The mission of Sons of Norway is to promote and to preserve the heritage and culture of Norway, to celebrate our relationship with other Nordic Countries, and provide quality insurance and financial products to our members.
Have you read Anna Befort's cover story in the June issue of Viking magazine on Hallgrim Hansegård and his groundbreaking FRIKAR dance company? If so, you know Hansegård, originally from Valdres, began playing Hardanger fiddle and dancing the halling at the age of 7. His exposure skyrocketed in 2006, when appeared on the popular TV program "Danse Feber," Norway's version of "So You Think You Can Dance?" Here's a clip of his appearance, when he wowed the judges with his traditional laus (literally "loose," or solo) dancing.
While Hansegård's group is solidly rooted in Norwegian folk dance traditions, lausdans is just the beginning of what you'll experience in a FRIKAR performance. Hansegård's influences also include breakdancing, ballet and martial arts. Check out FRIKAR's YouTube channel to see dozens of clips of FRIKAR performances, including their winning "Fairytale" performance in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.
Amy Boxrud is editor of Viking magazine. She lives with her family in Northfield, Minn., where she’s a member of Nordmarka 1-585.
2 comments:
Wow; the Norwegian folk dancing I learned as a kid was nothing like this! He is so good and talented. I loved watching him dance.
Very interesting! At first I thought the dance was inspired by break and hip-hop ha ha~ But that is quite a different folk dance.
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