Schuhplattler Verein Enzian
E-Mail: info@schuhplattler.ab.ca
Phone: (403) 270-0525

We practice at 7:30pm every Thursday (except during the months of July & August) at the Austrian Canadian Club located at 3112 – 11 Street NE, Calgary, Alberta. Drop by and watch us practice!

In 1974 the Alberta Government sent the Schuhplattler group to Spokane, Washington for the World’s Fair. It was one of the hottest weekends on record! After each performance at the Alberta Pavilion, Max with his accordion led the procession of dancers to the beer tent on the grounds. On the way, we collected onlookers who wanted to join in on the fun. The beer tent filled up quickly and with the Schuhplattlers leading the “Ein Prosit” we drank the place dry. In the evening we went to a German restaurant and, funny thing, they ran out of beer too!

When dancing at the Banff Springs Hotel the Schuhplattlers usually had overnight rooms in the basement. After the evening’s performance we usually got together and had our own little party. One time we decided to have a theme night, a toga party. It just so happened that the bed linens that night were a peach colour. It was quite a sight, we looked like a Hari-Krishna convention!

One of the most crowd pleasing features of our group over the years has been it’s ability to involve the audience in our performances. We have exposed numerous colours of long johns and mismatched socks and cowboy boots during or “Fremds”. One performance is especially memorable. While performing the Zweisteirer a female patron inadvertently exposed one of her assets as she went from figure to figure. In true Schuhplattler style she merely slipped her asset back into her dress and kept on dancing without missing a breath. How could anyone ever get bored with such hands on participation as this!

When they first learn to dance and then perform the “Mader”, some of the newer members of the group are mystified as dancers in turn call out the names of various fruits and vegetables when they look at each other across the centre of the circle. When asked about this, a story is told about how the Schuhplattlers were asked to dance at a Food for Less store as part of a German promotion. The only area large enough to perform in was located in the fruit and vegetable section. As the dancers progressed through the opening figures of the Mader they were tempted to sneak a few things from the vegetable bins. Now each time that the Mader is performed you’ll see smiles on the dancers faces and hear them muttering things like “eggplant”, zucchini” and “radishes” under their breath.

As all Schuhplattlers know, sometimes getting to a performance on time can be a feat in itself. There is a story of how the Schuhplattlers traveled to Europe in 1986 and were to appear on an Austrian radio program while they were there. The program started at one o’clock, and in true Schuhplattler style they arrived at 5 minutes to one. With most performances when someone tells you that you’ll be on at one you end up waiting for at least half an hour before you perform. But this was radio and when they say one they mean ONE! In the flurry of activity that followed it was necessary for the technicians to get in a sound check before going on the air. So the group set up for the Knappentanz and proceeded to hit their chisels, only to find out that they couldn’t hear the music at all! Their timing was completely off and they were due to go on the air at any second. They asked for just a little more practice time but by then it was too late. The quick thinking sound technicians turned the sound monitors around to face everyone and turned on the music again – it was “show time”. Things went beautifully and they never sounded better. If only people knew what goes on behind the scenes!

Schuhplattlers don’t usually participate in dance marathons, however once we were called on to do just that. In 1993 we were asked to perform in the tiny community of Flatbush, Alberta for their Octoberfest. We strapped our benches onto the roof of a van and made the long trek northward. Once we arrived we discovered that we were the only entertainment for the evening (the DJ was coming later). At the insistence of the people of Flatbush we performed a on and a half hour show! We danced, and in between we schunkled to the accordion, we played the cow bells, we described the dances and our costumes, anything to let us rest and catch our breath. In the end the audience thought we were terrific and we joined them in an Ein Prosit for a well deserved 17 cases of beer!

The kids group was not immune from memorable moments:

When the boys were 10 years old they traveled with their parents by bus to Edmonton to perform. Their performance was great and the audience loved them. One of the parents suggested that since they did such a great job that they should join their parents for a beer in the member’s lounge. The boys were thrilled, as they drank their beers and left the lounge to celebrate. A few minutes later Darren came running back into the lounge, claiming the Richard had experienced a heart attack!! The parents came running out of the lounge to attend the stricken Schuhplattler. However a closer examination revealed that it was only heartburn. Leo administered some Tums and he made a miraculous recovery.

During the same year it was suggested that girls join in. “What? – Why would you want girls to join?” the boys asked. But the girls were included nevertheless. Leo remarks on just what an amazing change took place in such a short space of time. The boys would suddenly come to practices with the hair carefully combed, dressed to the nines and smelling of cologne. Maybe letting the girls join in wasn’t such a bad idea after all!

I guess you could say that this group started all the Octoberfests in Calgary and a number of other places across Alberta and British Columbia. Our practices were held at the German Canadian Club, Vic’s studio, the old Brewery and the Rosedale Community Hall. Many of our annual dances were held at the Danish Canadian Club. Heinz Stolz and Herman Klinke made sure that we were there on time, had clean shirts and pressed blouses and when it came to performing that everyone listened – and listen we did. I admit that there has to be a certain amount of discipline in any group. After the performances we could always relax and enjoy ourselves, although we certainly had fun dancing ourselves, otherwise we wouldn’t have been there.

The Schuhplattlers performed at the Glencoe Club, Winterclub, the Golf and Country Club, the Palliser Hotel, RCAF Lincoln Park, the German Canadian Club, many times at the Gasthaus, the first big Octoberfest at the Round Up Centre and of course at the opening of Kimberley’s Beer Festival. Our travels took us to Sacramento, California, and all over Alberta and British Columbia including: Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Ponoka, Banff, Golden and Kimberley.

These are some of the highlights that I remember: We performed a play called the Strohwitwer, in Medicine hat and some of use (Vic!!) forgot their lines, so we all had to improvise to suit his lines. Vic was cooking a “Schmarren”, but we forgot to bring a small pot along, so somebody went out to the back of the hall and found a old car oil can with the label showing. This was quickly handed through the back window just in the nick of time when it was needed. At the Banff School of Fine Arts, we slept in bunk beds. The guys thought this was great as we could not get separate accommodations at the school. The then famous and very handsome world Champion downhill skier Tony Sailor was a special guest at the dance – you should have seen all the girls swooning over him, I think some of our guys felt a little neglected that evening.

Our trip at the Octoberfest in Sacramento in 1963 was a whirlwind tour – what a week, 3 days entertaining in Sacramento, then we took a side trip to Stateline Nevada, a smaller version of Las Vegas. That day we danced in the afternoon and evening and after that we took a bus to Stateline. We were up all night. We walked down the street with Max and his accordion at the front and the rest of us walking in a goose march behind him. We had one foot on the sidewalk and the other foot on the street, marching from one casino to another. We then took the bus back in the early morning to Sacramento. Some dancers took a shower, some took a quick dip in the pool, others took a quick nap. The ladies put on lots of makeup so we wouldn’t look so washed out. The it was back to the show, dancing that afternoon and evening. Tired or not it was a lot of fun.

One time we were invited to Golden BC., when a snowstorm hit, we encountered whiteout conditions almost all the way from Calgary to Golden. The ladies in particular wanted to turn around but our fearless leader Heinz Stolz would not give in. Our stomachs were full of butterflies all the way. We finally arrived around 10:30 PM to a rousing ovation from the audience. We quieted our nerves by having a few drinks, and went on to have a great performance and a fun evening. Another time Leo, Vic and Max Rieberer, were doing a small skit. Part of Vic’s job was to wash a statue who was played by Leo. Vic began washing the statue from top to bottom with a rag. When he got to the navel he had this surprised look on his face – there was no navel to be found (due to an operation we found out later from Leo). None of us could stop laughing, it was hilarious.

Trudy Geier remembered a humorous incident that occurred when we danced at the Banff Shire Inn. Some of the people thought we were Hutterites because of the outfits we were wearing. We also made a film at the front of the Chateau Lake Louise on a hot sunny day. We felt like film stars for a day as there were many vacationers there to watch the filming of the Schuhplattlers. We had some other talented people in our group. Vera, Anne, Uschi and Freddy who learned to yodel and sing with a lot of enthusiasm. Of course Max was always there, as we could not have done without him. The rest of us did our bit to make the group work, whether it was to teach Val and Manuel how to dance with Adele or do book-keeping, secretarial work or simply be there for all the practices and performances.

The addition of the children’s group who were managed and coached by Leo Kladnik, played an important role in the continuation of the Schuhplattlers. No matter what the name of the group at the time, along the way we made many friends and acquaintances and we had a lot of fun. I must say once a Schuhplattler always a Schuhplattler.

They introduced the ancient art of Schuhplatteln to the city of Calgary, a dance performed by clapping hands and slapping legs, thighs, and shoes to the rhythm of the old and happy tunes associated with this dance, played on the accordion. They performed locally here and there, but felt they needed a little beauty in the group. Therefore in 1956 they asked Roswitha Galland, Hedi Hoellwarth, and the three Voelzke sisters Ingrid, Elvira, and Sigrid to join the group. By this time more musicians had joined the group, namely: Rudl, Freddy, and Julius, who, together with Max, were quite a band!

Now the fun really began. The group entertained at private or civic functions, conventions, and parties for Canadian audiences. The Calgary Herald and numerous other Alberta newspapers covered the outlandish dancing and the reviews were outstanding. In 1957 the group had their own float in the Calgary Stampede Parade, and the members really out did themselves. In the next few years more ladies and boys joined the group and some left.

The Schuhplattler Group took part in the official opening of the Gasthaus in July of 1965, and the Gasthaus’ reputation for good Austrian-Bavarian food grew along with the Schuhplattler’s fame. One night, while chopping away at the tree during the Holzhacker Dance, the wood chips were flying right into the audience and landed in a ladies’ cleavage which caused quite a commotion, especially when a dancer went to retrieve it.

Sometimes it was hard for the Schuhplattler Group to please all the people at all times, as there were occasions when they were asked to perform at two different places on the same evening. Somehow they managed, shuffling the entertainers and musicians from the Gasthaus to the Petroleum Club, back and forth, with respective intermissions announced at the location where they weren’t. The old joke about ten people fitting into a Volkswagen certainly came true here, and it was the middle of the winter with sub-zero temperatures and icy roads.

The group became well known throughout Alberta. A performance for Channel 2 television was most exciting. There were numerous trips to Banff and Lake Louise made on the old Banff Highway in severe weather conditions, but if anybody felt like grumbling, they kept it to themselves.

The group made all their own costumes, since funds to buy outfits form Germany and Austria were not available. Lots of sewing and knitting was required to keep everyone reasonably well attired, and the costumes improved with practice.

Whenever the Plattlers needed a rest, Elvira (Vera) and Vic La Vica were there with their singing and Vic’s charm and jokes, providing a break. Vic was the M.C. for the first years. He could capture an audience with his wit and talent every time. In later years, the group put on their own dances, performed skits. When Ann Stollbert joined the group in 1960, Vera and Ann had plenty of opportunities to delight audiences with their harmonized singing and yodelling for about twelve years. To please the English speaking audience, Ingrid, Vera’s sister, created English lyrics for the many old German and Austrian fold songs they performed.

The entertainment even included eight of the group’s ladies in tight lederhosen performing the men’s Schuhplattler to the delight of the audience at the Danish Canadian Club, and it was said that they were, “just as good as the boys.”. The group also served Wurstchen and Sauerkraut at their functions, and since they prepared the food themselves, they had no trouble selling their tasty offerings, and served the refreshments as well. By this time the group doubled in members. In 1969 the group folded for a while for all the girls to get married and have children.

The Schuhplattler spirit would not die, and Leo, Bert, and Herman started the group up again in the fall of 1969 as the official Gasthaus Schuhplattlers.

That same year Ann and Vera together with Heinz Schmidt joined the boys again with their singing and yodelling. Heinz Schmidt was their manager and M.C. This small group entertained around Calgary and Red Deer at Folk Festivals and Conventions. They started the idea of celebrating Octoberfest in Calgary at the Stampede Corral. They also performed at the Hays breakfast at Stampede time.

Later, when Ushi, Max and Freddy Bender joined the group, they became the Edelweiss Singers and Dancers. They managed to persuade Max Rieberer to play the accordion once again for the dancers, once he saw the mini dirndl and the go-go boots the girls wore!

Octoberfest and Winzerfest at the Gasthaus became a tradition. Since then many clubs and organizations in Calgary, and other towns and cities in Alberta and British Columbia wanted an Octoberfest with Schuhplattler-Yodellers. Another, such, who had been taught by Freddy Bender, joined the group and now there were four singers and yodellers. The Plattlers danced up a storm and the yodellers sang their hearts out. The group always came up with original ideas to make any Octoberfest memorable. Role reversals were always popular with the audience, boys dressing in dirndls and girls dressing in lederhosen, and laughter and gladness were spread consistently, wherever performances were put on. Audiences delighted in joining the performers in sing-alongs and table-top schunkeln.

With all the name changes the group had over the last 40 years, to the fans and the public they were always the “Schuhplattlers”.

Banktanz — Two men have a “Friendly” argument over a park bench. Will these boys never learn to share?

Bauerntanz — The “farmer’s dance” actually has nothing to do with farming. This dance can be described as very theatrical.

Haushammer — Just as it sounds; feet stomped mimicks the sound of hammers building a house.

Heidauer — A beautiful dance where the girls weave in and out of a circle of boys.

Huttanz — The “hat dance”.

Knappentanz — Miners enter a mine and play their chisels like chimes.

Kreuz Konig — “King’s Cross”. The girls “fly” in this dance!

Mader — The harvest dance involves many figures and turns.

Muhlradl — The dancers stomp their feet and form the moving parts (i.e. cogs and gears) of an old-fashioned flour mill.

Reit im Winkl — Named after a region in Bavaria, this boys dance often involves participation from the audience!

Tiroler — A traditional and delightful couples dance

Illertaler

Finsterauer Landler