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Oberek
The oberek, also called ''obertas'' or ''ober'', is a lively Polish dance. Its name is derived from the Polish ''obracać się'' ("to spin"). It consists of many dance lifts and jumps. It is performed at a much quicker pace than the Polish waltz and is one of the national dances of Poland. It the second-most popular dance in Polish-American music, after the polka. Polish Oberek (Folk) The Oberek, in its original form, is a Polish folk dance and is the fastest of the Five National Dances of Poland. The Five National Dances are: Polonez (Polonaise), Mazur (Mazurka), Kujawiak, Krakowiak and Oberek. The Oberek consists of quick steps and constant turns. The beauty of the oberek depends on each individual dancer's talent of spinning at the fast tempo of the Oberek, which shares some steps with the Mazur. The music for the oberek was typically performed by a small village band, kapela, dominated by the violin in central Polan Polish-American Oberek (Social) The "Polish-American Obe ...
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Oberek - Antoni Kurzawa - 1881
The oberek, also called ''obertas'' or ''ober'', is a lively Poland, Polish dance. Its name is derived from the Polish ''obracać się'' ("to spin"). It consists of many dance lifts and jumps. It is performed at a much quicker pace than the Polish waltz and is one of the national dances of Poland. It the second-most popular dance in Polish-American music, after the polka. Polish Oberek (Folk) The Oberek, in its original form, is a Polish folk dance and is the fastest of the Five National Dances of Poland. The Five National Dances are: Polonaise (dance), Polonez (Polonaise), Mazurka, Mazur (Mazurka), Kujawiak, Krakowiak and Oberek. The Oberek consists of quick steps and constant turns. The beauty of the oberek depends on each individual dancer's talent of spinning at the fast tempo of the Oberek, which shares some steps with the Mazur. The music for the oberek was typically performed by a small village band, kapela, dominated by the violin in central Polan Polish-American Oberek ...
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Mazurka
The mazurka (Polish: ''mazur'' Polish ball dance, one of the five Polish national dances and ''mazurek'' Polish folk dance') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character defined mostly by the prominent mazur's "strong accents unsystematically placed on the second or third beat". The mazurka, alongside the polka dance, became popular at the ballrooms and salons of Europe in the 19th century, particularly through the notable works by Frédéric Chopin. The mazurka (in Polish ''mazur'', the same word as the mazur) and mazurek (rural dance based on the mazur) are often confused in Western literature as the same musical form. History The folk origins of the ''mazurka'' are three Polish folk dances which are: * '' mazur'', most characteristic due to its inconsistent rhythmic accents, * slow and melancholic ''kujawiak'', * fast ''oberek''. The ''mazurka'' is always found to have either a triplet, trill, dot ...
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Kujawiak
The Kujawiak is a Polish folk dance from the region of Kujawy in central Poland.Don Michael Randel. ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music''. Harvard University Press. 2003. p. 449. It is one of the five national dances of Poland, the others being the krakowiak, mazur, oberek, and polonaise. The music is in triple meter, and is characterized by its rubato tempo and calm, lyrical nature. The dance typically involves couples walking gracefully in a quarter-note rhythm, on slightly bended knees, with relaxed turns, around a circle. History The name "kujawiak", as a reference to the dance, first appeared in 1827, in T.F. Jaskólski's composition ''Pasterze na Bachorzy. Sielanki Kujawskie''. It is argued that the dance was developed from the mazur between 1750 and 1830. In 1841, Leon Zienkowicz described the kujawiak as a "regional variety of the mazurka relying on the domination of the minor key". The majority of the composers in the years following, including Ignacy Dobrz ...
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Polish-American
Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Poles, Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83% of the Demographics of the United States, U.S. population. Polish Americans are the second-largest Central European ethnic group after German Americans, and the Race and ethnicity in the United States, eighth largest ethnic group overall in the United States. The first Polish immigrants came to the Jamestown, Virginia, Jamestown colony in 1608, twelve years before the Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony), Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts. Two Polish volunteers, Casimir Pulaski and Tadeusz Kościuszko, led armies in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War and are remembered as American heroes. Overall, around 2.2 million Poles and Polish subjects immigrated into the United States, between 1820 and 1914, chiefly after national insurg ...
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Polonaise (dance)
The polonaise (, ; pl, polonez ) is a dance of Polish origin, one of the five Polish national dances in time. Its name is French for "Polish" adjective feminine/"Polish woman"/"girl". The original Polish name of the dance is Chodzony, meaning "the walking dance". It is one of the most ancient Polish dances representing Polish cultural dance tradition. Polonaise dance influenced European ballrooms, folk music and European classical music. The polonaise has a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin. Polska dance was introduced to Sweden during the period of the Vasa dynasty when king Vasa introduced it from Poland to Sweden that's why its name simply mean Poland; "polska" is a Polish word for Poland. The polonaise is a very popular dance uninterruptedly danced in Poland till today. It is the dance danced as an opening dance in all major official balls, events, at the final year of the high scho ...
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Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union. Warsaw is the nation's capital and largest metropolis. Other major cities include Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Szczecin. Poland has a temperate transitional climate and its territory traverses the Central European Plain, extending from Baltic Sea in the north to Sudeten and Carpathian Mountains in the south. The longest Polish river is the Vistula, and Poland's highest point is Mount Rysy, situated in the Tatra mountain range of the Carpathians. The country is bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west. It also shares maritime boundaries with Denmark and Sweden. ...
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Dance Lift
Dance partnering is dancing performed by a pair of dancers, typically a male and a female, in which the pair strives to achieve a harmony of coordinated movements so that the audience remains unaware of the mechanics. It relies on the application of partnering dance techniques that facilitate coordinated movements by a pair of dancers. In particular, it usually involves one dancer providing guidance, support, or both, for the other dancer. Dance partnering technique appears in various forms in many types of dance and is an essential part of all partner dances. Technique A variety of partner dance techniques are employed in dance partnering. Typically, the technique used for a particular dance style is generally focused on either communication between partners or physical support of one partner by the other. Guidance In many partner dances (e.g., ballroom dance) the male dancer typically assumes the role of lead and provides guidance to his typically female partner, the follow ...
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Waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the waltz that date from 16th-century Europe, including the representations of the printmaker Hans Sebald Beham. The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne wrote of a dance he saw in 1580 in Augsburg, where the dancers held each other so closely that their faces touched. Kunz Haas (of approximately the same period) wrote, "Now they are dancing the godless ''Weller'' or ''Spinner''."Nettl, Paul. "Birth of the Waltz." In ''Dance Index'' vol 5, no. 9. 1946 New York: Dance Index-Ballet Caravan, Inc. pages 208, 211 "The vigorous peasant dancer, following an instinctive knowledge of the weight of fall, uses his surplus energy to press all his strength into the proper beat of the bar, thus intensifying his personal enjoyment in dancing." Around 1750, ...
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Polka
Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ''polka'' referring to the dance is derived from the Czech word ''Polka'' meaning "Polish woman" (feminine form corresponding to ''Polák'', a Pole)."polka, n.". Oxford University Press. (accessed 11 July 2012). Czech cultural historian Čeněk Zíbrt also attributes the term to the Czech word ''půlka'' (half), referring to both the half-tempo and the half-jump step of the dance.Čeněk Zíbrt, "Jak se kdy v Čechách tancovalo: dějiny tance v Čechách, na Moravě, ve Slezsku a na Slovensku z věků nejstarších až do nové doby se zvláštním zřetelem k dějinám tance vůbec", Prague, 189(Google eBook)/ref> The word was widely introduced into the major European languages in the early 1840s. Origin and popularity The polka' ...
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Krakowiak
The Krakowiak or Cracovienne is a fast, syncopated Polish folk dance in duple time from the region of Kraków and Lesser Poland. The folk outfit worn for the dance has become the national costume of Poland, most notably, the rogatywka peaked hat with peacock feathers. It became a popular ballroom dance in Vienna (''"Krakauer"'') and Paris ("''Cracovienne"'') where, with the ''polonaise'' and the ''mazurka'', it signalled a Romantic sensibility of sympathy towards a picturesque, distant and oppressed nation. In Russia a krakowiak was featured in Mikhail Glinka's '' A Life for the Tsar'' (1836) and, ever since, became an identifiable symbol of Poles and Polish culture in the Russian Empire, especially due to the rogatywka hat. The first printed Krakowiak appeared in Franciszek Mirecki's album for the piano, "Krakowiaks Offered to the Women of Poland" (Warsaw, 1816). Frédéric Chopin produced a bravura concert krakowiak in his Grand Rondeau de Concert, '' Rondo à la Krakowiak i ...
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Varsovienne
The varsovienne, also known as the varsouvienne or varsoviana, is a slow, graceful dance in time with an accented downbeat in alternate measures. It combines elements of the waltz, mazurka, and polka. The dance originated around 1850 in Warsaw, Poland. The words ''varsovienne'' and ''varsoviana'' are French and Spanish feminine adjectives, respectively, meaning 'from Warsaw'. The dance was popular in 19th-century America, where it was danced to the tune ''Put Your Little Foot''. It quickly became a favorite folk dance in the Scandinavian countries as well. The unique armhold by the same name – also known as the promenade hold – is used in other dance styles such as the American square dance, contra dance, and some ballroom dances. Henry Ford's Dance Orchestra recorded a piece titled Varsovienne. The Albion Dance Band recorded a varsoviana tune on their 1977 album ''The Prospect Before Us''. A varsoviana tune plays an important role in Tennessee Williams' play ''A Streetc ...
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Redowa
A redowa () is a dance of Czech origin with turning, leaping waltz steps that was popular in European ballrooms. History The name comes from the Czech name rejdovák, derived from ''rej'' ("whirl"). Originally a folk dance, it first appeared into the salons in Prague in 1829 and fell out of fashion by 1840, though in the meantime it had spread beyond Bohemia. Thomas Hillgrove states that the redowa was introduced to London ballrooms in 1846. Like other popular ballroom dances of the mid-nineteenth century, including the polka, it was danced in Paris prior to its appearance in London. Meter Like most dances currently described as waltzes, the redowa is danced in time, with the couple performing a full rotation every six beats. Description A basic redowa step contains one long reaching step and two small leap-steps. The long reaching step can be danced on either the 1 or the 2 of each bar of music, depending on what feels best with the tune that is playing. Cellarius (1849) desc ...
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