| Renaat
Van Craenenbroeck was born on January 3rd, 1937 in Antwerp,
and died on July 6th, 2001 in Croatia. He was founder,
in 1958, of the Belgian dance group Lange
Wapper, and 12 years
later he created the Antwerp sword dance. He was a noted
choreographer of Flemish dances, and inspired many
enthusiasts. Renaat also applied his extensive knowledge
of continental sword dances and his expertise as an
authoritative leader, to help create dances for other teams.
Renaat Van Craenenbroeck travelled
regularly to see sword dance events far and wide. He
made numerous visits to England, and was keen to swap ideas,
and one such was to hold a major gathering of sword dance
teams in 1989 to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the the
earliest written report of sword dancing, discovered by him in
the city archives at Bruges. sadly, through a lack of
funding the plan did not at that time come to fruition in
Belgium, but Renaat was a keen supporter when the idea of an
international event was taken up by a group in England in
1994.
Renaat, and Lange Wapper attended the
first Sword Spectacular held on a long weekend in May 1996, in
Scarborough. In addition to leading the team, he also
presented a paper to the Conference held on the Sunday morning
("Recreating a Tradition") and he gave a talk
on the distribution of sword dances in Europe and taught
the Flemish Trawantel dance at a workshop. In addition
he was busy greeting and chatting to his many friends and
contacts from other teams.
At the third Sword Spectacular in
2000 (the World
Millennium Sword Spectacular), Renaat joined the
organising committee, lending his wealth of experience, and
knowledge of sword dancing teams throughout the world, to the
task of recruiting overseas teams and arranging their visit.
He also presented a further paper at that year's conference ("A
brief survey of sword dance research and revival and of the
dispersion of the hilt and point sword dances of Europe")
Many UK teams got to know Renaat as a
result of Lange Wappers' visits to Britain, and his attendance
at, and involvement with the organising of the Sword
Spectaculars. But how many of these people knew of
Renaat's extensive research into sword dances both in his own
country, and throughout the continent? He had regular
contacts with extant sword dancers and was a respected tutor
who was in demand to teach Flemish social dances throughout
Belgium and France. Renaat built an international
reputation with presentations and conferences such as those at
the Sword Spectaculars, and at an ICTM conference in Croatia
in July 2000. These presentations led to new contacts which,
generous as ever, he shared with felloe researchers.
His tutorial video tapes of Flemish
Waltzes, Mazurkas, Schottisches and Polkas are impressive.
Renaat, together with Marc Van Orshoven, Lange Wapper's
jester, and a computer expert, produced a regular publication "t'zweertdanserke"
which served as a newsletter for Lange Wapper, and as a
vehicle for some of his many discoveries.
He was internationally respected, Steve
Corrsin described him as "...the leading Belgian
authority and the single most important figure in linking
continental sword teams", and John Forrest, who was
in Croatia when Renaat died wrote "The dance world has
lost a towering figure..."
The world of folk dance will miss his
experience, his commitment and his enthusiasm. At the
forthcoming Sword Spectacular, time will be set aside to
remember just how much we owe to this remarkable man, and his
rewarding life.
The Organising Committee, with many
thanks to Trevor Stone
Link: Hommage
à Renaat Van Craenenbroeck
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