Jenkka () is a fast Finnish

partner dance Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a ...

found in Finnish folk dance, the Finnish version of the

schottische The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina (" chotis" ...

. It is danced to music in or

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western culture, Western musical notation to specify how many beat (music), beats (pulses) are contained in each measu ...

, with about 140

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Men and women do similar steps. The initial

dance position Dance position is a position of a dancer or a mutual position of a dance couple assumed during a dance. Describing and mastering proper dance positions is an important part of dance technique. These dance positions of a single dancer may be furt ...

is with the man to the left of the woman both facing in the direction of the line of dance, with their inner arms on each other's waists. The dancers go forward in a run similar to that of the polka: "left-right-left-hop (on the left foot)", "right-left-right-hop". After that they join the free arms, assume the face-to-face closed dance position and proceed with the chain of

pivot turn In dance, a pivot turn (or simply pivot) is a general classification for dance turns in which the performer's body rotates about its vertical axis without traveling. The performer may be supported by one or both feet, which swivel in place during t ...

s stepping "left-right-left-right" or "left-hop-right-hop". The runs of similar steps are normally started at the beginnings of musical phrases. Finnish actor and musician

Georg Malmstén Georg Malmstén (27 June 1902 – 25 May 1981) was a Finnish singer, musician, composer, orchestra conductor and actor. He was one of the most prolific entertainers in Finland of his time, producing over 800 records in numerous genres. In late ...

composed many jenkkas.

See also