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What Does Enzian Schuhplattler Mean?

"Schuhplattler" is a centuries-old Bavarian dance genre in which the men demonstrate their vigor in a raucous but precise "shoe-slapping" rhythm to folk music, alternating with flirtatious figures danced with the women. This dance form has evolved over the last 300 years.

The Schuhplattler style of dance mimics the behavior of the male Auerhahn bird (a large alpine wood grouse), that courts the female by flapping his wings and kicking up his feet around a circle. In the same manner, a Schuhplattler keeps his hands raised and, by slapping his feet and Lederhosen, imitates the flapping of the Auerhahn's wings. The woman spins around the man, challenging him to "catch" her for the waltz.

"Enzian" is the name of a blue flower (a gentian) indigenous to the alps of Bavaria and Austria.

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