
The Tokyo Polka line dance was choreographed by Richard Powers of USA featuring the “Polka step” throughout. Powers created the dance for his favorite dance group in Tokyo, Japan and first premiered it in Tokyo on March 18, 2011, one week after the massive Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. There were still aftershocks in Tokyo that week, and concerns about radiation blowing south from Fukushima.
The music can be any variation of the Savo Finnish folk song “Ievan Polkka” (“Ieva’s Polka” / “Eva’s Polka”). The song achieved global popularity with the 2006 Internet meme Flash video Loituma “Leekspin” Girl (right), set to the music of “Ieva’s Polka” from a 1995 recording by the Finnish folk group Loituma. Loituma’s version of Ievan Polkka was especially attractive because of the 27 seconds of Finnish-phonetic scat singing. Then in 2007, Japanese creator Otomania used Yamaha’s VOCALOID2 singing voice synthesizer software with the Hatsune Miku Japanese voicebank to compose an electronic cover of Loitmua’s Ieva’s Polka. The original video release features a chibi derivative of the Hatsune Miku video diva mascot character, dubbed “Hatchune Miku,” bopping and waving a leek/spring onion. The original voicebank for Hatsune Miku only sung in Japanese (modeled from Japanese voice actress Saki Fujita samples), so Otomania emulated one jazzy verse of Loituma’s scat singing, using the best match of Japanese phonemes for the Finnish nonsense lyrics, and used it throughout the entire song.
Dance Name: | Tokyo Polka |
Aliases: | Ievan Polkka, Ieva’s Polka, Levan Polka, Säkkijärven polkka |
Country of Origin: | USA |
Music Genre: | VOCALOID Electronica/ Savo Finnish Folk |
Choreographer: | Richard Powers |
Year: | March 18, 2011 |
Dance Type: | Line Dance: Individuals in lines |
Dance Category: | Recreational, Non-Ethnic |
Folk Status: | Recreational, Non-Ethnic |
Skill Level: | Intermediate |
Energy Intensity: | Lively |
Song: | Ievan Polkka (Eva’s Polka) |
Recording: | “Ievan Polkka” by Otomania feat. Hatsune Miku |
Time Signature: | 2/4 |
Rhythm: | tripple-step, rock-replace |
Pattern: | 32-counts, 4-walls |
Dancer Formation: | Individuals in lines |
Hand Hold: | none |
Leads to: | L w/ heel |
Date Taught: | 02/21/2023 |
Teacher: | David |
Published: | March 8, 2023 |
Updated: | February 10, 2025 |
About the Tokyo Polka Line Dance
The Tokyo Polka is a 32-count, 4-wall line dance that fits the format of a country-western line dance—but you’d never see it in a bar or dance hall. If you could manage to convince or bribe the DJ to spin such an odd song, dancers would probably be confused that you are doing a rompy polka step (without the hop) rather than a gliding ballroom triple-step, aka chassé. Perhaps a venue in the Midwest would yield better acceptance? I’m afraid you’ll have to bring your own crew for a flash mob in public or stick to your folk dance club or rec dance class.
It’s far more common for a choreographed dance to be named after the tune used than branch to a new name, but Richard does a twofer here by swapping in “Tokyo” for “Ievan.” First, there’s the dedication to his favorite dance group in Tokyo. Then there is the nod to the music that was created by Japanese artist Otomania using a Japanese voice synthesis software by the Japanese company Yamaha, and “Ievan Polkka” was later used as an example for the Sega video game “Hatsune Miku: Project Diva.”
The dance itself is simple, but as with any 4-wall dance, if you don’t have people who know the dance strategically placed, you’ll have to learn the four parts, which mostly stick to the rhythm 1, 2, polka-step (1, 2, 3 & 4). Watch Richard’s demo video from Stockton Folk Dance Camp 2011, which you are only allowed to watch directly on YouTube. You can find Richard’s dance notes in the PDF in the Resource Links above.
Quick Step Reminder
- L heel & toe, polka
- R heel & toe, polka
- L over R cross rock, replace, polka 180 ccw
- polka 180 ccw, L rock back, replace
- L over R cross rock, replace, polka slide to L
- R over L cross, polka slide to R
- L polka fwd, R polka fwd
- L fwd 90 cw, R swivel 90 cw, L around 90 cw, jump in place
There are a couple other choreographies out there called “Tokyo Polka,” but nowhere as fun as Richard’s. You will also find many videos of young women or girls dancing the digitally-awkward steps programmed by Otomania and others for the digital video diva Hatsune Miku to dance while singing “Ievan Polkka” (see the video in the Music Examples). I first heard the music when two of our Fort Collins dancers demonstrated the Hatsune Miku version of the dance they knew by way of Tom Masterson.
A Not-Brief History of Ievan Polkka’s Rise to Internet Fame
About the Song, Ievan Polkka (Eva’s Polka)
First of all, let’s all get this straight. The letter is an ‘I‘ as in ‘i‘ as in upper-case i and not an ‘L‘. It’s most unfortunate that some Latin sans typography is so sloppy making distinctions between l, I, and sometimes 1. Ieva doesn’t like it when you call her Leva and hates it even more if you call her “Levin,” like she’s something used for baking. Ieva is the Savonian dialectal form of the Finnish feminine given name Eeva, which we would spell as Eva in English. Ievan is simply a Savonian possessive form for Ieva’s. Now that you know the proper name of the song and its subject, let us look into its origin.
The melody of “Ievan Polkka” is traditional tune originating most likely in the 19th century in the area of In South Karelia, Finland. However, in 1928, Eino Kettunen penned and copyrighted lyrics in an Eastern Savonian dialect spoken in North Karelia, so the song is not “traditional” in the traditional sense. In the song, Ieva’s lover tells the story of how he wants to polka with Ieva, but her mother won’t let him. They sneak away and polka and dance all night, and when they return to her angry mother, the boy proclaims that Ieva and he will be together no matter what. Read the detailed storyline in the Lyrics section. For way more than you wanted to know about Ievan Polkka, head over to Wikipedia.
Ievan Polkka’s Rise to Pop Culture Fame
Unless you skipped the intro on this page, you already know the basics of the Finnish folk vocal quartet Loituma and a bit about the VOCALOID singing synthesizer used to create a cover of Loituma singer Hanni Autere’s Finnish-based scat singing. What you didn’t learn about Loituma is that the group was formed while studying in the Folk music department of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Much of their repertoire comes from their own compositions or arrangements drawn from Finland’s rich history of folkloric and epic poetry, so breaking into the global pop culture scene was never in the 10-year plan; but it happened a decade after they released their first album in 1995.
Loituma’s 1995 recording of “Ievan polkka” on their debut album, Things of Beauty, didn’t top any charts. It got a bump after a 1996 Finnish TV broadcast of an a cappella performance by Loituma, which may have gone viral itself, if that was possible/was a thing back then. Alas, the song may have remained in obscurity if, in late April 2006, a Russian coder/creator had not clipped four frames from an episode of the Japanese manga anime BLEACH, looped them to the 29 seconds of scat singing from Loituma’s recording, and posted it on Russian social media. The global Internet meme known as Loituma Girl, aka Leekspin Girl, (right) was born. This revolutionary act of creativity may have only been motivated by boredom, but it sparked not only a resurgence of Loituma’s popularity in Finland, but also created a new global fanbase, who sent thousands of fan letters and drove website traffic to never-before seen highs.
Copy Cat Scats: Remixes and Covermania of Ievan Polkka on Social Media
As is the way of Internet memes, people found creative ways to get in on the Ievan Polkka action. First were the DJs remixing Loitum’s recording with heavy bass, drum machines, and techno club synthesizer loops and fills. The interest was so great that Loituma re-released “Ievan polkka” as a single and as an EP with several of the most popular remixes included in early 2007.
Along with remixes, there were vocal and instrumental covers and new arrangements, and more videos. The “animated pop musician” Holly Dolly, “a singing female donkey from Italy,” released “her” debut single “Dolly Song (Ieva’s Polka)” in the summer of 2006. In October, Dolly appeared in a professionally-animated video singing with some backup sheep dancers and a backdrop of Leekspin Girl (right). It’s like a techno remix of the Loituma scat singing for children, but with a new, real human vocal track by Dee Bee (Deborah Baratelli), although they put her voice through something like an digital “munchkin” filter! A simpler video version appeared in August for purchase as a ringtone to leverage the success of people already setting their ringtones to Loituma’s original version. The Holly Dolly version is often overlooked in the chronicle of Ievan Polkka, but it’s well worth a listen…and a dance!

But all the excitement was turned up to eleven in September 2007 when Otomania released a video cover sung by the newly-released Hatusune Miku VOCALOID synthesized Japanese singing voice set to a simple chibi caricature “Hachune Miku” bopping and waving the meme of the meme: a Welsh/spring onion, often erroneously identified as its fellow allium, the leek (right). Although the Holly Dolly rendition has great club mix appeal, the animation doesn’t do much for nerd appeal. Nerds love Japanese anime—especially when the mascot is the sexy teenage J-Pop star idol and diva, Hatsune Miku, who has “given” virtual concerts through holographic projection. And yes, Miku does have a wiki on Fandom, and she sells merchandise…
While Otomania remains the Hatusune Miku “Ievan Polkka” cover OG, other VOCALOID software enthusiasts created covers with different available voices. Remixes of Otomania’s cover also abound. Sega used Otomania’s creation as an example for the video game “Hatsune Miku: Project Diva.” While the audio has stayed about the same, the character animation of Miku has improved immensely with new tools. Now you can watch a full 3-D rendering of Miku in 4K (right). The original software MikuMikuDance (MMD) provided a simple way for creators to animate VOCALOID characters for a complete singing and dancing performance video. And now there is generative AI…
Dancing Examples of Tokyo Polka Line Dance
Teaching Examples
Only at YouTube:
Richard Powers intro and demo from Stockton Folk Dance Camp 2011
Music: Ready-to-Dance Examples of “Ievan Polkka”
Music: Edit or add some tag steps, or just watch and listen
Music: Loituma’s videos (restricted from embedding on this page)
- The OG: Loituma – “Ievan Polkka” (Eva’s Polka)1996 (available for streaming or download: 2006 re-release and also 1996 live)
- 2021 COVID Quarantine Track Mix by Loituma (available for streaming or download)
- LOITUMA: IEVAN POLKKA – Music video
Music: Honorable Mention
More covers of Ievan Polkka
If you have time you need to burn, search YouTube for Ievan Polkka
Music: Techno, Cosplay, and What?
Beatnick’s “Loituma Techno” and Hatsune Miku & Leekspin Girl cosplay
Internet Origins: Meme videos that brought Ievan Polkka to the masses
BLEACH, Leekspin Girl, Otomania’s original feat. Hachune Miku, chibi derivative of Hatsune Miku
Lyrics to “Ievan Polkka” / “Ieva’s Polka” / “Eva’s Polka”
Storyline: Ieva wants to polka! A break down of each verse
From the Loituma 2024 YouTube video descriptionThe storyteller is a young lad, who has a crush on a girl named Ieva (a Savonian version of Eeva, the Finnish Eva). The couple wants to dance together, no matter what. It’s a story about affection and the importance of dancing.
There is a sound of polka rhythm drifting from the neighbour (it might be Ieva’s house where people have gathered to dance). The lad says his feet long for dance. Ieva has her mother guarding her, but Ieva fools her and gets to dance with the lad. He’s saying: ”We don’t care about any restrictions when we are dancing all over the floor.”
Ieva is smiling widely as people wish her good luck. (Not sure, but maybe ’cause they had noticed the young fine lad being interested in her and people look at her with an implying gaze.) Everybody has their hair wet from sweating on the dance floor, and the fiddle is howling and wailing. In the end the lad says: ”I don’t mind being wet when dancing to and fro.”
Well, now Ieva’s mother is singing hymns in her own room (she probably didn’t like the idea of having a ball in her house). In the meantime the lad is wooing Ieva in the room next door (having a break from dancing). And the lad says that he doesn’t care about what any old women say as long as he can dance.”We had fun after the dancing, and I got to canoodle once”. (It’s not obvious what Kettunen is saying here, but he alludes presumably to making love somewhere.) When they get home, Ieva’s mother is angry and Ieva starts to weep. The lad says: ”I told Ieva that it doesn’t matter and we’ll be dancing again.”
The lad continues: ”I told the mother: you shut your mouth, or else I won’t guarantee your health. You’ll stay healthy if you grab your bones and have a rest in your room”. He also tells that he doesn’t care for being so gentle when he’s taking the ladies all over the dance floor.
The lad is speaking to Ieva’s mother: ”I’ll tell you, you need to chew, ’cause I’m not to be swallowed just like that. (meaning that he won’t give up easily.) You can go from east to west, but I’m not giving up Ieva.” And he continues: ”For this lad doesn’t care for being too modest, when dancing to and fro.”
From the description of original YouTube of Loituma – “Ievan Polkka” (Eva’s Polka) 1996. Ievan Polkka lyrics © Warner Chappell Music Finland Oy. Original lyrics by Eino Kettunen, less Hanni’s scat singing, now public domain 2024.Savo Finnish:
Nuapurista kuulu se polokan tahti
jalakani pohjii kutkutti.
Ievan äiti se tyttöösä vahti
vaan kyllähän Ieva sen jutkutti,
sillä ei meitä silloin kiellot haittaa
kun myö tanssimme laiasta laitaan.
Refrain: (constant)
Salivili hipput tupput täppyt
äppyt tipput hilijalleen.
Ievan suu oli vehnäsellä
ko immeiset onnee toevotti.
Peä oli märkänä jokaisella
ja viulu se vinku ja voevotti.
Ei tätä poikoo märkyys haittaa
sillon ko laskoo laiasta laitaan.
Refrain
Ievan äiti se kammarissa
virsiä veisata huijjuutti,
kun tämä poika naapurissa
ämmän tyttöä nuijjuutti.
Eikä tätä poikoo ämmät haittaa
sillon ko laskoo laiasta laitaan.
Refrain
-- scat singing break --
Siellä oli lystiä soiton jäläkeen
sain minä kerran sytkyyttee.
Kottiin ko mäntii ni ämmä se riitelj
ja Ieva jo alako nyyhkyytteek.
Minä sanon Ievalle mitäpä se haittaa
laskemma vielähi laiasta laitaa.
Refrain
Muorille sanon jotta tukkee suusi
en ruppee sun terveyttäs takkoomaa.
Terveenä peäset ku korjoot luusi
ja määt siitä murjuus makkoomaa.
Ei tätä poikoo hellyys haittaa
ko akkoja huhkii laiasta laitaan.
Refrain
Sen minä sanon jotta purra pittää
ei mua niin voan nielasta.
Suat männä ite vaikka lännestä ittään
vaan minä en luovu Ievasta,
sillä ei tätä poikoo kainous haittaa
sillon ko tanssii laiasta laitaan.
RefrainHanni's scat singing section:
Hilipati hilipati hilipati hillaa,
hilipati hilipati hilipampaa.
Jalituli jallaa talituli jallaa
tilitali tilitali tilitantaa.
Halituli jallaa tilituli tallaa
tilitili tilitili tilitili tallaa.
Halituli tilitali jallati jallan,
tilitali talitali helevantaa.
Rimpatirallaa ripirapirallaa
rumpatiruppa ripirampuu.
Jakkarittaa rippari lapalan
tulituli lallan tipiran tuu.
Jatsu tsappari dikkari dallan
tittari tillan titstan dullaa,
dipidapi dallaa ruppati rupiran
kurikan kukka ja kirikan kuu.
Ratsatsaa ja ripidabi dilla
beritstan dillan dellan doo.
A baribbattaa baribbariiba
ribiribi distan dellan doo.
Ja barillas dillan deia dooa
daba daba daba daba daba duvja vuu.
Baristal dillas dillan duu ba daga
daiga daida duu duu deiga dou.English (translated to a singing verse version):
The sound of a polka drifted from my neighbor's
and set my feet a-tapping oh!
Ieva's mother had her eye on her daughter but
Ieva she managed to fool her, you know.
Refrain: (varies each time)
'Cause who's going to listen to mother saying no
when we're all busy dancing to and fro!
Ieva was smiling, the fiddle it was wailing
as people crowded round to wish her luck.
Everyone was hot but it didn't seem to bother
the handsome young man, the dashing buck.
'Cause who's going to mind a drop of sweat
when he's all busy dancing to and fro!
Ieva's mother she shut herself away
in her own quiet room to hum a hymn.
Leaving our hero to have a spot of fun
in a neighbor's house when the lights are dim.
'Cause what does it matter what the old folks say
when you're all busy dancing to and fro!
When the music stopped then the real fun began
and that's when the laddie fooled around.
When he took her home, when the dancing was over
her mother angrily waiting they found.
But I said to her, Ieva, now don't you weep
and we'll soon be dancing to and fro!
I said to her mother now stop that noise
or I won't be responsible for what I do.
If you go quietly and stay in your room
you won't get hurt while your daughter I woo.
'Cause this fine laddie is a wild sort of guy
when he's all busy dancing to and fro!
One thing I tell you is you won't trap me,
no, you won't find me an easy catch.
Travel to the east and travel to the west but
Ieva and I are going to make a match.
'Cause this fine laddie ain't the bashful sort
when he's all busy dancing to and fro.
https://vocaloidlyrics.fandom.com/wiki/Ievan_PolkkaOtomania's Hatsune Miku VOCALOID2 Japanese phonetic adaptation of Hanni's (Loituma's) scat singing:
Hra-tsa-tsa, ia ripi-dapi dilla
barits tad dillan deh lando.
Aba rippadta parip parii ba
ribi, ribi, ribiriz den teahlando.
La barillaz dillan deiallou
ara va reve reve revydyv dyvjavuo
Bariz dah l'llavz dei lando dabaoke
dagae gadae due due dei ia do.
Alternate Phonetics:
(A)rattzattza ya ribiraririn
raba rittan rindam denrandu.
Waba rittatta parippari
pariri ribiribi risutan denrandu.
Yaba rindan tenran deiaroo
waraba dubudubudubu deiebu.
Ra rittan dinran denrandu
tatatataduuduu deiabuu.Hanni's last verse of jazzy scat singing that's emulated:
Ratsatsaa ja ripidabi dilla
beritstan dillan dellan doo.
A baribbattaa baribbariiba
ribiribi distan dellan doo.
Ja barillas dillan deia dooa
daba daba daba daba daba duvja vuu.
Baristal dillas dillan duu ba daga
daiga daida duu duu deiga dou.