History of the DVK Dance Group Inc. (previously known as Deutscher Volkstanzkreis)
The “Deutscher Volkstanzkreis” was established
in late 1963 by a few people of the “Deutscher
Volksliederchor” (mixed German folksong choir) that were interested in traditional
German dancing. 1963 was also the year that the SAADV new
club premise was completed.
Word spread and the group grew quickly. With
a mismatch of German outfits and many hours of practise, the group gave their first
public appearance in early 1964. Popularity grew and the performances followed for
the Adelaide Festival of Arts, The Elizabeth German Club and Schutzenfest.
With the money earned from performances the
“Deutscher Volkstanzkreis” was able to purchase traditional costumes from
Germany. They adopted costumes of North-Central region of Germany for the men
of niederhosen, shirt and vest; and adopted costumes of the Bavaria region for
the ladies; pretty dirndls with intricate embroidery, chains and lace. We still
have these dirndls, but do not always perform in them, as the aged materials
are very fragile. These days the boys wear leather pants called “lederhosen”
and enjoy slapping their legs (schulplattern) to the oompah music.
Soon afterwards, the children’s dance group
named “Kindertanzkreis” was formed. This group was popular among families of
the SAADV and their cute floor shows are always liked by the elderly.
In 2002 the group lost many items in a fire
to the SAADV club premise, including traditional music, dance instructions,
memorabilia and costumes. Out of this tragedy, the members at that time decided
to connect more with folk dance groups from Germany, and so a second Dance Tour
of Germany was held in 2006. The first Tour of Germany by the group was in
1997. Both tours enabled the group to expand and reclaim some traditional dance
music. This second tour was very successful and has led to three dance groups
to tour Australia, one from Kaltenkirchen (near Hamburg), from Stuttgart and from
Meiningen (central Germany). The “Deutscher Volkstanzkreis” hosted each of
these groups on their visits and arranged their performances in Adelaide.
Our floor shows reflect dances that originate
from all parts of Germany, with some that are similar to dances from Austria
and Switzerland. Our floor shows are still popular with audiences even though
the traditional dances haven’t changed.
There have been many highlights over the
years, some which will be remembered more than others. Such as at Adelaide Town
Hall, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Newcastle, SA Regional Wine Festivals, Adelaide
Festival of Arts, Sydney Olympics 2000 Torch Relay Festivities, Brisbane, Gold
Coast, Victor Harbor, Williamstown, Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Mount Gambier,
Darwin, Canberra and Germany just to mention a few.
Many group leaders over the years have guided
the “Deutscher Volkstanzkreis” and “Kindertanzkreis” to where it is today; a
strong community group with many German and Australian friends. Some
significant people have earned the title of Honorary Member for their outstanding
contribution including; Frau Abel, Hans Kieslinger, Grant Nitschke and Ingrid
Baihlit.
In 2010, things are much the same, but we’ve
changed the name to “DVK Dance Group Inc”. “It is much easier to say”, says
Elke Supple our current group leader “the Australians have always struggled to
say ‘Deutscher Volkstanzkreis’ correctly and getting ourselves incorporated is
a way forward for the future of the group”.
