? Polonaise dance is likely to be inscribed on the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity!? The dance is among five historic national dances of Poland, often considered the most traditional Polish dance and one of the few that we still dance today. Though it’s a peasant dance in origin, it gained popularity among the nobility and townspeople in later centuries.
Polonaise is danced in pairs, slow and dignified. The most common form of Polonaise is the procession, in which the pairs are arranged one after the other. In the past, the dance had a ceremonial function that the nobles performed this dance to express their tribute and respect for the monarch. Moreover, not only was the dance present at the royal court, but you can find it in the music of great composers like Fryderyk Chopin as well. Today, the Polonaise still retains its ceremonious function on the occasion of extraordinarily formal dance events, particularly at weddings and the senior prom, so-called “studniówka”.
Polish national dances were deeply immersed in the Polish culture and had become an integral part of it. So far, the preparation of the application to the Polish Committee on Intangible Heritage is already at the final stage. Regardless of the result, the Polonaise dance will always remain a classic in Poland.
Photo: poland.pl
