Coopers' Dance

What it is

The Schäfflertanz is a dance performed by coopers, the tradespeople who build and repair wooden barrels. In Munich such trades were organised into guilds, and the coopers' guild kept this dance as its own. Dancers move through a set order of formations and figures rather than improvising. The custom began in Munich and, from the early 1800s, travelling journeymen, craftsmen who worked their way from town to town, carried it with them. It is now found across Old Bavaria, the region around Munich. Performances are spaced seven years apart, a rhythm the tradition has long kept.

Origins and history

The oldest documented mention comes from 1702, when Munich's magistrate approved a performance and treated the dance as already well established. For a long period, many writers instead gave 1517 as the founding year, following a book of 1830 by Anton Baumgartner. He told a story that the dance began after a plague, to draw people out of their houses, and this account is now discredited. Chronicles record no plague in Munich at that time. Other authors proposed other dates. The 500th anniversary of the 1517 date was still marked in 2017. Nobody has explained where the seven-year cycle came from.

How it is kept

The dance follows a choreography that was standardised in the 19th century. Dancers march in various formations and then perform a series of set figures. The last number is the barrel hoop swinging. One dancer, the hoop swinger, holds two hoops, and inside each one sits a shot of schnapps. The hoops are turned and swung in intricate patterns without spilling the drink, which stays in place through the force of the swing. The performance is put on by the coopers' guild and the groups that continue it.

Costume and music

Of the older customs that went with the dance, only the costume has survived. A dancer wears a white shirt and white waistcoat under a red jacket, a leather apron, knee breeches, a sash and brogue shoes, with a green cap trimmed with down feathers. The tune used today is known as the Second or New Munich Schäfflertanz, written in 1866 by Johann Wilhelm Siebenkäs, who lived from 1826 to 1888. An earlier tune, the First or Old Munich Schäfflertanz by Peter Streck, is no longer played.

How Coopers' Dance is kept

The coopers of Munich, and the groups that inherited their dance, prepare a set programme. Dancers march in their formations, then perform the standard figures together. The performance closes with the hoop swinger, who balances two hoops, each holding a shot of schnapps, and turns them in intricate patterns without spilling a drop. Costume is part of the performance, as is the tune written for it. It happens only in the years when the seven-year cycle comes round, not annually.

When and where

Tradition holds that the dance is performed every seven years. The sources give no clear explanation of how that cycle began or how the years are counted, only that it has governed the custom for a long time. Because it is not annual, a performance is a rare occasion in the life of a town.

The dance began in Munich, and Munich is where it is strongest, since the coopers' guild first kept it there. From the early 1800s travelling journeymen spread the custom, and it is now a common tradition across Old Bavaria, the region of Bavaria that surrounds Munich.

What Coopers' Dance means

The dance belongs to the coopers as a guild, and keeping it marks the trade's place in the life of the city and its passing from one generation of craftsmen to the next. The widely told story that it was first danced to lift spirits after a plague shaped how many people in Munich understood the custom, even though historians no longer accept that account. The schnapps inside the swinging hoops displays the dancers' skill, since the drink must survive the whole figure.

Questions people ask about Coopers' Dance

See also

LändlerA three-quarter time partner dance from the Alpine region, known for hopping steps and yodeling.Gnawa musicA spiritual musical tradition of Morocco that blends West African rhythms with Islamic ritual to heal and connect communChristmas carolFestive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorRapper swordA fast-paced five-person sword dance from the coalfields of North East England, kept alive by teams worldwide.

Good reading and sources

• Schäfflertanz on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-14.