Clogs and baggy trousers, wide checked skirtsand white caps - is not this our picture whenwe think of Dutch folk dances? But thiscostume belongs only to one dance and onepart of the country; even there the womenare coming to prefer 'a pleated black skirtwhich gives a slim and even elegant outline'.And who would suspect the sober Dutch ofsuch a dance as the Cramignon, a chain dancethat winds 'in and out of the houses and innsof the village' behind a brass band?Dr. Elise van der Ven-ten Bensel devotedher life to the study and preservation ofDutch folk dances. Together with herhusband, another noted folklorist, she filmedthe traditional customs of the country andorganised folk-dance schools. In this book, after a lively and amusing essay on Dutch folklife, the author describes four typical dances, with their step-notation and music, and fourcharming colour plates show the traditionalcostumes for each dance.