By Kristine Thomas
Since 1990, Mount Angel resident Marilyn Hall has noticed a dancing void at Oktoberfest.
There were dances for school children, dances with mothers and daughters, and dances for older folks, she said, but there weren’t any dances for young adults.
Determined to change that, she started sewing during the summer of 2010.
“I was sewing costumes for phantom dancers,” she said. “I wanted to start a more modern dance group.”
When the costumes were finished, she made a phone call to Laura Miller asking if she knew of any young couples who wanted to start a dance group.
“Within three hours, Laura called me back and told me she had dancers,” Hall said.
The group – called the Kleinstädtlers – practiced a few weeks before Oktoberfest and then performed at the festival.
“We had so much fun that we decided to perform at Wurstfest,” Sarah Bauman said.
And from there, the group continued.
“We look forward to our dance practices because it is a date night with our husbands,” Laura Miller said.”The truth is I think the guys like dancing as much as we do.”
On a warm August evening, the group met at St. Mary’s Catholic Church to practice. The Kleinstädtlers members are Matt and Sarah Bauman, Nick and Imelda Wavra, Andy and Liz Schaecher, Jake Vino, Patricia Carlin, Van and Kaytee Heath and Steve and Laura Miller. The men’s costumes were from Touch of Bavaria and the women’s costumes were made by Debbie Grassman.
Sarah Bauman said the group’s goal is to perform fast and upbeat dances, set to both traditional German music and more modern German music.
The Kleinstädtlers music has a faster beat. The men lift their partners, swing them around and hoist them on their arms in a circle to spin like a merry-go-round.
The women’s costumes are also more modern. Their dresses or dirndls are black with buckles, white blouses and teal aprons.
Andy and Liz Schaecher enjoy practicing because they get to spend time with friends.
“I have never been a dancer so at first I was trying to figure out everything,” Andy Schaecher said. “Being in the dance group is actually a lot of fun.”
“Before I started dancing in this group, I think I only knew how to dance the chicken dance,” Matt Bauman said.
Now he along with his wife Sarah and the Wavras choreograph the dances.
“We have our husbands rearrange the furniture in our living room to pretend the furniture is the other couples,” Sarah Bauman. “That’s how we figure out our dance routines.”
They encourage guests at Oktoberfest to catch one of their performances.
“We are performing dances that people aren’t used to seeing,” Sarah said. “Our goal to do make our dances exciting to watch and have the crowd wondering what we will do next.”
