Stoughton Norwegian Dancers dazzle Lake City
Wild Wings Plaza hosted a vibrant display of Scandinavian heritage on Saturday, Jan. 17, featuring the Stoughton Norwegian Dancers. The event was part of the Lake City Area Arts (LCAA) “Celebrate World Cultures” series.
The troupe, comprised of 20 dancers and five musicians—all high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors from Stoughton, Wis.—serves as “Goodwill Ambassadors” for a culture deeply rooted in the American Midwest.
The performers took the stage in bunads (pronounced BOO-nahd), the traditional costumes of Norway. While the boys performed in matching green and red attire, each girl wore a design unique to a specific region of Norway. Despite the dancers’ admission that the heavy wool and multiple underlayers trap significant heat, the dresses added a stunning, sweeping momentum to every spin.
The dancers wore black shoes with ornate silver buckles imported from Norway. According to the dancers, these traditional Norwegian wood-soled shoes were never designed for dancing, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by the grace and athleticism displayed on the dance floor.
The percussive stomp of wooden soles was often accompanied by a piercing, melodic call known among the dancers as a “yip and a yo.” These vocalizations were once used to communicate across Norway’s vast mountain valleys, but in dance, it’s a celebratory cry that keeps the energy high, cues the next step, or encourages a teammate through a difficult maneuver.
A mid-performance fashion show highlighted the heritage and details of each girl’s Norwegian bunad. The group maintains a vast collection of these authentic garments, and organizers take great care in matching each dancer or musician to a specific outfit, while ensuring the entire ensemble of dresses looks harmonious on stage.
The second act mimicked a Norwegian celebration, veering more into the athletic and comedic. The young men performed impressive feats, standing on shoulders, flipping over one another, and taking turns kicking a hat off a stick held high overhead by a girl standing on a chair. There was a rowdy wheelbarrow race, a “party pooper” whom attendees were encouraged to boo, and a traditional partner dance in which the boys pretend to take a pinch of snuff, “sneeze” on their partners, who respond with disgust, wiping their faces or shaking their fingers at the boys.
The group’s precision and infectiously fun stage presence are the results of a tight-knit camaraderie and rigorous practice schedule. These young entertainers practice at 6:30 a.m. four days a week, balancing academics and other extracurriculars with over 60 performances a year. The boys attend summer tumbling classes to sharpen their acrobatic skills.
The current Stoughton Norwegian Dancers follow in the footsteps of a deep cultural legacy. In the 1800s, Norwegian families settled in Stoughton, Wis., and by the turn of the 20th century, 75% of the town’s population was of Norwegian descent. This heritage blossomed into one of the world’s largest Syttende Mai (May 17th—Norwegian Constitution Day) celebrations, which now draws tens of thousands of visitors annually.
More than 70 years after the group’s formation, these dancers have dazzled audiences across the country and the globe. Some notable trips in recent history have been to Walt Disney World and even Norway. Their largest audience remains their hometown where, the dancers excitedly explained, several Stoughton streets must be shut down to accommodate their massive audience. The legacy of the Stoughton Norwegian Dancers is upheld by a network of nearly 1,600 alumni. Many return to cheer on the new generation and reconnect with their own shared history.
Saturday’s Wild Wings show was part of a “mini-tour” which included performances in Winona and at Bluff View Elementary—made possible by Lake City families who opened their homes to host the Stoughton Norwegian Dancers and their entourage for the weekend.
The event far exceeded expectations for Lake City Area Arts. They have hosted “Celebrate World Cultures” events featuring Ireland and Spain. LCAA’s Kathy Romero explained that the goal of these events is to “help our neighbors see how the customs and traditions of different cultures contribute to our local community.”
According to Romero, each “Celebrate World Cultures” event has drawn more and more people. While organizers expected a maximum of 60 attendees on Saturday, the final count was closer to 135 guests, who enjoyed authentic fare like lefse and rømmegrøt provided by Wild Wings.
The “Celebrate World Cultures—Norway” event was sponsored by WeInvest365 and the Greater Lake City Community Foundation, with performance space provided by Wild Wings Plaza.
Lake City Area Arts will continue its world tour on April 18 with a celebration of Japanese culture. For more information, visit www.lcaamn.org.