Yngvar Heikel

Dances of Finland Yngvar Heikel

The Finnish national epic, Kalevala, tells how Kyllikki makes her lover Lemminkainen promise that he will never go to war again; but he makes a condition himself:




But thyself on oath must pledge thee,

Not to wander to the village,

Whether for the love of dancing,

Or to loiter in the pathways.




This love of dancing is still strong in the Finnish blood, and seven hundred years of foreign rule have done nothing to suppress its national character.

In this book Miss Collan, who is a Finn, and Mr. Heikel, who comes from the Swedish-speaking part of Finland, describe the origins and nature of the principal Finnish folk dances and their place in Finnish country life, and finally give step notations and music for four typical dances. The heavy, lumbering Seals' Dance, the lively Engelska, the comic miming of the dance of poor one-eyed Taneli, are not only brought before the mind's eye by vivid description but set down, step by step, for all who will to learn, and dance for themselves.