Here is an example, free form, with the group Väsen playing:

Pedalpolska with dancers

and here is a video from a folk music festival in Sweden. There is room for personal styles and improvisation,

but the basic polska is the common ground.

Dance

I teach Swedish folk dance, Balkan dance and movement inspired by the Alexander Technique.

Continuing the popular Saturday workshops in Maidenhead, now nr.4 and 5.

Dance Workshop at 2pm-5pm
Saturday 16/7 and 23/7

St Luke´s Community Hall, Norfolk Road, Maidenhead SL6 7AT.

This is about getting centred and energised,
finding the pulse and flow with it,
trying new things without having to get it immediately.

If you are playing Swedish tunes, bring your instrument and have a go.

This afternoon will be a chance to go more into the style of Swedish folk dancing. The music has a special pull, both a drive forward and a bouncing quality. We will work with different aspects of schottis and polska, such as "svikt" (bouncing with the pulse), the contact with the floor, transferring weight, turning, how to give signals to your partner and coordinate your balance. I will start with a warm up, using the Alexander principles to become more aware of the body, and then we´ll build the dances up from there. Dancers with experience of other kinds of dancing are very welcome, but also beginners. You just need to be curious and like to experience music through moving.

No need to bring a partner. No special clothes, but flat shoes with leather soles make it easier. If you don´t have that, bring what you have. A pair of socks might be better than trainers or other gripping shoes.

Price: £8, concessions £6.
IMPORTANT: Sign up here or call me at 0777 0911 592.

Welcome!
Kerstin Backlin

Background: Born in Sweden, I trained as a classical violinist and worked professionally in orchestras and theatre groups in Denmark. When I started playing Baroque music on period instruments, I found a link to dancing, and I got fascinated by the rhythms of folk music and dance. I studied Swedish folk dancing 5 months full time at Malungs Folkhögskola and I have continued to develop my own dancing through many courses, both in polska traditions from specific regions/villages, and in dance technique and freedom of movement. I have led many workshops and classes for dancers and musicians and I´ve been teaching at the big Danish folk festival ´Music over Præstø fjord´ four years in a row. In 2012 I got a diploma for playing tunes from Västerdalarna by the Zorn committee. I also play in a Balkan band, dance balkan and circle dance, contra and English folk dance.

I´ve graduated as an Alexander Technique teacher after three years of training here in England, and for me this is about moving with more ease, in a musical way.

Location:

St Luke´s Community Hall, Norfolk Road, Maidenhead SL6 7AT. The Hall is situated just north of Maidenhead Town Centre, on the corner of St. Luke´s Road and Norfolk Road.

Parking:

There is free on-street parking in the surrounding roads, with spaces usually available at evenings and weekends. The Magnet Leisure Centre car park is 0.2 miles (4 minutes walk) away, and the multi- storey car park adjacent to Sainsbury´s is 0.3 miles (6 minutes walk) away.
There are parking spaces for up to six cars behind the hall (entry from St Luke´s Road). When parking on-street, please avoid blocking access to the driveways of our neighbours.