Fiesta In The Faroes
by Father Seán Coyle
At 1am on Sunday, 30 July 2000, I was dancing with thousands of others in the streets of Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands. It was the culmination of the National Day, the feast of St Olav. We were doing the Faroese Circle Dance. This began with a singer leading a song that recounted the history of the people and seemed to have about 100 verses. Most knew the words. The circles of dancers formed all over the place until everyone was involved. It was quite impossible not to join in. The steps are very simple, two double steps left and one right. The dance to that first song lasted probably twenty minutes and was followed by another. No instruments are ever used.