German Folk song and Folk dance
“Two steps to the left 2 steps to the right then, 4 spins with your partner repeat .“ this was the first dance taught to us during the folk dance segment of our folk song and dance evening .This is very simple and unless you have absolutely no rhythm (ahem!) you can not get it wrong. With our confidence level high a more difficult dance was introduced next ,the.... Polka.
This dance requires stamina, moving space, strength and great co-ordination. A circle is formed by the men and they begin to clap, two quick claps then slap your thighs and then clap hands with the people on either side of you, while this happens the lovely ladies observe the clapping skills of the men by gracefully skipping around the circle, and the man with the most skilful clapping ability will be chosen by a lady as a dance partner for the polka. The selection is made when the lady stops behind her chosen partner, the man must not look to see who she is until it is time to turn and dance with her. The polka is quite confusing in the beginning. Once it is clearly understood, it can be fun.
Most folk dancing today is done by people who live in the countryside, during parties, weddings and carnivals. The highlight of the evening was when members of the group Sinothile, Svelka and Siimphiwe dressed in traditional folk clothes. The beautiful clothes fit very well to our diversely incultural group. The girls wore a dirndl and the guy wore a lederhose.
The evening ended off with folk music played on the guitar. The first song was called „Es steht eine mühle im schwarzwalder tal“ a song about a man who is madly in love with the girl at a miller. The second one become stuck in everyones mind it was called „mädle ruck ruck ruck” which is about a man trying to woo a woman. Its' catchy tune soon became stuck in our heads and during any silent moment someone will randomly start „määääääädllleeee ruck ruck ruck in miene grünee si-ete“.
It was a great bonding experience that left us with a lot to talk about, and with an understanding as well as appreciation for German folk culture.
Nontobeko Duma
