Throwback Thursday and Maypoles
Maypole dancing is believed to have originated as a part of
Germanic pagan rituals, and during this period, dancers moved around a living
tree. It evolved into a form of folk
dancing in Germany, England and Sweden.
In the most common type, dancers circle around a tall pole, holding onto
long ribbons or garlands. As the dancers
move around the pole, sometimes weaving in and out, the ribbons weave
themselves around the pole. To unwind,
the dancers simply reverse their pattern.
Maypole dancing evolved into a form of theatrical dance in
the 1700s, and was popular in Italy and France.
Traveling dance troupes brought it to England, and it was there that an
English teacher adapted it and caused it to spread across Europe. Eventually it became part of physical
education programs and was popular in England and the United States until the
1950s.
Maypole dances were usually performed as part of spring
festivals on or near May the first, although in Sweden it is a part of their
mid-summer celebrations.
A maypole dance is featured in the ballet La Fille Mal Gardee; one of the oldest
ballets still being performed today.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #27:
“Maypole dances are believed to have originated as a part of Germanic
pagan rituals.”
Link of the Day:
“Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the
tides of the mind.”
-Alice Meynell
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