-recorded. The audience sits down and watches the dancers perform their choreographies.
2. Dances of bal folk are generally based on simple traditional choreographies and have an easy base so everyone can easily start with it. Refined movements are not the main concern. Often, the music has modern influences. Music is played by live bands. The audience is on the dance floor, dancing on the live music.

Parts of a Folk Bal

There may be two parts in a Folk Bal.

1. Initiation / Dance Workshop: Often at the start of a bal some dances are explained for people that are new to the dances. During an hour dances are explained. Group dances as well as couple dances are explained. All is done under musical accompaniment of a live folk musician.
2. Bal: Folk musicians play for dancing. It is similar to a common party, except that in this case young and old dance together to live folk music.

Common dances

The main dances are usually played during such a session are:

• Scottishes
• Bourrées
• Waltz
• Polka
• Mazurka
• Polska_(dance)
• Gigues, also known as Chapelloise (a different dance than the irish Jig)
• Circassien circle
• Ronds (from Brittany, but also from other parts of France)
• Branles
• Contradances
• Ridées, laridés, andro (from Brittany)
• and many others.

Books

• La danse traditionelle en France d´une ancienne civilisation paysanne à loisir revivaliste, Yves Guilcher, Librairie de la Danse, FAMDT, 1998 Courlay

1. ^ http://www.frenchdanceleeds.co.uk/dances/recent_history.html

See also

• Les Panards Dansants, Leeds
• Soas French Folk Dance Society, London

External links

• Musictrad (in French) (France)
• List of UK events (UK)
• BalFolk (Netherlands)
• Folkroddels (Belgium)