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The demonstration group
On the home page we started our information about
the demonstration group. Our group dances several old Dutch dances, including
dances from the province of Zealand of course, in original Zealander
costumes. The costumes are about a hundred years old. There are costumes
from the island of Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland. There are costumes from
Catholic and Protestant religion and there is a difference between married
and unmarried. There are costumes which were worn only in specific villages
like Middelburg and Arnemuiden. The costumes are chosen with care and often
given by relatives and friends. We are very careful with the costumes
because they are irreplaceable. The same for the jewellery, they cannot be
replaced. During the performance the hole group will wear there
costumes, including the orchestra.
The
demonstration group has about 35 members. With performances it is not
always possible to come with all members. Most of the costumes is property
of the dancing group but some members wear there own costume. If you have
some parts of the costume, including jewellery and you wish to give it
away, please contact one of our members of the management. As a society we
need all the help we can get.
In our group we have one member who
is responsible for the costumes. She makes sure that all our costumes fit perfectly.
She will help new members to get dressed and teach them how to dress
themselves. We practise on Friday night, from 20:00 till 21:30 in the
Kaj Munk in Hansweert.
New members are very welcome and are directly
integrated in the group. You will practise with the group and when you know
some of the dances very well, you can join us when we perform. New members
of our orchestra are also very welcome.
Of course, we do not only practise, we
perform about 25 times a year. Not every member joins all the
performances. We perform on cruise-ships, marketplaces, summer fairs,
elderly homes and nursing homes. We perform 2 x 20 minutes in the evening
or sometimes 4x 30 minutes a day. We perform all over the country and we
travel with our own cars. But we also perform in other countries.
Every 5 years we organize a festival, our next festival will be in 2002. On
our festival will perform groups from Poland, Hungary, Belgium, Germany,
France and Russia. We visit the other groups through exchange programs.
We ask a small contribution from the participants. The rest is financed
through subsidy and our own funds. When we travel to other countries, we
try to stay with the members of the other dance group to learn more about
the country. These travels to foreign countries are very special, often
there stays a very warm bond between group members and the hole group. We
often stay in contact with these groups and write them regularly. In 1999
we travelled to Tver in Russia. A very impressive journey and we still talk
about everything that we have seen. In 2001 we have been in Poland.
Besides dancing we organise a lot more. There is a
lot of attention for activities besides dancing. We always open the dancing
season in September with a big party. Sometimes with a barbecue, or with a
weekend vacation. We go to the international dancing theatre with the whole
group. And participation is voluntarily of course.
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