Cestami lidového tance. Zdenka Jelínková a česká etnochoreologie
The Paths of Folk Dancing. Zdenka Jelínková and Czech Ethnochoreology

Author(s): Martina Pavlicová
Subject(s): History, Anthropology, Social Sciences, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Cultural history, Customs / Folklore
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Zdenka Jelínková; Folk dancing; Czech ethnochoreology; ethnological specialization; dancing traditions;
Summary/Abstract: Zdenka Jelínková was a prominent researcher in the area of folk dancing, who was present at the birth of Czech ethnochoreology after the Second World War. She was born on 30th March 1920 in south-eastern Moravia in Velká nad Veličkou, which belongs to the Horňácko ethnographic region. In her childhood and youth she still had opportunities to encounter numerous manifestations of traditional folk culture, which were gradually disappearing from everyday life due to the influence of modern society. She came from a white-collar family; however, she was attracted by rural folk culture, mainly folklore manifestations. She regularly returned to Horňácko even after her family moved to Brno. The closure of universities during the Nazi occupation in 1939 prevented her from studying the subjects she had already enrolled in (Physical Education – French), therefore she at least graduated from the school for instructors of the Czech Sokol Community (Česká obec sokolská) in Prague (1940) and worked as a teacher at various schools until 1950. Her interest in folk dancing and in children folklore did not wane even during her teaching career; she was also active in the folklore movement. In 1949 her erudition brought her to a group of collectors who were making folklore records for the collections of the Folk Song Institute (Ústav pro lidovou píseň) in Brno. In 1950 she was hired as a qualified worker of this institution and worked here until her retirement in 1982. Not even then did she give up her ethnochoreological activities. She died on 5th October 2005.

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