Czech Sword Dancing

Subject: Czech Sword Dancing
From: GUEST,CJB
Date: 25 Dec 16 - 11:15 AM

Czech Sword Dancing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0084lmn

European Roots - Series looking at the indigenous music genres of Europe.

Episode 2 of 8

Dancing for the Camera

This edition explores the films of European sword dancing taken by Frantisek Pospisil in the 1920s. It follows in his footsteps, finding the exact locations and in some cases the descendants of the original performers he filmed.
Amazingly, sword dancing has survived, most vividly on the island of Lasto off the Croatian coast.

Further info. can be found at this site:

https://dantzan.eus/bideoak
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Subject: RE: Czech Sword Dancing
From: Jim Martin
Date: 26 Dec 16 - 07:54 AM

When I attended 'Dvorana's' Czech folk dancing course in the New Year of 2000, they had a small group (6 I think), who demonstrated a sword dance which to me, resembled English longsword dancing:

http://dvorana.cz/dance/index.html

Subject: RE: Czech Sword Dancing
From: Jack Campin
Date: 26 Dec 16 - 10:46 AM

I guess you mean Lastovo? The place where they do this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lastovo_Poklad

Up there with the Lewes bonfires in sheer folkloric aggro.

Subject: RE: Czech Sword Dancing
From: GUEST,Ebor Fiddler
Date: 26 Dec 16 - 05:17 PM

There was an article on the Croat dances in "Rattle Up My Boys!", the UK sword dance magazine sometime in 2014. I read it as necessary study material for my 2015 holiday.
I seem to remember something on the Czech dances too, though this may simply be a reaction from what i laughingly call my "memory". I have brought this discussion to the attention of Jeff Lawson, who edits RUMB, just to prod my recollections a bit.

Subject: RE: Czech Sword Dancing
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 27 Dec 16 - 09:09 AM

Thanks Jack, I couldn't remember which place or region they were from!