ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Scandinavian Competitive Dances: Stick Dances and the Halling

Updated on October 2, 2008

Among the many Scandinavian dances performed by groups around the world, the competitive dances are crowd-pleasers as much for the talent of the individual dancers as for the artistry of the dance. Two forms of competitive Scandinavian dances are often chosen: stick dance variations and the halling. This article gives an overview of these two forms, and a little bit of history for each.

Ruth Drake and the author dancing Tikkuritsu, a Finnish stick dance, at the Oregon State Fair.  Photo credit:  Heather Butler Skogen.
Ruth Drake and the author dancing Tikkuritsu, a Finnish stick dance, at the Oregon State Fair. Photo credit: Heather Butler Skogen.

Stick Dances

Stick dances, also known as korsdans or krossdans, are competition dances executed by one or two dancers over a pair of crossed sticks. Stick dances were used sometimes as a way to settle disputes between men at parties or other large gatherings. The participants would take belts, broom handles, or other objects and lay them on the ground in an X figure, then dance around them. Whoever was the last one standing without missing a step or stepping on the X was the winner.

Nowadays, stick dances come in many forms: two people per X, individuals with their own X competing against each other, and as a figure in group circle dances. Each Scandinavian country has its own variation of the dance, as well as some local variations. In performances, both men and women can dance most variations of stick dances.

Young boy performing a hallinkast (kick the hat maneuver) in a dancing scene from an outdoors performance of Peer Gynt at Gaalaavannet.  Photo credit:  Marcus Ramberg.
Young boy performing a hallinkast (kick the hat maneuver) in a dancing scene from an outdoors performance of Peer Gynt at Gaalaavannet. Photo credit: Marcus Ramberg.

Halling

The halling dance, also known as lausdans, is a men-only performance dance. Sometimes it is danced in turn by more than one young man, but even if danced by only one, it is still a competitive dance by nature because of the sheer strength and gymnastics involved. It is a dance of pride, of showing off, and of strength. Traditionally danced at weddings, community events, and other grand occasions, it is a chance for young boys to show their skill in front of their friends and neighbors.

The halling is individual to the dancer. Each man decides his own form, based on the traditional elements and his own ability to execute them. The elements that can be integrated in the dance are push ups with clapping, squats, kicking the leg out during squats, dancing around in a circle with arms open, jumping over the leg while holding it, and kicking the hat. Kicking the hat, demonstrated in the above picture, is the most well-known element of the dance. The other elements lead up to the hat element, and prepare the dancer for it. The dancer can determine the length of the dance as well, and the height of the hat, and can also interact with the crowd and the musicians during the dance, which is uncommon in other Scandinavian dances.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)