18. Minuet Constructions and Reconstructions

The chapter analyses contemporary forms of the minuet in Sweden and Finnish-speaking Finland. In both cases, the minuet traditions disappeared a long time ago, but since the late twentieth century, the folk dancers created minuets for different purposes. In Sweden, the minuet was reconstructed by Börje Wallin, using old documents from Sweden and comparing them to Danish and Finnish-Swedish minuets. As a result of his work, the minuet became a part of today’s repertoire of the urban folk dance communities. In Finnish-speaking Finland, folk dancers composed new minuet choreographies for the stage with Finnish-Swedish minuets as the most important example. Opposite to the Swedish minuet reconstruction, the Finnish minuets were not created for social dancing but performances.