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At the 2022 Gaufest, Donald LaCourse of SG Edelweiss St. Paul, taught a workshop consisting of three Volkstänze. The workshop was based on the dances choreographed by Ingeborg Heinrichsen. She developed more than 40 dances to old and new folk music pieces. In 2019, Der Verein für Volkslieder und Volksmusik honored her life work, publishing a book and CDs of her dances, "Bairisch Tanz'n, zwischen Tradition und Geselligkeit." From this extensive list, the three dances were taught. The links below take you to instructions, sheet music, and videos which can be downloaded.
While the music for each of these dances is the same, the Plattler varies from town to town, Verein to Verein, and Gau to Gau. One Plattler has at least 12 known variations!
Gruppenpreisplatteln and Einzelpreisplatteln are dancing competitions in which groups of dancers from a Verein or a single pair of dancers perform a Plattler in front of a set of Richter (judges), and are judged on timing, spacing, posture, how well the skirts bell when the ladies turn, whether the men's "hits" are sharp and well timed, Ländler timing, and Tracht. Recorded music (mp3 files) for both the Gruppenpreisplatteln and Einzelpreisplatteln format of dancing can be found under Resources/Music.
The rules governing the dance are contained in the Operating Rules and Procedures and Preisplatteln Rules sections of the Bylaws and Rules of the Gauverband and can only be changed at the biennial Delegates Meeting, held in "even" years. The official rules are updated after each Delegates Meeting and posted on the Gauverband website. The competing Vereine and individuals should be sure to consult the latest Operating Rules under "About Us/ Report-Minutes" or click here.
For more specifc information about Preisplatteln or the Bayerischer Löwe, please go to the Preisplatteln page. For winners of the competitions, go to the "Gaufeste" tab and select the Gaufest.