The Indigenization of Swedish and Hungarian Elements in Finnish Folk Dance
The Indigenization of Swedish and Hungarian Elements in Finnish Folk Dance

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses the influence of Hungarian folk dances and Swedish polskas on the Finnish folk dance movement. The central analytical tool in the study is Arjun Appadurai’s concept of “indigenization”: imported cultural elements take on local features and cultural hybrids develop. The Swedish polskas and Hungarian dances have created a new level of folk dancing in Finland, representing technical quality and skills that are commonly pursued. However, it is claimed that the indigenization of these dances entails that they have also been relocated and domesticated in Finland, and that they have become a part of the local embodied culture and discourse.

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