From Oct. 28 to Nov. 6, Stoughton High School’s Norwegian Dancers had three action-packed events in one week, a frequency of performances that isn’t typical for the group.
On Oct. 28, the Norwegian Dancers hosted the annual “Destination Stoughton” in Stoughton’s Community Building at 4:30 p.m. This performance was the last ever to take place in the Community Building.
Before the performance began, the Norwegian Dancers had the chance to walk through downtown Stoughton and interact with the trick-or treaters on Main
on on Street. At the door of the Community Building, Dancers handed out candy to all audience members to celebrate the Halloween weekend.
The Dancers felt the performance was a great success for the group. Senior Noah Tiede, one of the Student Leaders of Norwegian Dancers, expressed that performing in Stoughton for an audience familiar with and appreciative of the Dancers is always special.
“Performing for a Stoughton audience makes me feel connected to my community,” Tiede said. “It’s extra meaningful because I know many of the people I’m performing for. It’s a great experience to contribute to the town’s culture.”
On Nov. 3, the following weekend, the group and seven parent chaperones left SHS at 6 a.m. for Colfax, WI. Colfax is a small town with a population of 1,100, located an hour north of Eau Claire.
At the Colfax High School, the Norwegian Dancers performed for a crowd of 150 people: elementary students,
middle schoolers, high schoolers, and community members. The gymnastic abilities displayed in the signature Norwegian dance, the Halling, were especially popular with the audience.
This was senior Madelyn Moline’s second mini-tour.
“We performed at a K-12 school, and I loved performing in front of the older kids. They hype us up so much, and you can feel their energy. It always makes us dance better,” Moline said.
Taking inspiration from “Stoughton’s Norse Afternoon of Fun,” Colfax had gathered a group of fourth-grade students who learned three dances to perform with the Norwegian Dancers in front of their classmates and parents.
“It’s always exciting to see younger kids involved in Norwegian culture. We all loved meeting the Colfax fourth graders,” second-year Dancer Kirsten Holm said.

The group then packed up and made the hour-long trip to Ladysmith, WI.
Their second and last performance, sponsored by the Flambeau Valley Arts Association, occurred at 7:30 p.m. The crowd totaled around 50 people, and the Dancers performed 14 dances, with a brief intermission, during which the ladies showed their traditional Bunads to the audience. They completed the performance with the traditional Hallingkast, or “hat kick,” where the male dancers attempt to kick a hat off a cane held by one of the girls.
The group spent the night at a local church, left early Saturday morning on Nov. 4, and arrived in Stoughton at noon.
“Mini Tour was such a fun experience,” Moline said. “We got to bond as a group, and our performances went great. It’s always fun to know we made such a big impact in such a short amount of time.”
The Dancers’ action-filled week was not yet done, as they put on their annual Lapskaus Dinner on Monday, Nov. 6, at Christ Lutheran Church. Lapskaus is a fundraising event where the Dancers serve Lapskaus stew, salad, and Norwegian waffles with whipped cream and strawberries. The dancers performed around seven dances in between serving their tables throughout the evening.
“Lapskaus is a great opportunity to meet with people we don’t always get to interact with at a normal performance–and serving is a fun time,” Junior Chez DeBruin said. This is DeBruin’s second year with the group.

The end of October and the beginning of November were busy times for the Stoughton High School Norwegian Dancers, with their annual Destination Stoughton, Mini Tour, and Lapskaus all happening within a week.
Wendy Furseth, one of the two co-directors of the Norwegian Dancers, was pleased about how the group managed the busyness the past weeks offered.
“I’m so proud of what they accomplished,” Furseth said. “I feel like [the dancers] thrive when we’re really busy. When they have an audience in front of them they do a fantastic job.”