Gjesdalringen

Folklore group

General Information

Our folk dance group, the GJESDALRINGEN, is a folklore group from the south-western part of Norway. We come from a little municipality named Gjesdal, lying 30 km south of Stavanger, a city with 100.000 inhabitants. Stavanger is the most important city in Norway connected to the oil and gas drilling and activity in the North Sea, and in addition we have in our area some industry and farming.

Since our group were started in 1976, we have been organising exchange visits every year after, with different folklore groups from different European countries. Once, in 1986, our group organised so far one of the greatest international folklore festivals in Norway with 11 foreign groups including 530 participants. The festival was a success, however not economical. Therefore we have after continued as we started with only one visiting group at a time each year.

Our visiting groups always live private accommodated in couples or more. They live with our group members and their families, and in this way we achieve better contact. We have now many very good friends all over Europe and also other parts of the world. The visiting groups only pay their own travel expences, and they are living in families getting at least three free meals each day.

We organise the stay as a combination of being together with the host family and together with both groups in dancing parties in different size of groups, and also in dancing concerts in our district. These performances give normally no profit for the foreign groups. Length of concerts normally is between 20 and 45 minutes. In addition we also organise free excursions for the visiting group so the foreign guests will be able to learn some of the Norwegian culture and general activity in our country.

Normally the total stay is about one week.

Our group GJESDALRINGEN is especially well known in Norway and in many other countries due to the fact that we have had international exchange visits every year since 1976. No doubt we have been and we are one of the most "travelling abroad" folklore group in Norway (study the enclosed list of our visiting places and countries). When we visit our foreign friends, we also should prefer private accommodation this is a problem, we also accept some kind of common accommodation in hotel, motel or other arrangement. We demand only free lodging (sleeping and eating) and no pay as pocket money or other. Going abroad we are interested both in exchange visits with one group or participation in folklore festivals.

GJESDALRINGEN consists of members with various backgrounds such as farmers, industrial workers, clerks, teachers, engineers etc. The members are of both sexes and the age differs from about 30 to 65. When we travel abroad, we normally are about 25 -35 persons all included (musicians, dancers and leaders).

GJESDALRINGEN have in the repertoire about 50 different Norwegian folk dances. Musicians accompany most of the dances with instruments like violin, accordeon and guitar. In addition our group also can present a few dances accompanied by the dancers singing. When our group perform in other countries, we often present also a few other Scandinavian (Swedish) dances. Most of the Norwegian folk dances are based on "ring dances" with dancers male and female dancing in couples in ring formation.

We would like to receive information about your group, and we are very much interested to organise an exchange visit with your group on a basis as mentioned above. You are free to visit us in Norway when you like, but preferably not in the month of July as most of our members are away on their summer holiday. Just give us a sign, and we will contact you and plan everything necessary.

We look forward to the opportunity to share both each of our cultural traditions, and also to have new friends in for us a new part of the world.

With kind regards

On behalf of GJESDALRINGEN

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Odd Vegard Ualand

Håbakken 28

4355 Kverneland

Norway

Telephone: +47 51424862