From collection Kosti Ruohomaa Collection
Square Dancing 1
Image of an older man demonstrating a square dance step as a group of men and women watch, some smiling, some serious, from the side. The setting is near the corner of a room. Japanese lanterns dangle from the ceiling.
The scene is probably a beginners' lesson in a local rural community. The photographer focusses on the the process of learning, the sense of nervous anticipation, and unfamiliar proximity of neighbors and strangers. In this improvised dance hall Kosti finds his preferred subject matter: the folkways of ordinary people at work and as here, at play.
