The standing ovation for the International Folk Dance Ensemble on Monday was entirely justified by the stunning second half. These remarkable students from Brigham Young University, the Mormon college in Utah, performed superbly costumed Croatian, Hungarian and Ukrainian dances with the authenticity and skill of top folk dancers from the countries concerned.
To recorded music, Dances From Backa And Banat, choreographed by Zeljko Jergan, showed dance styles preserved by Croats living in Voyvodina, in northern Serbia, while Hungarian pieces included a highly skilled shepherd's stave dance for six men, choreographed by Istvan Zoltan, a dance for four girls with bottles on their heads and a fast csardas followed by a men's slapping dance. The Poltavskyi Duet was typical Ukrainian comedy for a tall girl partnered by a short man, who was undoubtedly the star of the show (though not named in the programme), while the finale, with all 15 men showing mastery of the gopak, was a triumph.
Sadly, many missed all this, having left at the interval after an overlong, repetitive and very noisy first half. The Mountain Strings, who accompanied the US opening section and performed between dances, were, like the dancers, fine technically, with great energy and vitality, but similarity of rhythms and bad sound balance undermined the musicians, with poor choreography and direction doing the same to the dancers.
Lacking the floor patterns and theatrical shaping of the second half, the latter provided a somewhat self-conscious attempt at the real thing, with cowboy horseplay in the hoedown of American Jamboree and endless clapping, shouting and thigh-slapping in Mountain Rhythms, though I enjoyed the Appalachian Festival Clog.
As for the Celtic section, the Welsh clog dance, performed by three men with candles and a sweeping brush, was skilful, as were the Scottish lilt, the Irish six-hand reel and the Keltatak, which the announcer unwisely likened to Riverdance. But overall, the section seemed a parody, the reel irresistibly bringing back memories of Maureen Potter's send-ups of Irish dancing.
