Coopers' Dance

Coopers' Dance

January-February every seven years (2012, 2019, 2026...)The famous Coopers' Dance, a 500-year-old custom, is performed in Munich, Germany, every seven years throughout the Carnival season. The coopers, who make the barrels in which beer is stored, are highly respected in this city known for its breweries.
According to tradition, the first Coopers' Dance of the Carnival season is performed on Epiphany in front of the Minister-President's office building, where thousands of spectators gather in the streets to watch. The dance is performed by 25 colorfully dressed coopers, who swing hoops of fir branches and keep time with the music by beating on barrels with their tools. Individuals, clubs, and other organizations may order a Coopers' Dance to be performed, but so many of these orders come in during Carnival that they cannot all be filled.
CONTACTS:
Munich Tourist Office
Sendlinger St. 1
Munich, D-80331 Germany
49-89-233-96-500; fax: 49-89-233-30-233
www.muenchen.de/home/60093/Homepage.html
SOURCES:
FestEur-1961, p. 48