From collection Kosti Ruohomaa Collection
Square Dancing 4
This image looks down on a group of square dancers performing a pass-through. The space is tight and the dancers, many of them likely beginners, appear to be concentrating rather than enjoying themselves.
The scene is probably a beginners' lesson in a local rural community. Ruohomaa focusses on the how the participants' interplay reflects the process of learning, amidst the 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.
The scene is probably a beginners' lesson in a local rural community. The photographer focusses not on the best dancers or the smoothest scenes; here we see the struggle and the process of learning, and the 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.
