SIEPAKAT FOLKDANCE FROM THE ARCTIC CIRCLE

Siepakat is a folk dance and music group from Rovaniemi Finland. The group was founded in 1977, and today there are 9 different dance groups and 4 music groups in Siepakat. Altogether there are about 200 dancers and musicians, from three-year-olds to seniors.

The operational principle is to transfer the folkloristic traditions to younger generations, and to teach about tolerance, consideration of others and internationality. In addition to domestic performances, the groups perform abroad on a yearly basis. During the 35 years of operation, Siepakat has travelled all over Europe and around the world to such places as Australia, Malaysia, USA, Canada, Thailand and Mexico.

Siepakat offers services for cultural wellbeing in all age groups through folk dance and folk music.

The representative dance group is called Siepakat and it consists of young dancers from all around Rovaniemi born between the years 1990-1996. At the moment there are 22 dancers in the group: 6 boys and 16 girls. The group practises once a week and regularly in the weekends. The teachers of the group are Tanja Kilpiö, Viljami Pekkala and Tommi Semeri.

Most of the dancers in the group started their hobby before school age, so the group has been together for over 10 years. For many of them, this is why folk dance is so much more than just a hobby. Some of the dancers are studying to become professional folk dancers and folk dance teachers.

The younger dancers who are not yet in the Siepakat group study other dance techniques such as modern dance, which support folkdance. They also take part in voluntary work to raise money for trips etc. This way these teenagers are taught to take responsibility of their own hobby.

There are two junior groups: Siepakat Jr, with 7 boys and 15 girls aged from 13 to 19, and Nutukkaat, with 9 girls aged from 14 to 17.

Children start their studies in folk dance from the basics, going gradually deeper into the different dances.

Children under school age are taught children’s dances and the very basics of folk dance through playing and singing. In addition to dancing, the goal is to teach the children how to work in a group and take others into account.

The beginners group for adults is called Fossiilit (fossils). Their goal is to learn basic folk dancing and folklore in a manner that is not too uptight and serious. There are 14 men and 15 women in the group.

Siepakat band is responsible for accompanying the dancers in their performances, but the band does also perform on its own. The band plays quite an impressing scale of instruments, including the violin, guitar, accordion, clarinet and the bass. The repertoire of the band is diverse, ranging from traditional folk music and singing to Lappish joiku singing and modern folk music. The music teacher of Siepakat is Jukka Hannula.

The repertoire of the dance groups includes traditional Finnish and Karelian folk dances, modern choreographies and Lappi fantasy dances. Siepakat uses national costumes and other traditional costumes. The group is used to doing tailored performances nationally as well as abroad.

Siepakat band is responsible for accompanying the dancers in their performances, but the band does also perform on its own. The band plays quite an impressing scale of instruments, including the violin, guitar, accordion, clarinet and the bass. The repertoire of the band is diverse, ranging from traditional folk music and singing to Lappish joiku singing and modern folk music.

Siepakat offers a wide range of performances in different size groups. The target audiences are for example foreign tourist groups and people in different events and occasions such as weddings, birthdays etc.

For more information, please contact the Siepakat office by e-mail:

siepakat (ät) pp.inet.fi