Dancing for ethnic roots: Folk dance ensembles of ethnic minority groups in Slovenia

Abstract

Folk dance ensembles within minority ethnic communities (Albanian, Bosniak, Montenegrin, Croatian, Macedonian and Serbian) in Slovenia were formed in the 1990s, after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The authors present the key reasons for the folklore activities that contributed to the emergence of the so-called minority folk dance ensembles, describe their beginnings and how they eventually became organized, institutionalized, and integrated into the amateur culture system in Slovenia. The goal of minority folk dance ensembles is to dance for ethnic roots, but at the same time, the desire to enrich the cultural space in their new county and to integrate into society in which they live.