When Tammeougu Mari returned to live in Sõrvemaa (southwestern peninsula region of Saaremaa, the biggest island in Estonia), she discovered that there are not really any possibilities to dance local traditional dances. Nice musicians were all around – but not many of them really knew what to play for dancers. And so, Sörvemaa Sörmitsejad was created with the aim to learn exactly that. Very soon, a traditional dance club of Kõrkküla came to life, as well as a series of dance events, tansiöhtad, which now offers a dancing possibility every last Friday of the month in different places and community centers across Saaremaa.
To the joy of us all, material about Saaremaa’s dances and music is plentiful. Even nowadays it is possible to gather information from the locals themselves. With the joint efforts of Sörvemaa Sõrmitsejad and Kõrkküla traditional dance club, the once dusty archive knowledge is once again revived among Saaremaa people. Some play the music, same dance, some do both – in any case, it is a merry crowd!