Mooiplaas Boere-Orkes - Oasis Tango

It's not common to hear a traditional boeremusiek band playing a tango, but it is also not totally unheard of. Finding a recorded version though is a little more difficult. Here is the Mooiplaas Boere-Orkes' version of a tune called the Oasis Tango. It appears on their very recent album (2008) called Tradisionele Boeremusiek op sy Beste (Traditional Boeremusiek at its Best). It is available for download from the Rhythm Music Store:
rhythmmusicstor...
Boeremusiek (Afrikaans for 'Boer music') is a type of South African instrumental folk music with a concertina as lead instrument. Its original intent was to be an accompaniment to social dancing. Although its roots date back to Europe, over time it had developed a character of its own.
en.wikipedia.or...
en.wikipedia.or...
Popular partner dances in Boeremusiek are:
• "Settees" (Alt. spelling: "Seties", or "Setees") - a variation of the Schottische. en.wikipedia.or...
• "Vastrap" - a local two-step dance. Sometimes one hears of a "Baandans" (after the American Barn Dance), but it appears to be just another name for the Vastrap.
• "Wals" -- a Waltz en.wikipedia.or...
Not so common anymore, but still played and danced to often:
• "Kwadriel" -- Quadrille en.wikipedia.or...
• "Masurka" -- Mazurka en.wikipedia.or...
• Polka en.wikipedia.or...
• "Riel" -- Reel. Note that this term could refer to two distinct dances, either the Scottish Reel (en.wikipedia.or...) which is danced with a partner, or the "Hottentot's Riel" which is a distinct dance (without a partner) amongst the descendants of the Khoi people of Southern Africa. Whichever the origin of the tune however, in Boeremusiek today it is mainly danced as a partnered "Tweepas" (Two-Step) -- see below**
www.boeremusiek... (Afrikaans)
tinyurl.com/4yl... (English of above link, via Google Translate)
Lesser known styles of Boeremusiek dancing, though not unheard of include:
• Foxtrot en.wikipedia.or...
• Galop en.wikipedia.or... (example: "Rietspruit Galope" by the "Gebroeders Ceronio" (Brothers Ceronio), Columbia AE 545)
• Lansers en.wikipedia.or... (Example: Danie Grey - Outydse Lansers)
• Tango en.wikipedia.or...
• Boogie en.wikipedia.or... (Example: Dirk Laas - Konsertina Boogie, see • Dirk Laas - Concertina... )
Military music played in a Boeremusiek style could include:
• "Mars" -- March en.wikipedia.or... (Example: Sarie Marais by Die Ses Hartbrekers, His Master's Voice GX 25)
• "Militêre Tweepas" - Military Two-Step, a Scottish Dance www.scottishdan... (Example: Die Namakwalanders - Militêre Tweepas)
• "Bonton" - Ceremonial Music sometimes used in parades. (Example: Die Oudag Boereorkes -- Kaapse Bonton)
Various other terms also are used in Boeremusiek occasionally, but none of these (to my knowledge) indicate a specific dance style. Examples include "Drafstap" (fast walk), "Skoffel" (shuffle), and Kwêla. (Kwêla in Boeremusiek is an adaptation of African Kwela = Pennywhistle Music). On the other hand, words like "Opskud", "Kotteljons", "Sakkie-Sakkie", "Makietie", or "Langarm" are pretty much general in nature - synonyms for dance party.
In reality these dance styles have fallen out of favor amongst the general public and the only place you can find them is in Ball Room dancing competitions or in traditional functions called "Volkspele". That does not mean that the music has died though -- today the younger crowd in South Africa is mixing it up in their "Sokkiejol"s - you only have to attend one of these to see how people dance on anything from Kwela to Rock and Boeremusiek. Almost all these are danced to with partners as either a two-step or a waltz.