Folk dancing is booming at the university
Publication in the “Wochenkurier” of 03.11.2010
The fact that young women and men have been wiping the dust off folk dance for 60 years rather than scoring points with popular disco dances is impressive and arouses curiosity. Hand on heart: the word folklore conjures up images of crocheted doilies, stove benches and bobbin lace bags – things that belong to the last millennium. But when the TU Dresden folklore dance group “Thea Maass” celebrates its 60th anniversary on November 20, it won’t be senior citizens on stage, but 35 dancers aged between 17 and 40.
How does a young city dweller come up with the idea of learning the basic steps of a polka or mazurka? “After many years of jazz dancing, I wanted to dance something different. Hardly anyone can do folk dances anymore and I can finally travel abroad,” explains 28-year-old Sabine Kotzsch. From the age of four, she danced in the children’s and youth dance studio at the TU Dresden and became curious about performing “with the grown-ups”. At the age of 19, the current dance teacher switched to folklore and has been traveling Europe ever since, meeting like-minded people and having her modern dance students dance to folklore steps.
Den Tanznachwuchs der Uni trainiert und lenkt seit 1977 das Ehepaar Gert und Bärbel Hölzel. Auch wenn der 71-Jährige inzwischen die Leitung der Folkloretanzgruppe an Choreografin Maud Butter übergab: „Gert ist immer dabei.“ Der Tanzpädagoge kannte Thea Maass, deren Tanzgut und Namen das Ensemble bewahrt, noch persönlich.
Curiosity about old customs and traditions is booming again: “Our folk dance courses have been really well attended for three semesters. If you want to perform with us, you need a sense of rhythm, fitness and body control.” Some dances require you to balance glasses of water on your head or change your costume and hair within three minutes. Many of the young dancers let their hair grow for braids and also tie fancy “eggshells” around their hips.
The amateur dancers, on the other hand, learn how to put on tights while sweating. “But the most important thing is to have fun. We’re a very fun group, where you should also be able to drink and party,” Kotzsch advertises. A total of 700 alumni and supporters are invited to the anniversary celebration in two weeks’ time at the Kulturhaus in Freital. Thanks are due to all those present: they have ensured that old folk tunes have not yet disappeared from our town.
Cathrin Lilienblum
