Between 2022 and 2024, University of Wisconsin–Madison Postdoctoral Scholar in Public Folklore Carrie Danielson conducted fieldwork with youth Scandinavian folk music and dance groups across Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin as part of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures’ Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest project. This online StoryMap exhibit features photos, interviews, recordings, and archival materials from her documentation work.
Kom så dansar vi! (Come, let’s dance!) explores how young people and educators engage with, sustain, and transform Scandinavian folk music and dance traditions across the Upper Midwest. The goal of this project is to allow young people who are involved in these traditions to see themselves as part of a broader cultural fabric that stretches across the Upper Midwest and beyond. We invite you to click the exhibit link below to learn more about the project, its participants, and the histories of Scandinavian youth music and dance in this region.