Swiss Folk Dance
Folk dance in Switzerland today has its roots in the 18th and 19th centuries. The dances are pieced together from the many dance traditions of Switzerland’s neighbours including France, Germany, Austria, and Italy. The main kinds of dance include the Schottisch, Walzer, Ländler, Marsch, and Polka. Most of the dances we perform were created in the last hundred years and include traditional and contemporary dances to popular folk songs.
The folk dances we perform are called “chain dances” because they start with all the dancers holding hands in a circle, forming a chain. In most of the dances, the dancers move around in a circle either as a whole or in pairs.
Alpenrösli dancers in Swiss Tracht hold hands, forming a circle before beginning their dance at the Yodel Club Heimattreu’s 40th Anniversary Gala Concert, 2016.