This year the 22nd annual edition of Folkmoot USA, North Carolina’s international dance festival, brings with it the arrival of dancers and musicians from a dozen foreign countries, each troupe representing the best of their country’s heritage preservation movement, from time-honored dances to traditional costumes, native instruments to handmade arts and crafts.

More than 300 performers from the countries of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Latvia, Indonesia, Poland, Romania, Spain, Togo and Turkey will join in with performances across western North Carolina — from Bryson City to Cullowhee, Robbinsville to Asheville. Performances include intimate, three-group shows which generally feature more extended performances from selected countries, and all-out, all-group shows akin to cultural buffets — a little bit of everything.

But about three weeks prior to the festival kicking off, as preparations in Waynesville, Folkmoot’s homebase, reached a frenzied pace, this year’s dance groups themselves were busy putting the finishing touches on their routines and getting ready for the journey overseas.

“One thing was a nice party to prepare our members for the area, culture and festival program. But first of all we have a lot of rehearsals for dancing, singing and playing,” said Christian Voecks, a dancer with Germany’s Danzdeel Salzkotten. “So next weekend will be the hard preparing weekend for Folkmoot. From Friday to Sunday we will dance all dances and scenes.”

Loosely translated, Danzdeel Salzkotten means “dancing on a wooden floor in the town of Salzkotten,” a little city located in North Rhine Westfalia where salt was once harvested. The group was formed in 1971 by a group of young people working to prepare a traditional Pomeranian thanksgiving ceremony, which incorporated folk dancing. Today the group still evokes their Pomeranian roots through their music and dance, and through their costumes as well.

Female members of Danzdeel Salzkotten make the group’s costumes from handmade fabrics, carrying on a courting tradition of marking their dresses with colored ribbons to signify marital status.

“If a girl gets married, she has to change a red facing ribbon on her costume into a blue one,” Voecks said. “So you can always see which girl is free.”

In Poland, the search for authenticity led the group Wisla — formed in 1995 and named after the river that runs through the group’s hometown of Plock — to consult ethnographers about fabric, cut and methodology before creating their own costumes.

“They are an exact copy of traditional clothes worn by our ancestors,” said Piotr Onyzsko, Wisla’s director.

Such clothing is still present in modern-day Poland in the Beskid Mountains region, where the Gorale wear traditional garments for church or holidays. Wisla incorporates dances from this region and across Poland into its routine, as well as those from countries throughout the European Union, which will be part of their Folkmoot performances.

“We have been preparing since the beginning of the year,” Onyzsko said. “We have rehearsals and we are giving a lot of concerts this season. I think concerts are the best opportunity to see what has to be improved. More difficult, unfortunately, was collecting money (for the trip).”

Troupes performing at Folkmoot have undergone a careful selection process, which aims to find authentic groups. However, being chosen to perform at Folkmoot is only half the battle. Making the journey to America presents an entirely new set of hurdles.

Over the years, and with the strengthening of national security, applying for a visa has become more difficult. Groups have been known to spend days camped out in their country’s American consulate waiting for passes, only to have to leave empty handed and cancel the trip.

Others, like this year’s group from the Czech Republic, procured their visas, but only after they were left with a sour taste in their mouths. Now they carry the hope that once they’re here Folkmoot will provide a more welcoming set of American friends.

“We want the Americans to get to know the Czech songs, dances and the heritage of our lands. We want to brighten their ears with our songs. And we want to take back a new, better opinion of Americans, as we had to go through a very unpleasant and degrading process during applying for our visas,” said Jana Rychtova, leader of the Josef Vycpalek Ensemble of Songs and Dances in the Czech Republic.

Vycpalek Ensemble was founded in Prague in 1947 and named in honor of Josef Vycpalek (1847-1922), a champion of the country’s revival movement and creator of a unique collection of Czech folk dances. Vycpalek’s influence can still be seen and felt in the group today, as members strive to achieve the utmost quality in terms of heritage reproduction.

All songs featured in the ensemble’s dances are traditional Czech tunes, several of which are played on the Czech bagpipe. Although the bagpipe is most often associated with Scottish culture, it is also one of the oldest instruments in the Czech Republic, dating back to the 13th century. The instrument’s soulful, plaintive sound lends itself naturally to the ensemble’s performance material.

“The subject matter of our songs and dances is usually nature and love as eternally topical themes,” Rychtova said. “We are preparing a special program for Folkmoot, which will consist of our best numbers.”