Halling (dance) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halling_(dance)

Halling (dance)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Halling (hallingdansen) is a folk dance

(bygdedans) traditionally performed in rural Norway,
although versions of the halling can also be found in
parts of Sweden. The dance is traditionally
performed by young men at weddings and parties.

Contents
1 Overview
2 Halling used as martial art
3 References

Hallgrim Hansegrd (Frikar) demonstrating the Halling

during the annual Peer Gynt Festival at Lake Gl.

4 External links

Overview
The halling is a quick (95-106 bpm) dance in 6/8 or 2/4 that includes acrobatic, athletic competition between
the dancers. Hallingdans can best be described as rhythmic acrobatic dance and consists of a number of
steps which requires both strength and softness elation.[1] The dance is associated with the valleys and
traditional districts of Valdres and Hallingdal, where it is often referred to as the laus (loose dance). The term
refers to it being danced solo, not in couples (although coupled halling dancing is traditional in the western
parts of the country). According to some scholars, the word may refer to the fact that the dance was "half"
the performance, as the other half was the springar (after the fashion of a Renaissance dance suite).
The meter of the dance is 2/4 or 6/8 of a quite fast (95-106 bpm), sharp quality which calls for an
experienced musician. The musician has to give the dancers enough impetus to perform the various
challenging moves that are involved in the dance such as the nakkespretten (neck jump), kruking (hooked
dancing), hodestift (going over the head) and especially the kast (throw). The dancer Olav Thorshaug
performed hallingdans shows in the United States of America around 1910-1920, incorporating the headspin
in his dance.
One of the dance moves is called hallingkast. In this move, a girl has traditionally held a hat high using a
stick or something similar, and the dancer is supposed to kick down the hat. Kast is seen as the test of
strength, which involves kicking a hat that is held about 230 to 280 cm above the floor. Some girls have been
able dancers themselves, and known to be as agile as any man. The agility of the female dancers may have
been even greater, considering they danced in their skirts.[2]
Noted Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg composed several pieces of music for the halling dance in his
Lyric Pieces [3] The dance was used in the Norwegian winning contribution to the 2009 Eurovision Song
Contest performed by the Frikar Dance Company together with singer and fiddle player Alexander Rybak.
Frikar Dance Company has toured 29 countries with halling dance the last years. The company's founder
and choreographer Hallgrim Hansegrd is known as the reinventor of halling, exploring the tradition in
meeting with new artistic expressions and arenas as for example in the computer game "Age of Conan".[4]

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Halling (dance) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halling_(dance)

Halling used as martial art

There is some sources, mainly from Gudbrandsdalen, who document that certain moves from the dance
(especially the throwing), were used in man-to-man combat. Sources tell of a man from the area who used
his agility to kick down two opponents in a skirmish. Thus, his ability to reach the hat came in handy. Some
halling moves may be similar to moves found in combat sports like Taekwondo or Capoeira.

References
1. ^ Norwegian Traditional Music (Folkemusikk og folkedansorganisasjonen i Noreg) (http://www.folkemusikk.no
/norwegian-traditional-music.137786.no.html)
2. ^ Halling (Store norske leksikon) (http://www.snl.no/halling)
3. ^ Halling (Norwegian Dance) Op.38 No. 4 (Edvard Grieg song list) (http://www.song-list.net/edvardgrieg
/halling/tracks)
4. ^ Norwegian halling dance heads to Eurovision 2009 (Multe Music) (http://multemusic.com/2009/02
/24/norwegian-halling-dance-heads/)

External links
The history of hallingdans (http://www.2011.frikar.com/#1763948/HALLINGDANS)
Dancers performing the Halling (Multe Music) (http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/historic
/95_452.gif)
The home page of Frikar Dance Company (http://frikar.com)
The youtube channel of Frikar Dance Company (http://youtube.com/user/frikar)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Halling_(dance)&oldid=603297566"
Categories: Norwegian folk dances Norwegian folk music Partner dance Nordic folk music
Dance in Norway
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05/08/2014 09:09