Salmbacha

The Salmbacha is a fusion of Franco-Latin movements and rhythms, which originated in the Bas-Rhin department of Salmbach in Alsace in north-eastern France during WW2. The tiny settlement of Salmbach housed several Argentine Nazi sympathisers, living under cover close to the German border. These South American sorters organised the escape of several prominent Germans close to the conclusion of the war in Europe: but they whiled away their idle hours dancing with local collaborators, and so the Salmbacha evolved. It is a mysterious dance: this video doesn’t reveal many of the steps, and that is the way it should be.

______________________________________

Hirta

Encapsulating a life where the need to work and premature death were the only constants.

The Feather Store was where fulmar and gannet feathers were kept, and sold to pay the rent. Seabirds were important diet components of the people from Hirta, who were evacuated in 1930. Disease and 'outside influences' are attributed with this removal of the inhabitants of Hirta.