Hambo

The Hambo is a Swedish folk dance in triple time and is danced in pairs.

Music

The Hambo is called gammaldans ( dance originating from the period before the 1930s ), although he has only emerged relatively late. The music is played in three-quarter time, with a strong emphasis on the first beat at a brisk, but not too fast pace ( 100-120 beats, ie 33-40 cycles per minute). The music is always a multiple of eight bars.

History

One of the possible origins of Hambos is the polka - mazurka, a dance with many twists, which was very popular in the second half of the 19th century. The term polka - mazurka is also found in sheet music books of the early 20th century, which were used by the rural folk musicians. One of the rotating figures of the dance was developed in 1900 in Sweden to an independent dance and danced to older Polska Music, hambopolska for example, but with a strong emphasis on the first beat. The word means, among other Polska Polish dance in Sweden. At the beginning of the 20th century there was a simpler version of the Hambos with two small steps; The first two steps were carried out as steps forward, the rotation came. The variants of Hambos which are danced today, with the so-called dalsteg in the first two bars, emerged mid-20th century.

It is characteristic of this dance that dancers and dancer steps emphasize different in the turns, what the dance - lends a certain dynamism - even in the moderate pace.

Variants

In the today usual form of Hambos the dancer holds his right hand, the left hand of the dancer. He dances in the first bar, starting at the left, a step forward and raises his right foot diagonally in front of his left shin, which is the Dalsteg step. In the second cycle, it also does the same with the right foot. The dancer performs the movements of a mirror image. After the two - Dalsteg steps in the next cycle, the couple dances three steps forward, followed by four rotations with four Hamboschritten and finally three more small steps forward.

Competitions

In Sweden Hambo annual World Championships will take place, called " Hälsingehambo ".