Now that we're back to in-person dances, Skandia offers many opportunities to learn and dance.  Most of the dances are from Sweden and Norway, and some are from Denmark and Finland.  Skandia has many excellent dance teachers.  

Here are some of the dance opportunities available at different times.  Check the Skandia website http://skandia-folkdance.org/classes.html for more information.

The Basics Dance Class near the UW for beginners.  This covers how to turn and dance with a partner, as well as basic dances such as Schottis, Waltz, Snoa, Hambo, Rørospols, Slängpolska, and mixers.  No need to come with a partner since we change partners frequently.  We encourage students and non-students to attend; no connection to Scandinavia is needed.  It is a friendly and welcoming group and people can try it out any time.  Free! 

The Intermediate Dance Class at the Phinney Neighborhood Center is on Wednesday evenings.  This class allows people to learn more of the commonly-done dances and practice their skills. 

The Scandinavian Village Dance Class at the Phinney Neighborhood Center is on Thursday evenings.  This class covers even more dances, which are intermediate to advanced. 

The First and Third Friday Dances start with an hour of teaching.  Then you can practice the dance taught as well as lots of other dances.  Many basic dances are done, so even beginners can have fun.

Skandia also has workshops, special events, and the yearly Springdans weekend in April, with local, national, or Scandinavian teachers.  There are also Scandinavian dances at the Swedish Club and in Tacoma.  Seattle has a wonderful and encouraging dance community; this is a great place to learn dances and make friends. 

We encourage musicians to become Skandia members, who make up a community that shares a common love for music and dancing of the Scandinavian countries. Skandia was founded in the early 1950s by Gordon Tracie, and traditions are kept alive today as a result of many talented members who have travelled to Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland bringing back and sharing the music and dances they have learned.  These members have hosted workshops and special dance instruction to all who are interested. We have further been able to bring expert musicians from these countries to further instruct our community.  Our members are continually informed of opportunities for continued instruction at either free or reduced prices.  One of the biggest benefits comes from the joy of playing music and dancing with others who share a common interest in the Scandinavian culture. Families are welcome and often the children find the music and dancing to be something that they would like to do.

Instruments 

The most common instrument played for our dancing is undoubtedly the violin; however a wide variety of instruments are also used. Guitar, flute, recorder, accordion, pump organ, piano, clarinet, hardanger fiddle, nyckelharpa, brass instruments, lur, kohorn, doumbek and voice have all been used at our dances. We invite musicians of any kind to join us and have fun!

Learning tunes

The best resource for learning tunes is probably other Skandia musicians; however a close second is the Skandia Allspel CD set. It is a very handy resource, and you will find that many of these tunes are quite popular both in Scandinavia and elsewhere around the world. See Allspel CDs below to discover what they include and where to purchase them.

Musicians can join the Seattle Skandia Spelmanslag http://skandia-folkdance.org/spelmanslag/), an open-membership ensemble for anyone interested in playing Scandinavian music and learning the common repertoire of the Seattle / PNW region. Coming to the monthly -- now virtual -- jam sessions is another way to pick up tunes and meet musicians.  See Regular Jams below and learn how to join a jam.

Allspel CDs

This set of four CDs is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to join the fun in the Seattle area. You can purchase them on the Skandia website (http://www.skandia-folkdance.org).  Each CD has tunes (and harmonies) played by local musicians, plus historical (from Skandia's earlier days) and modern transcriptions of all the tunes.

These CDs contain the tunes that are most commonly played by all the musicians in this area.  Skandia members enjoy dancing to all of these tunes.  Come to a dance and play some tunes and dance some dances!

Regular Jams

We host once a month jams on the first Saturday of every month from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Pacific  Time. Email music@skandia-folkdance.org for more information!

The Midsommarfest Big Jam!

Even during Covid, the Midsommar jam session was record-breaking on Zoom! We had five special tune leaders selected in advance. Both the tunes and notes were posted for as many of them as possible a few days before the jam so musicians had a chance to practice up beforehand.

There’s another reason to come to Springdans besides great teaching—the rollicking evening dances! Musicians from Scandinavia team up with fine folk musicians from the U.S., Canada, and abroad to play spirit-soaring music.

Comfortable accommodations include rooms with private and shared bathrooms (and even bed linens, and toiletries) To keep participants fueled, the center provides three tasty meals in its full-service dining hall and healthy snacks for classes.

Springdans started up again in 2022. Stay tuned to Skandia’s Web site for more information on future camps (www.skandia-folkdance.org) or better yet, become a Skandia member and receive the newsletter. Once at the Web site, click on “About” then “Membership” for an application.

Camp fills up and we always have a waiting list (especially for follows), so be sure to register early. 

We look forward to seeing you at our next camp!

Springdans Directors:

Don Meyers

Peter Michelsen

Judy Patterson

Kathi Ploeger

Jerry Walsh