Repertoire

Orakel fragen
Choreography: Thea Maass

The practice of consulting the oracle comes from Thuringia. In spring, maidens cast wreaths of flowers in streams or ponds hoping to see the face of their sweetheart in the water. Actually, they must not be disturbed. However, the lads attempt to sneak close to them, of course …

Niedersorbische Freite
Choreography: Bernhardt Wossin

This courtship dance comes from Lower Sorbian Lusatia. The lassies are under a special kind of guardianship of a man for a whole year. The man accompanies the girl at all feasts through the year’s cycle.
As a special feature the lasses lower their eyes and are looking at the ground for the first part of the dance and need to find other ways to express their liveliness and feelings for the men.

Rühler Springer
Choreography: Thea Maass

This vigorous dance has its origin in the little Thuringian place Ruhla and clearly shows the zest for living of the inhabitants at that time. The men showed this by jumping and landing on the ground with such force that it could be heard miles away.
Legend has it that the music for this dance was written by the young Johann Sebastian Bach.

Winzertanz
Choreography: Aenne Goldschmidt

Various forms of the Rheinländer form the basis for this joyful dance. The dancers portray the various steps of wine making in the Lößnitz, the most northern wine region in Germany,
for example, they do the stomping of the grapes and the tasting of the wine with the exhilarating effects of the latter.

Varsovienne
Choreography: Aenne Goldschmidt / Thea Maass
This dance from Poland is a variety of the varsouvienne that has meanwhile become widely known allover Germany. Its special characteristic is the constant change between powerful Mazurka steps and charming waltz sections. Our varsouvienne originated in Pomerania and is danced in traditional Weizacker costumes.

Ländlicher Walzer
Choreography: Aenne Goldschmidt

The waltz is often regarded as the national dance of the Germans. It is said that the remote origins of the waltz are in Swabia, which made the dance researcher R. Voß write in his book „Dance and its History!“ in 1869: „The waltz is one of the most lovely inventions of the Swabians“.
In our country waltz (Ländlicher Walzer) we perform various styles of waltz from all over Germany that are all danced very ardently. The dancers wear traditional Betzingen costumes.

Hütejungen
Choreography: Günter Neubert

In times long past, herdsmen or young shepherds spent long hours grazing their animals in the pasture. Whiling away the time, they were playing with their sticks trying new tricks and showing their temperament and playfulness.
Four young temperamental shepherds from Thuringia run into each other and try to outdo the others with their skills.

Dreisteyrer

Choreography: Thea Maass

This choreography uses Styrian forms of the Wickler dance from Bavaria and Austria for one lad and two lassies. In this dance, the dancers have to master the skill of not letting go of their hands while performing various turning figures.
The dancer tries to conquer both lasses at the same time and has to face the consequences.

Alte Polka
Choreography: Rosemarie Elm-Schulz

A young couple in Mecklenburg forget about their work in the field when teasing and dancing in a jolly mood.

Wer zuerst am Maibaum ist …
Choreography: Maud Butter

In the Altmark, a competition was held every spring. The lasses ran to a birch tree that was adorned with ribbons and shawls. The winner gets the shawls that can be made into a nice accessory for dancing as well.

Wenn im Herbst die Trauben reifen – Pfälzer Suite
Choreography: Thea Maass

This choreography is regarded as a masterpiece of folk dances on stage. It incorporates typical dances, games and customs from wine region of the Palatinate.
In the glass dance, the lasses proudly demonstrate that they can easily dance with a filled wine glass on their heads without spilling a drop. The lads prove their skillfullness, power and courage in the vigorous chair dance.

Am Pfingstbrunnen
Choreography: Maud Butter

In this choreography we present old well-dressing customs from Saxony-Anhalt that are dedicated to the loving care of water wells, the vital sources of water. Young men and women clean and adorn water wells at Whitsun. Every year, one of the lads dresses as a frog, the symbol of fertility. Of course, all the lasses wish to dance with the frog to see who is under the mask this year.

Webertanz

Choreography: Aenne Goldschmidt

The weaver dance originally comes from Northern Germany and has also been known in Sweden. The dance is a masterly depiction of the work processes of the peasant weavers. One can easily see the weaving frame, the spindles, the check weaves and the shuttle moving back and forth. Finally, the woven fabric is tested for its tear strength and rolled up.

Neckmazurka
Choreography: Thea Maass

‘Teasing is a sign of affection’ … or even better, dancing.
The choreography combines various styles of Mazurka from all regions in Germany.

Gaben zur Hochzeit

Choreography: Maud Butter

This choreography shows the act of giving presents at a peasant wedding. The wedding gifts had not just a material value for the household of the newly wed couple, but also always a symbolic meaning.
The distaff or the rock was meant to encourage the bride to spin a lot thus improving her home.
The fabric roll and the traditional rolling up of the newly wed couple into the roll is quite a drastic fertility custom. Quite often, the couple was laid on the wedding bed tightly rolled up in the fabric roll and left to their own devices!
Fastening as many pieces of baby clothing as possible to the dancing bride should foretell the number children the newlywed couple is expected to have.
Bread boards were not just practical, they also served to embellish the house or the kitchen. The couple was supposed to dance on the board in the hope that it would bind them more closely together.

Lichtertanz

Choreography: Thea Maass

Solemn dance performed by 12
women with burning candles on their heads.