Directory of Polka Resources

Home > Arts > Performing Arts > Dance > Folk > Polka

Sites related to the polka as a dance. Polka music has its own category.

The polka is a lively "close" dance or round dance for couples, in 2/4 time.

The origin of the polka is in dispute: some say it was Bohemian (Czech), others, that it was originally Polish. In any event, there was a polka craze in Europe in the 1840s. Emigrants took the newly-invented accordion and the then-rebellious polka to America. There was a second polka mania in the 1930s and '40s, almost exactly a century after its introduction. Among some ethnic groups in North America (Germans, Polish, Czechs), the polka has never gone out of style.

Resources in This Category

• Animation & Dance: Polka

  http://www.anidance.de/en/he5d.htm
  Short essay on this dance. Also mentions conjunto music.

• Dance History Archives: The Polka

  http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3polka.htm
  The rise of this dance related to the redowa and the schottische. Important people and places in its early popularization, some early sheet music titles, names of some popular polkas.

• History of Dance: Polka

  http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/polka.htm
  Story of the origins and early spread of this popular dance, by Lori Heikkila.

• Polish Dances: Polka

  http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/dance/polka.html
  Essay points out that the polka, while popular among Polish-Americans, is not really a Polish dance like the polonaise or mazurka. Several photos. Includes bibliography.

• Polka Happiness

  http://www.ksanti.net/free-reed/reviews/polkahappiness.html
  Book review. Recommends this study of the polka in America to all fans of the polka.

• Polka steps

  http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/polka_steps.htm
  Diagram and instructions for basic polka step.

• rec.arts.dance FAQ: Polka

  http://www.eijkhout.net/rad/dance_specific/polka.html
  Brief history, links, explanation of "polka dots."

Related Categories

• Home > Arts > Music > Styles > R > Regional and Ethnic > Polka

 

Home > Arts > Performing Arts > Dance > Folk > Polka

 

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