Birgit Cullberg created a total of seven new ballets during the Cullberg Ballet’s first year in 1967. Folkfest was one of the works that quickly disappeared from the company’s repertoire. According to Erik Näslund’s book Birgit Cullberg the concept for the work came to her after a holiday in Spain.
Cullberg was appalled by the atrocities of a bullfight she witnessed. In Folkfest a group of people flock to an arena, but behind the festivities a cruel ritual is soon revealed. The ancient sacrifice of a living creature. The ballet is a satire on the popular party scene that surrounds a bullfight and Birgit took a strong stand for the victim. In this instance, the bull.
At the premiere, the role of the bull was danced by the African American dancer Morris Donaldson and the work gained another dimension. It became a political commentary on racism and the situation of people of color, ethnic minorities, mob violence, and the subjects of colonialism the world over. The audience was deeply divided.