Folk Dancing

"Zur Bewahrung der deutschen Sprache und Kultur"

Throughout Germania Club's rich history, dancing has always played an important role for the community. In fact, it had been at a migrant dance themed "Deutscher Abend" on 26th January 1957 when the decision was made to establish the Club. Not long after the founding of the Club, the first dance was held at Gonian's recreation hall on Saturday, 4th May 1957 themed "Kappenabend". Everyone was required to wear a fancy headdress, with caps available at the door for 1 shilling. Dancing was also part and parcel of the festivities around May Festival (first held on 9th May 1958) and Oktoberfest (first held on 16th October 1959).

In February 1975, Germania Club established the German-Austrian folk dancing group “Edelweiss”. The dancing group was initiated and led by Michael and Mathilde Gronold who had come to Australia from Klagenfurt in Austria. The musician of the group was Susi Scott, who was an excellent accordion player, followed in 1983 by Franz Kainz. The group performed at many events throughout the Hunter region, including schools, shopping centres, retirement villages, wineries, and the University of Newcastle.

In 1981 the group received their first invitation to the Folk Dancing Festival in Adelaide, South Australia. During Easter in 1983, Germania Club Newcastle then hosted the 5th Brücke Folkdance Fest in their iconic Clubhouse in Warners Bay. At this stage, the group had over 40 dancers (aged 6 to 14 years) and danced in all states except the Northern Territory and Tasmania. After the 1989 Folk-dancing Fest in Perth, Rudi Seyerl took over the leadership of the group. In June 1993, the group performed at the Sydney Opera House for the Folkloric Festival and won the prize of the day.

In 1999, the 13th Brücke Folkdance Fest returned to Germania Club in Warners Bay. The Edelweiss group was host to 14 dancing and bell-ringing groups from around Australia, including Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong. It was then that after ten years as group leader, Rudi Seyerl retired and was followed by Troy Duncan and Stephen Rosemond. In the following year, the group then performed in another memorable milestone event at the Sydney Olympics.