Humppa is a type of music from Finland. It is related to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and very fast foxtrot, played two

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

s to a bar ( or ). Typical speed is about 220 to 260 beats per minute. Humppa is also the name of a few

social dance Social dances are dances that have a social functions and context. Social dances are intended for participation rather than performance. They are often danced merely to socialise and for entertainment, though they may have ceremonial, competiti ...

s danced to humppa music. All dances involve bounce that follows the strong bass of the music. In

Finnish language Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedis ...

, the word humppa can also be used for all

social dancing Social dances are dances that have a social functions and context. Social dances are intended for participation rather than performance. They are often danced merely to socialise and for entertainment, though they may have ceremonial, competi ...

. The name humppa was invented by Antero Alpola for a radio show in the 1950s. He picked it up from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...

where the locals used the word to describe the playing of the band. The band probably used a

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

, as the sound of tuba on the first beat is like ''hump'', the second beat coming as a ''pa''. (The related German style is known as oompah.) There are three different dances typically danced to humppa music, and they have existed long before the word "humppa" was coined. One form of Humppa dance is related to one-step, which arrived in Finland 1913. In this kind of humppa, both dancers take a step on each first beat (on "hump") and progress to the direction of dance. This is danced making turns in

closed position In partner dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other. Closed positions employ either body contact or body support, that is, holding each other is ...

or making figures by changing various

open position In partner dancing, open position refers to positions in which partners are connected primarily at the hands as opposed to closer body contact, as in closed position. The connection is through the hands, wrists, and fingers, and relies heavily ...

s. The second Humppa form is related to two-step, which came to Finland in 1910. This Humppa has some

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...

and movement from samba and

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

. A third form of dance, ''Nilkku'', is based on a slow, slow, quick, quick rhythm. The first quick step hardly takes any weight and gives the dance an appearance of limping. In early 1970s pop music and dancing alone almost killed social dancing, but revival of humppa since mid-1970s keeps the traditional social dancing alive. The revival meant that humppa had become the most popular music and dancing form for older people and also for countryside's youth in the Eastern and South-Eastern parts of the country. Most popular humppa artists from the 1970s include male singers Erkki Junkkarinen,

Henry Theel Henry Per-Erik Theel (November 14, 1917, Helsinki - December 19, 1989, Helsinki), also known by his pseudonym Heikki Hovi, was one of the most prominent Finnish singers during the 1940s and the 1950s, though he continued to perform until the late ...

, Mikko Järvinen, Eino Valtanen, Eero Aven, female singers , Eija-Sinikka, and bands Tulipunaruusut, Kaisa & Kumppanit and Mutkattomat. The most popular humppa event were probably Humppa festivals of

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, and ...

References

{{Finnish folk music Dance in Finland Finnish music Social dance Finnish dances Karelian-Finnish folklore

See also

References