Post-colonial folk dancing: reflections on the impact of stage folk dance style on traditional folk dance variation in Soviet and post-Soviet Estonia

The focus of this article is on traditional folk dance in Soviet and post-Soviet Estonia. Dance variation is analyzed through the prism of postcolonial theories to reveal the sequential effects of the colonial situation developed during the Soviet period. Specific causes and characteristic traits of the Soviet influence are explored. Colonialist echoes of the Soviet regime within contemporary Estonian culture are reflected in two trends in the variation of traditional folk dance: first, “contamination” of traditional folk dance with stage dance elements promoted during the Soviet era and, second, a regular search for “genuine” folk dance as a reaction to Soviet colonial heritage.