Virtual 2020

Anne Grete and Rolf Bjørgen are accomplished dance instructors and Landskappleiken folk dance champions now living in Sel, Norway. Rolf won the demanding Halling competition a remarkable eight consecutive years.  Here they dance Springleik fra Dovre on their deck--the dance they taught at Springdans NW in 2016. 

Britt-Mari Westholm Dahlgren has taught for decades in Sweden in the U.S., as well as in Japan, and she served as a judge for the Hälsinge Hambo contest. Eric Dahlgren co-taught with Britt-Mari at Springdans NW in 2019. The pair are members of (and perform with) Hörkens Bygdedansare in Ludvika, Sweden. 

Ewa and Tommy Englund are tradition bearers and big silver medal holders from Hälsingland, Sweden. They have have studied bygdedans extensively, and are multi-year winners of the Hälsinge Hambo competition. Tommy has judged for that event, and Ewa now judges for Sweden's annual uppdansning testing. The duo has taught often for dance camps in the U.S. and abroad. 

Helen and Stig Eriksson, who live in Norrkoping, Östergotland, began dancing as teens in Sweden. Stig taught Helen to dance, and she taught him to fiddle. They have taught for 20 years in Europe and the US,  as well as in Sweden. Winners of the 1993 Hälsinge Hambo contest, the Erickssons are Stort Silver medal holders. Helen plays in the "Klintetten" Band.   

Sons David and Mikael are also accomplished dance instructors. 

Tina Lindbom Frejd and Pär Frejd are avid folkdancers and members of Norbergs Folkdansgille. They have accompanied dance leaders Margareta and Leif Virtanen to Springdans NW, Scandia Camp Mendocino, and other Scandinavian dance camps. By special invitation, the duo taught a special hambo workshop in Seattle. Tina and Pär have their Stort Silver Medals for polska dancing.

Kerstin Harvenberg and Malte Hermansson were invited to teach Western Dalarna dances at Springdans 2020.  Unfortunately, the pandemic made their visit impossible. These popular instructors and Stort Silver medal holders from Gothenburg, Sweden, top the list of instructors that Skandia hopes to bring to Seattle, possibly in 2022. 

Bjørn Sverre Hol Haugen & Veslemøy Nordset are national dance champions from Odalen, Norway, who researched and helped to reconstruct the dance, Finnskogspols. Bjørn Sverre is an associate professor of cultural history/museology and heritage studies at the University of Oslo. Be sure to see their winning performance of Finnskogspols in Dans A at Landskappleiken in 2018 on the “Dance Performances” page. 

Torill Jørgensen is a talented Norwegian tradition bearer who has taught bygdedans in Scandinavia and at Springdans NW in the U.S.  She has danced since childhood, and taught for decades, specializing in the lively bygdedans, Rørospols. Torill lives and dances regularly in Røros, Norway. 

Britt-Marie and Sven Olsson are tradition bearers from Värmland, Sweden, and Stort Silver Medal holders. Theses teachers are in demand, in Sweden, Europe, and the U.S.  Sven has judged at the Hälsinge Hambo, and for years was one of three adjudicators at Polskmärkes Uppdansning, the annual event that tests polska dancers on their knowledge and dancing proficiency. 

Els-Mari Frisk and Per-Olof Pettersson are dance teachers and tradition bearers from Jämtland, Sweden who specialize in dances from the provinces of Härjedalen, Ångermanland, and Jamtland. Per-Olof is a judge for the country’s annual medal testing. 

Margareta and Leif Virtanen lead Norbergs Folkdansgille in Norberg, Sweden. They hold Stort Silver Medals and are multi-year winners of the Hälsinge Hambo dance contest. The pair teaches in Scandinavia, England, Italy, and Australia, and are repeat teachers at Skandia’s Springdans NW, Scandia Camp Mendocino, and Nordic Fiddles and Feet in the U.S. 

Katrilli Finnish Folkdancers is based in the greater Seattle area and is 40 years young.  It is a blend of Finns, spouses of Finns, and Finn wanna-be's.  Finnish dancing is lively and keeps all of them in good health and young at heart.  Their dances show the distinct differences between the Swedish-speaking west coast and the eastern Karelian region with Russian influence.  Katrilli has performed in many different venues:  Midsommar festivals here and in Oregon; Folklife; Finnish festivals both in Washington State and Canada; local Finlandia Foundation and Nordic Museum events; and retirement homes.  They practice weekly at the Swedish Club and welcome new members. 

Contact:  Elaine Packard, espackard@msn.com 

Many regard Olov Johannson as Sweden's greatest craftsman on the nyckelharpa. With his brilliant solo playing and as a member of the group Väsen, he has been largely responsible for the explosion of nyckelharpa playing that has been witnessed recently in Sweden.  Learn more on his website:  https://olovjohansson.se/about/ 

Swedes Per-Thomas Eriksson and Pasi Pasanen perform 6 tunes. 

Members of Kollijox

1 Hemgårdsvalsen 

2 Davids Pols nr2 

3 Mentorsschottisen 

4 Borgsjöpolskan, Slängpolska 

5 Ulf och Louise dansar, Hamburska 

6 Äppelbo gånglåt

”Lady Skagerrak”—consists of three master musicians, one from each Scandinavian country: Maja Kjær Jacobsen from Denmark, Elise Wessel Hildrum from Norway, and Anna Lindblad from Sweden. The combined result is an explosion of the sounds that exist in Scandinavian music today.  Learn more at:

https://fruskagerrak.com/bio/ 

Roll Your Rs by Anna Lindblad 

Halling etter Glenne - the new midsummer video made especially for your festival! 

Den Største Sorg traditional song from Denmark/Norway.

Includes a special tune for Skandia musician, David Lamb, that was written by Leslie Foley, another Skandia musician 

Magne plays three Pols tunes from the Brekken area near Røros  for our enjoyment with detailed introductions of each. 

Playing 7 Finnskogspols, Eva Karlsson is a popular and dynamic dance fiddler, focusing on music from the border region between Norway and Sweden. Eva has studied the surviving films of Finnskogspols and helped revitalize this dance.  

design@evakarlsson.se

Glad Midsommar from Rauland!

Naustedalen Spelemannslag is a music group that was started 65 years ago. The group plays local folk music. We live in the municipality of Sunnfjord between Bergen and Ålesund in Vestland county. Naustdal is a valley in the municipality of Sunnfjord. Einar Eimhjellen has been the musical conductor for the past 52 years and he is the only one who also joined 65 years ago. 

eineim@online.no

A multi-talented young woman, Mari was the first place finisher in Class A Vocal at Norway’s 2019 championship folk competition, Landskappleik.  In addition, over the past few years she has also placed high in in Class B fiddle, (second in 2018) and couple dance, third in the  Landsfestivallen gammeldans competion (also in 2018.)  She can be seen elsewhere in this site playing fiddle as part of Rolf and Anne-Grete Bjørgan’s Midsommar Greeting. (Anne-Grete is Mari’s grand aunt.)

About the duo Jensen & Bugge:

In 2021 it will be twenty years since accordion player Mette Kathrine Jensen and fiddle player Kristian Bugge formed the folk music duo, JENSEN & BUGGE.

Both Mette and Kristian have won coveted prizes at Danish Music Award Folk (Danish Grammy). In 2007 Mette Kathrine Jensen was awarded traditional artist of the year, and in 2006 at the same event Kristian Bugge received the awards for debut and instrumentalist of the year! Together the duo received the "Tradition-award" at Danish Music Award Folk November 2012!

JENSEN & BUGGE already met as kids when they lived at 3 kms distance from each other - near Vejle, Denmark. Since that, they have played for lots of dances and concerts in Denmark and many other countries, such as USA, Canada, Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, South Korea, Germany and Poland.

All the CDs and the DVD were released by GO Danish Folk Music and for sale at our live gigs or straight from the record company at: http://folkshop.dk/shop/?search=jensen+%26+bugge

JENSEN & BUGGE is:

Mette Kathrine Jensen Stærk: Accordion.

Kristian Bugge: Fiddle.

More info:

www.facebook.com/jensenbugge

www.jensen-bugge.dk

www.youtube.com/channel/UCB9nyp_qya7O9Bv8Tdbx3Bw

Peter Uhrbrand on fiddle, Ole Mouritzen on accordion and Kirstine Uhrbrand on the piano. 

Cousins Arto and Antti Järvelä are musicians hailing from the famous Järvelä family from Kaustinen. Growing up in a musical family means growing up in a respect for traditions and history. Arto's and Antti's musical focus focus is naturally in Ostrobothnia (the eastern shore of the Bothnia gulf). Dance and ceremonial tunes are still a major part of their music. 

We are a trio from Vancouver, enjoying playing good dance music.

www.vcn.bc.ca/scandi

Loretta Kelley has been performing on, teaching and writing about the Hardanger fiddle (hardingfele) for more than 30 years. She has appeared on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion and American Radio Company, and National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and "Performance Today." She is a regular teacher at the Nordic Fiddles and Feet Scandinavian music and dance camp and at the Annual Workshops of the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America, as well as at innumerable local workshops throughout the US. She has made over 30 study trips to Norway and has placed highly in many fiddle competitions there. Her playing has been featured in an hour-long radio program on Norwegian radio. Her recording together with Andrea Hoag and Charlie Pilzer, "Hambo in the Snow," was nominated for a GRAMMY award in the Best Traditional World Music Album category. Loretta is currently the president of the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America (www.hfaa.org). “Hambo in the Snow”, as well as Loretta’s solo hardingfele album “AmerikaSpel”, is available on YouTube and in CD and MP3 format from Amazon. 

'Brad och Beths Bröllopspolska' by Bruce Sagan 'Mrs Chambers' by Peter Blue Videographer: Don Theyken. 

Bruce Sagan is a respected performer, teacher, and composer of Scandinavian music.  In 1986 he co-founded the camp Scandinavian Week at Buffalo Gap which is still going as Nordic Fiddles and Feet.  He has been awarded the Zorn Diploma in Bronze for his playing of Swedish music.  His four CDs have gathered praise on both sides of the Atlantic.  

Brad Battey started Scandinavian fiddling with Bruce when he was a wee thing of 12 years old, but has been playing for contra dances for as long as he can remember.  A high energy fiddler, Brad also plays for English Country Dancing.  

One can find more information about Bruce and about the CD which Bruce and Brad have recorded together by emailing bsagan@msu.edu or through Bruce's web site http://www.brucesagan.com which also contains transcriptions of his tunes. 

Högtidsmarsch virtual performance 

Toby Hanson of the Smilin' Scandinavians plays three tunes: Balen i Karlstad (Schottis), Inga Lill (Hambo), and Jämtgubben (Polka)

For over twenty-five years, Toby Hanson has been playing accordion professionally.  He specializes in all varieties of ethnic and couple dance music.  He can be heard pumping out rollicking polkas, stately Viennese waltzes, or dainty hambos in dance halls all around the Pacific Northwest.  Having both Swedish and Norwegian roots, he is always especially proud to play the music of his Scandinavian heritage.  His band, the Smilin' Scandinavians, has a website at http://www.smilinscandinavians.com and is also on Facebook and Twitter. 

Rachel Nesvig has been playing the Hardanger Fiddle (hardingfele) since high school and was the first student at St. Olaf College to receive Distinction in Hardanger Fiddle in 2007.  She also taught the beginning Hardanger Fiddle course at the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America's Annual Workshop.  She has studied fiddle both in the US and in Norway with various teachers including Andrea Een, Karin Code, Dag Hovde and Karin Solgård.  One of Rachel’s current projects is curating her YouTube Channel, which is dedicated solely to Hardanger Fiddle! She also has recorded Hardanger Fiddle for video games, including Minecraft Norse Mythology by Gareth Coker, Pode by Austin Wintory and Rend by Neal Acree. Composing new fiddle pieces while fusing new and old traditions with Hardanger Fiddle continues to be one of Rachel’s passions.

rachelnesvig.com is my website! 

Joe and Peter are the Beech Boys playing Western Dalarna tunes. 

Deirdre and Frank play tunes by David Lamb: 

1. Den Flygande Gurkan 

2. Sunflowers 

3. Rode Strumpor

4. Blueberry Patch 

5. Waltz for Vicki

Brian and Nola Nelson of Sprida Ut sing and play several tunes for Midsommar.

Formed at Holden Village during a Nordiska Folk Dancers retreat over 10 years ago, Sprida Ut enjoys playing traditional folk music from Scandinavia with their own flavor, and continuing to showcase the Nyckelharpa.  Contact: Brian Nelson 425-530-2171 (message ok)

Brian: nyckelharpa, vocals

Nola:  guitar, vocals

Bära Vänner translates as "Just Friends"  which we are.  We have been playing Swedish and Norwegian music for many years.  Kris Forster started going to dances with her parents over 50 years ago dancing with friends many years older who also introduced her to playing music for dances.  Kris Johansson has played this music for over 40 years.  He also plays some Scottish music. Jean has played the guitar for fiddlers of many backgrounds for at least 10 years or more.  We play for dances, music programs and just for fun!  We just happen to be good friends who enjoy play music together.  Kris and Kris currently play with the Skandia Kappel and other music groups.  Thanks to Jean's camera for making this video possible.

Kris Forster

kforster27@hotmail.com

Tunes:

Göteborg Mazurka 

Hoppvals Stakkars Per 

Norsk Mazurka 

Nylandspojkarnas Polska 

Polonais by Erik Blumgren 

Schmaltz Vals

   Kris:  Fiddle

   Kristen: Fiddle

   Jean:  Guitar

Playing Norwegian tunes learned at Stemne last summer (2019) .

Jane:  Torader

Jeff, Laurel:  fiddle

Dansaspel from Bellingham WA is presently a 4-member group - Carol Olson on fiddle; Collin Topolski on fiddle, accordion, guitar & clarinet; Robin Brown on fiddle & octave fiddle; and Susan Curley on electronic keyboards. The group plays both Swedish & Norwegian bygdedans music along with gammaldans and mixers. Sheet music can be found here. For more Swedish music videos, go here, many historic videos of famous Swedish fiddlers.

This video is from May 2014 at the Cedar Valley Grange in Lynnwood, WA.

Folk Voice Band plays:  Vaara Viitonen, from Finland, Seattle Polka (at Seattle Folklife Festival 2019), & Humppa Medley (at Seattle Folklife Festival 2019)

Folk Voice Band has been in the Northwest since 1990 performing at Midsomar and Folklife Festival for the last 30 years. 

Duo, Trio or Ensemble

Scandinavian, Continental, Balkan or International

We are as versatile with our music as we are with our instrumentation!

Birgit @ (206) 947-8393 or Philip @ (206) 368-9720

2020 new video -- Note the attention to social distancing

1. Schottis 

2. Hopsa 

3. Hambo 

4. Waltz

Bass; Frank Brown

Guitar: Jean Geiger

Fiddles: Marissa Essad, Trella Hastings, Kris Johansson,  Laurel Stone

Performing at North Seattle College

1) Olle's - Hambo 

2) Schottis från Idre #1 - Schottis 

3) Stuntervalsin - Waltz 

4) I Grenseland - Finnskog Pols 

Musicians - Deb, Frank, Diane, Dan, Mareda, Gordon, Liz, Doug, Marissa, Donna, Saralee, Salina

Dancers - Jerry, Judy, Lisa, KB

We play for Scandinavian folk dances and other performances. We are an open group of musicians who usually rehearse on Sunday evenings 7-9pm at the Swedish Club.  Everyone is welcome to bring their acoustic instrument to join us.  Currently we are rehearsing on ZOOM. 

Send an email for the link.

Contact: SeattleSpelmanslag@gmail.com

Skolkis was a band of four great friends who focused their musical work on layered arrangements with clear dance rhythm. The group, comprised of Emma Anderson (fiddle, viola, octave fiddle), EJ Landsman (guitar), Martha Levenson (fiddle, octave fiddle, hardingfele) and Vicki Watt Warshaw (fiddle) mainly performed around the Pacific Northwest, but also played on A Prairie Home Companion, and toured in Sweden. Skolkis made three CDs: Skip! (2012), G.F.B. (2014), and Shine (2017). This video is from the CD release party when the second album,  G.F.B., was released. If you'd like to purchase CDs, please contact skolkis.music@gmail.com.