Gammaldans (Swedish) or Gammeldans (Danish and Norwegian) (literally "old dance") is a small set of Nordic dances that became broadly popular in the late 19th century. These were also the dances of the Nordic immigrant communities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. These are still danced socially and in dance groups and clubs and are often taught at some point during a child’s

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

years. Most of these dances arose and became widely disseminated first at the beginning of the region's industrialization when communication between cities and smaller communities increased. Despite the name (which translates to "old dance"), gammaldans is a comparatively recent addition to the Nordic folk dance tradition.

Dances

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

vals Vals is the word for waltz in many European languages. Vals or VALS may also refer to: * Peruvian waltz * Venezuelan waltz * Vals (dance), a dance related to Argentine tango * VALS, "Values And Lifestyles," a psychographic segmentation tool Place ...

mazurka The mazurka (Polish: ''mazur'' Polish ball dance, one of the five Polish national dances and ''mazurek'' Polish folk dance') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character de ...

schottis The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina ("chotis"Spa ...

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

polska Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

hambo The hambo is a traditional dance that originated in Sweden in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is a couple dance in time, danced to music played with a strong accent on the first beat and a tempo that varies from moderate to fast (100 ...

, snoa *

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

: vals, mazurka, schottis, polka, hopsa, sønderhoning, fannik, turdans (totur, firetur, sekstur) *

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

: vals, mazurka, reinlender, polka,

pols The pols and springar are Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of No ...

, hoppvals *

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

: valssi, masurkka,

jenkka Jenkka () is a fast Finnish partner dance found in Finnish folk dance, the Finnish version of the schottische. It is danced to music in or time signature, with about 140 beats per minute. Men and women do similar steps. The initial dance po ...

, polkka,

humppa Humppa is a type of music from Finland. It is related to jazz and very fast foxtrot, played two beats to a bar ( or ). Typical speed is about 220 to 260 beats per minute. Humppa is also the name of a few social dances danced to humppa music. A ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

: vals, marsúrki, skottís, polki, ræll The first four in each list are the same dance as named in each language. The first two are in triple (3/4) time. The pols and

are modern generic forms of older 3/4 time

dances. The Finnish polka has a lively special step danced to 2/4 polka music.

Dances

See also