The Ländler ( German pronunciation: [ˈlɛntlɐ] ) is a European folk dance in 4 time . Along with the waltz and allemande , the ländler was sometimes referred to by the generic term German Dance in publications during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Despite its association with Germany, the ländler was danced in many European countries. Composers from a variety of European nations wrote music for the ländler dance; including Austria , Switzerland , Bohemia , Moravia , Slovenia and northern Italy in addition to Germany.
24-524: The ländler is a partner dance that strongly features hopping and stamping. It might be purely instrumental or have a vocal part, sometimes featuring yodeling . When dance halls became popular in Europe in the 19th century, the Ländler was made quicker and more elegant, and the men shed the hobnail boots that they wore to dance it. Along with a number of other folk dances from Germany and Bohemia , it
48-401: A connection with each other through a promenade handhold. The leader dances traditionally to the left of the follower. Some peoples have folk partner dances, where partners do not have any body contact at all, but there is still a kind of "call-response" interaction. A popular form of partner dancing is slow dance . Generally, partner dance has taken place between a man and a woman. Before
72-485: A lift, aerial is a step where a partner needs to be thrown into the air and then landed in time with the music. Each aerial consists of a preparation ('prep'), jump or trick itself and the landing. The first Lindy Hop aerial was performed by Frankie Manning in 1935. Frankie Manning and George "Shorty" Snowden competed in weekly dance contests at the Savoy Ballroom . Shorty George and his partner Big Bea had
96-583: A middle ground between individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner. Prior to the 20th century, many ballroom dance and folk dances existed in America. As jazz music developed at the start of the 20th century, Black American communities in tandem developed the Charleston and eventually the Lindy Hop by
120-482: A move, where they stood back-to-back; they locked arms; Big Bea bent over, picking Shorty George up on her back; and then she carried him off the floor, while he kicked his feet. Frankie Manning wanted to outdo Shorty George, so he convinced his partner Freda Washington , to flip over his back. Called the 'over the back', this flip is considered the first Lindy aerial. Aerials quickly caught on in Lindy Hop. In 1935,
144-535: A number of folk dances that feature this arrangement. Among these are the Russian Troika and the Polish Trojak folk dances, where a man dances with two or more women. A Cajun dance with the name Troika is also known. Aerial (dance move) An Aerial (also acrobatic, air step or air ) is a dance move in Lindy Hop or Boogie Woogie where one's feet leave the floor. As opposed to
168-415: A scene where the protagonists Maria and Captain von Trapp dance a Ländler. The instrumental tune used in that sequence is a 4 -time rearrangement of the more polka-like " The Lonely Goatherd " when Bil Baird 's puppets are no longer needed, so are not seen for the rest of the film. Compare this one to the "Dornbacher" Ländler by Lanner, and one will hear many similarities. The choreographers for
192-456: A slow dignified manner in a circle, while farmers and lower classes danced in a lively fashion. The burgher middle class combined the dances with the processional as a "fore dance", and the turning as an "after dance". The Danse de Paysans' (Peasant's Dance) by Théodore de Bry shows a couple with a man lifting his partner off the ground, pulling her towards him while holding her closely with both arms. His Danse de Seigneurs et Dames (Dance of
216-642: Is best known during times when a significant demographic disproportion happens between the two sexes. For example, this happens during wars: in the military, there is a lack of women, while among civilians, able dancers are mostly women. For example, during the Second World War, many advanced leaders learned to dance Lindy Hop with two followers. Since the 1980s, double partner dance is often performed in Ceroc , Hustle , Salsa and Swing dance communities, experienced leaders leading two followers. There are
240-456: Is four, Dianderl lifts up her skirt And shows me her knees", and in Bavaria one verse invites the girl to leave her bedroom window open to allow a visit from her partner. Dance partners stay together for the duration of the dance and, most often, dance independently of other couples dancing at the same time, if any. Although this kind of dancing can be seen, for instance, in ballet, this term
264-827: Is thought to have influenced the development of the waltz . A number of classical composers wrote or included Ländler in their music, including Ludwig van Beethoven , Franz Schubert and Anton Bruckner . In several of his symphonies , Gustav Mahler replaced the menuet with a Ländler. The Carinthian folk tune quoted in Alban Berg 's Violin Concerto is a Ländler, and another features in Act II of his opera Wozzeck . The "German Dances" of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn also resemble Ländler. Josef Lanner (1801–1843) wrote several Ländlers. He, along with Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II, helped popularize
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#1732780723216288-551: Is usually applied to various forms of social dance , ballroom dance , folk dance , and similar forms. Partner dance may be a basis of a formation dance , a round dance , a square dance or a sequence dance . These are kinds of group dance where the dancers form couples and dance either the same choreographed or called routines or routines within a common choreography—routines that control both how each couple dances together and how each couple moves in accord with other couples. In square dance one will often change partners during
312-399: The "breakaway"). Another unique feature that was introduced in these early days were the first airsteps, also known today as aerials . These daring maneuvers were exciting for the audiences to watch, and when combined with live performances such as those by Ella Fitzgerald , became a staple of organized Lindy Hop performances. Other dances such as Collegiate shag and Balboa developed in
336-641: The 1950s, however, if there was not a sufficient number of partners of the opposite sex available, couples formed into pairs of the same sex. Sometimes this is also done as part of a dance tradition. In traditional partner dances done within certain conservative cultures, such as in traditional Uyghur partner dance, dancing is often done with the same sex as a matter of respect for the conservative culture. As learning both dance roles has become more common and social norms have changed, many events and competitions have removed restrictions. Typically, in ballroom competitions today, same-sex partnerships are allowed up to
360-472: The German poet Ruodlieb referred to a couple dance with a basic motif of a boy wooing a girl, and the girl rejecting his advances. Men and women dancing as couples, both holding one hand of their partner, and "embracing" each other, can be seen in illustrations from 15th-century Germany. At the end of the 13th century and during the 14th century, nobles and wealthy patricians danced as couples in procession in
384-465: The Lords and Ladies) features one Lord with his arms around the waist of his Lady. Syncopated rhythms gained widespread popularity for dancing in the last two centuries, although usually less complex and more regular than previous music. An old couple dance which can be found all over Northern Europe is known as "Manchester" or "Lott is Dead". In Bavaria words to the music include "One, two, three and one
408-595: The United States in the same time period but never saw the same international popularity as the Lindy Hop. Over the next few decades, popular music changed, moving away from the big band sound of swing to styles like rhythm and blues and then rock and roll . Due to this and other factors, the Lindy Hop evolved and mutated into a number of different styles. Dance styles such as West Coast Swing and Modern Jive integrated features of ballroom dances and new music to create distinctive but similar dances. In 1023,
432-469: The course of a dance, in which case one distinguishes between the "original partner" and a "situational partner". In most partner dances, one is the leader and the other is the follower . As a rule, they maintain connection with each other. In some dances the connection is loose and called dance handhold . In other dances the connection involves body contact. In the latter case the connection imposes significant restrictions on relative body positions during
456-439: The dance and hence it is often called dance frame . It is also said that each partner has their own dance frame . Although the handhold connection poses almost no restriction on body positions, it is quite helpful that the partners are aware of their dance frames, since this is instrumental in leading and following . In promenade-style partner dancing there is no leader or follower, and the couple dance side-by-side maintaining
480-581: The end of the 1920s. Many cities had regular local competitions such as the Savoy Ballroom which accelerated the development and popularization of the dance. The dances were introduced to wider public through movies and regular performances such as those done at the Cotton Club in New York. An unusual (for the time) feature of the dance was the inclusion of sections where the dancers would move apart from each other and perform individual steps (known as
504-499: The motion picture researched the traditional Austrian folk dance and integrated it into the choreography of the Ländler danced in the film. The same (The Sound of Music) Ländler is played by two or three zithers, during the rehearsal for the Salzburg Music Festival, as well. Partner dance Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners. As such it occupies
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#1732780723216528-484: The silver level (the third level in competition, after newcomer and bronze). However, these are comparatively rare. It is thought that some partner dances actually developed with more relaxed gender roles. Prior to adoption by the mainstream, these dances did not actually normalize the man-lead/woman-follow paradigm. This kind of dance involves dancing of three persons together: usually one man with two women or one woman with two men. In social dancing , double partnering
552-546: The troupe Whitey's Lindy Hoppers (aka the Harlem Congeroos ) formed and performed at private parties in New York. From 1936 to 1941, they toured the world and performed in movies and some after 1945, showing Lindy Hop and aerials to the world. Moves similar to aerials had been performed in other dances before 1935. For example, the Nicholas Brothers used leaps and flips in their tap dance routines in
576-616: The waltz in Vienna and elsewhere. The Johann Strauss II waltz Tales from the Vienna Woods features a zither playing in the style of a Ländler. Britten's Peter Grimes features a Ländler in the scene where a dance night is occurring in the hall. The Sound of Music Broadway musical , the film , and the American and British live TV broadcasts ( The Sound of Music Live! (2013) and The Sound of Music Live (2015)) all feature
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