For the dancers at the Proitzer Müehle, Whitsun 1999.
The “Gnomes’ Stone” (der Zwergenstein) near the Proitzer Müehle marks the entrance to the subterranean abode of a tribe of gnomes in a local folk tale.
At the Whitsun workshop, 1999, the Proitze dancers presented me with a beautifully illustrated children’s book by Susanne Laschütza, telling the story of the Gnomes’ Stone. This inspired the movements of the dance, starting with the gnomes surreptitiously grinding their corn at the Mill (bars 1–8) before being surprised by a group of farmers (beginning of bar 9) and having to retreat to their lair under the stone, pursued by the farmers (bars 9–16). In the tale, a farmer and his farm hand proceed to kidnap one of the gnomes as a children’s playmate; this gnome subsequently escapes overnight, and on the second attempt the farm hand vanishes in the gnomes’ cave, never to be seen again (most of this could be read into bars 17–28). Since that time, the entrance to the gnomes’ abode remains sealed, but the stone can be visited during an easy walk from the Mühle.
Note: The turn in bars 13–16 may be danced three quarters round instead of one and three quarters round if dancers do not feel the need to escape from a group of angry farmers.