Spaces of Folk Dancing Beyond the (Slovene) Folklore Ensemble Stage

The article presents spaces where Slovene dance folklore is danced, or better yet represented today, beyond the established stages of folklore ensembles. The author first brings attention to local terminological issues and quandaries, exposing how folk dance in Slovenia has experienced repertoire and contextual changes. The article does not focus on the main activity of folklore ensembles, but explores other spaces and venues of dancing folk reflective dance or ethno-identity dance outside the existing stage productions of the folklore ensembles. In this it showcases its position in artistic performances, analyses the competition of pairs in folk dancing, presents the institutional transfer of knowledge within the education sphere, evaluates dance folklore’s commodification for tourism and market purposes, and looks critically at the attempts to implement the Hungarian táncház in the Slovene space and dance feasts. All these attempts at engagement with new settings share the aspect of seeking transformed contextual horizons to folk dance, reshaping its form in search of new expressive possibilities.