Summary: Vol. 29 Issue 3

Published: August 2022

Table of contents

• Capers on Lake Constance: North British go to Germany
• Überlingen: the teams
• Editorial
• Dave Brookes
• Traunstein
• Summer Dancing

Editorial

The Sword Dance Union Tournament and AGM will be held in Southport on Saturday 8th October. Whilst I have my doubts about the utility of the SDU, the tournament is always good and I do recommend that sides and individuals try and get along. If you want more information you can email Southport Swords: southport.swords@gmail.com

The Schwerttanzkompanie of Überlingen held a sword dance festival to celebrate their 375th anniversary, although, due to Covid it was late. North British were invited as guests and Bob Davies provides the story of their visit to Germany. Their is a separate account with more detail of the teams and the dancing with less frivolity.
At the end of the descriptions of the dances seen at Überlingen Andrew Kennedy adds some detail on the source of the dance of Frommerner Volkstanzgruppe, from Balingen. Peter Bearon also goes into the development of a very different German sword dance, that of Traunstein. A brief newspaper report of this years dance was included in the last issue and Peter has very kindly filled in a lot of detail about who they are and where the dance comes from.

Peter’s article closes by asking the question is the reconstruction of the dance any less valid than any other; which fits nicely the details of Überlingen and Balingen the former developed three centuries earlier than, and the latter three decades after, the Traunstein dance.

I’m not sure if it is teams posting details of what they are doing on social media, the contrast with the two very quiet Covid years or actually what has happened but it does seem to have been a busy summer for teams dancing, so I am pleased to have lots of photographs of them