Rimpparemmi is a Finnish / Så¡mi folk dance and music ensemble from Lapland province that has a unique claim — "The Official Folk Ensemble of Santa Claus". In addition, they claim the title of the northernmost folk dance theatre in the world.
I'm not going to dwell on the competing claims to Santa Claus of the various Nordic nations. (I'll leave that for postings nearer to Christmas!)
Instead, I want to draw attention to the ensemble. I've known about Rimpparemmi for a few years now through one of their CDs, Karhuntanssi (The Dance Of The Bear). It is a wonderful recording of instrumental selections by the group.One of the most beautiful is call "Häämarssi", which I believe is the generic Finnish term for a wedding march. It's done with trøorgel (small pump organ), fiddle and an instrument that may be a balalaika or mandolin or version thereof.
Their web site describes the history of the group:
Rimpparemmi started its activities back in 1974 in the municipality of Tervola. In 1986, Rimpparemmi became the folk dance group of the province of Lapland with its registered office in the town of Rovaniemi. From 1991, the group has operated as a full time dance group operating during the summertime.
In the last couple of years, videos of their performances have appeared on YouTube and I'm sharing a short one today that shows clips of three different dances — a type of hambo, a polka and a men's dance. What I found of interest in this video:
- The youthfulness of the musicians
- The handhold, footwork and cartwheel (!) in the first dance, which seems to be a variant on a Swedish hambo
- The way the feet just fly in a Finnish polka! And there are handhold patterns that look very similar to some Norwegian bygdedansar
- The example of a men's dance involving clapping and jumps
What do you find of interest here?
