THE LEIKARRING
The purpose of the Nordhahl Grieg Leikarring is to learn, perform,
enjoy and maintain the tradition of Norway's dances, music and
songs. Most of our members are from Norway or of Norwegian descent
and are members of Sons of Norway. All our members, however, enjoy
promoting Norwegian folk culture regardless of their individual
ethnic heritage.
After organizing in the fall of 1985, the Leikarring had it's
first performance in March of 1986. We take our name from the
Nordahl Grieg Sons of Norway lodge in San Jose, named after the
Norwegian poet and World War II hero. "Leikarring"
is a Norwegian word that translates: leik(ar) to play or
dance plus ring = a circle or ring. Therefore "leikarring"
means a playful dancing circle. Our members range in age from
eight to eighty and come in all sizes, shapes and skill levels!
The traditional costumes (bunarder) and jewelry (soelje)
our members wear with pride are authentic and each one is unique
to a particular
community in Norway, as are the songs, tunes, dialects and dances
that we perform.
perfortainces.
THE SPELEMANNSLAG
During our tour to Norway in 1992, our interactions with the Naustdal
Spelemannslag inspired us to organize our own musicians group.
The word "spelemannslag" is a Norwegian word
that translates: spele = to play an instrument, especially
fiddle; manns = people, lag = group; therefore spelemannslag
means a group of people that play fiddles and other instruments.
Besides fele (ordinaryl flat fiddle), the group has trekkspel
(accordion), torader (Norwegian concertina), guitar, bass,
tussefloeyte (recorder), flute, hardingfele (Hardanger
fiddle), piano, munnharpe (mouth harp), and vocals. The
primary focus of the group is to perform traditional gammaldans
music for a listening audience or a dance. They also provide music
for Leikarring performances.
ABOUT THE SONGS AND DANCES
Because Norway is isolated from the rest of Europe by the seas, and each valley within Norway is isolated by the numerous mountains, glaciers and fjords that cover the majority of the country, a unique and rich tradition of folk song and dance dialects has developed and been maintained. There are four rnain categories of Norwegian dance. Bygdanser (village dances) are the oldest living tradition dating from at least the 1600s, and every valley has their own unique rhythm and style. Songdanser (song dances), are a tradition from Viking times revived in Norway in the early 1900s. Turdansar (figure or set dances), are a tradition of pattern dances mainly from France and Great Britain in the 1700s and 1800s. Runddansar or Gammeldanser (old time couple dances), are a tradition from the 1800s when the ballroom dances of Europe such as the waltz, polka and schottisch spread throughout Norway. When we perform, we try to include some dances from each of the four groups, and to sample several of the special musical and dance dialects of Norway.
OUR COSTUMES AND JEWELRY
Just as the music and dances of Norway are unique to each geographic
area, there are hundreds of distinct costumes - each with its
own jewelry - in three categories: Reproductions of surviving
costumes, reconstructions based on writings or drawings, or contemporary
(and often copyrighted) designs. Bunader are the costumes
that research has provided proven roots of local tradition. These
costumes have usually been formally approved by a national Norwegian
committee. Folkedrakter or "folk costumes" come
from the living tradition and can be 1) imaginative recollections
of the styles and traditions of many years past or 2) actual daily
wear designs that have survived through centuries. In the later
cases, the fabrics and styles used today are exactly the same
as those used in the 1600s. The soelje (silver jewelry)
is different for each costume and some of the designs can be traced
to the Viking times and the Middle Ages.
INSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCES
The Leikarring meets weekly and the Spelemannslag meets monthly.
Members of the Leikarring enjoy sharing the tradtions, music and dance of Norway. If you're interested in learning these traditions -- or in scheduling members of the group (any size from 2-30) for a private of public performance at your coming event please contact us.
We are a non-profit 501C(3) organization ( #94-3111364 NCS)
.