Bakka Egil et al. (eds.) Waltzing Through Europe. Attitudes towards Couple Dances in the Long Nineteenth-Century

Trondheim: Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Open Book Publishers, 2020. — 496 p. — ISBN-10: 1783747323; ISBN-13: 978-1783747320.From 'folk devils' to ballroom dancers, Waltzing Through Europe explores the changing reception of fashionable couple dances in Europe from the eighteenth century onwards.A refreshing intervention in dance studies, this book brings together elements of historiography, cultural memory, folklore, and dance across comparatively narrow but markedly heterogeneous localities. Rooted in investigations of often newly discovered primary sources, the essays afford many opportunities to compare sociocultural and political reactions to the arrival and practice of popular rotating couple dances, such as the Waltz and the Polka. Leading contributors provide a transnational and affective lens onto strikingly diverse topics, ranging from the evolution of romantic couple dances in Croatia, and Strauss's visits to Hamburg and Altona in the 1830s, to dance as a tool of cultural preservation and expression in twentieth-century Finland.Waltzing Through Europe creates openings for fresh collaborations in dance historiography and cultural history across fields and genres. It is essential reading for researchers of dance in central and northern Europe, while also appealing to the general reader who wants to learn more about the vibrant histories of these familiar dance forms.The Round Dance Paradigm. Egil Bakka
The State of Research. Egil Bakka
A Survey of the Chapters in the Book. Egil Bakka
The Waltz at Some Central European Courts. Egil Bakka
The Polka as a Czech National Symbol. Daniela Stavělová
Decency, Health, and Grace Endangered by Quick Dancing? The New Dance Style in Bohemia in 1830. Dorota Gremlicová
Reception of Nineteenth-Century Couple Dances in Hungary. László Felföldi
The Waltz among Slovenians. Rebeka Kunej
Dancing and Politics in Croatia: The Salonsko Kolo as a Patriotic Response to the Waltz. Ivana Katarinčić and Iva Niemčić
Waltzing Through Europe: Johann Strauss (the Elder) in Hamburg and Altona in 1836. Jörgen Torp
Continuity and Reinvention: Past Round Dances in Present Estonia. Sille Kapper
The Ban on Round Dances 1917–1957: Regulating Social Dancing in Norwegian Community Houses. Egil Bakka
Dance and ‘Folk Devils’. Mats Nilsson
Nostalgia as a Perspective on Past Dance Culture in Finland. Helena Saarikoski
A Twenty-First Century Resurrection: The Potresujka, the Croatian Polka Tremblante. Tvrtko ZebecList of Illustrations
Contributor Biographies
Index