The termpolka referring to the dance is believed to derive from the Czech words "půlka", meaning "half-step". Czech cultural historianČeněk Zíbrt attributes the term to the Czech wordpůlka (half), referring to both the half-tempo2 4 and the half-jump step of the dance.[2]
The name was changed to "Polka" as an expression of honour and sympathy for Poland and the Poles after theNovember Uprising 1830–1831.[citation needed][speculation?] "Polka" meaning, in both the Czech and Polish languages, "Polish woman".[3] The name was widely introduced into the major European languages in the early 1840s.[3][relevant?]
The polka's origin story first appears in the periodicalBohemia in 1844,[4] in which it was attributed to a young Bohemian woman named Anna Slezáková (born Anna Chadimová). As told byČeněk Zíbrt, the music teacher Josef Neruda noticed her dancing in an unusual way to accompany a local folk song called "Strýček Nimra koupil šimla", or "Uncle Nimra Bought a White Horse" in 1830. The dance was further propagated byNeruda, who put the tune to paper and taught other young men to dance it.[2] Some versions of this origin story placed the first polka as being danced inHradec Kralove, while others claimed it occurred in the village of Labska Tynica.[5] Historians believe the polka evolved as a quicker version of the waltz, and associate the rapid bourgeoning in popularity of the polka across Europe in the mid-1800s with the spread of theRomantic movement, which emphasized an idealized version of peasant culture.[6]
By 1835, this dance had spread to the ballrooms ofPrague. From there, it spread to classical music hubVienna by 1839,[7] and in 1840 was introduced inParis by Johaan Raab, a Prague dance instructor.[4] It was so well received in Paris that its popularity was referred to as "polkamania."[8] The dance soon spread toLondon in 1844, where it was considered highly fashionable, and was also introduced to America.[4] It remained a popular ballroom dance in America, especially with growing Central, Northern, and Eastern European immigrant groups until the late 19th century.[9]
It may also be responsible for an increase in domestic popularity since the end of the 19th century, starting with the birth of recorded music, at first thanks to the many recordings provided byEmile Berliner's Gramophone company, which provided several examples of popular music. Some of the more desired American recordings include Berliner 230 ("Commodore Polka", played byW. Paris Chambers)[10] and the Berliner 3300s series (which include recordings like "The Signal polka" (BeA 3307) and "Exposition echoes polka" (BeA 3301), played byArthur Pryor),[11][12] though most early records are extremely scarce or nonexistent anymore due to their fragile nature.
There are various styles of contemporary polka besides the original Czech dance, which is still the chief dance at any formal or countryside ball in the Czech Republic.
In the 1850s, polka was expanded amongBelarusians, and was transformed by the national culture.[14][15] In different regions, local variants arose, which assimilated with local choreographic folklore and gained popularity. The ease of penetration of the polka into Belarusian choreography was due to its degree of proximity to Belarusian national choreographic traditions.[16]
The 2/4 meter polka merged well with Belarusian traditional dance, which had a similar meter. For example, "Trasucha" (Belarusian:"Трасуха", "Trasucha" or"Пацяруха", "Paciaruchais") a symbol of a typical folk dance, from which it received its name, and polka.[15] Most often in Belarus, the polka is performed in pairs, moving half a step with turns in a circle. The dance is decorated with a variety of small pas,[16] often accompanied bychastushkae.
Belarusian polkas are extremely rich in their choreographic and musical patterns, and are distinguished by great modal and intonation diversity.[15] Polka demands both skill and physical endurance from the dancers.
Like the square dance, the polka also has many local variants: "Віцебчанка, Viciebčanka", "Барысаўская, Barysaŭskaja", "Ганкоўская, Hankoŭskaja", and the names were also given according to the peculiarities of the choreography: "Through the leg", "With a podkindes", "With squats", "On the heel", "Screw" and others.[15]
In the United States, polka is promoted by theInternational Polka Association based inChicago, which works to preserve the cultural heritage of polka music and to honor its musicians through thePolka Hall of Fame. Chicago is associated with "Polish-style polka," and its sub-styles including "The ChicagoHonky" (usingclarinet and onetrumpet) and "Chicago Push" featuring theaccordion,Chemnitzer and Star concertinas, upright bass orbass guitar, drums, and (almost always) two trumpets.
The United States Polka Association is a non-profit organization based in Cleveland, Ohio.[19] Cleveland is associated with North American "Slovenian-style polka", which is fast and features pianoaccordion, chromatic accordion, and/or diatonic button box accordion. North American "Dutchmen-style" features anoom-pah sound often with atuba andbanjo, and has roots in the AmericanMidwest.
"Conjunto-style" polkas have roots in northernMexico andTexas, and are also called "Norteño". Traditional dances from this region reflect the influence of polka-dancing European immigrants from 1800s. In the 1980s and 1990s, several American bands began to combine polka with variousrock styles (sometimes referred to as "punk polka"), "alternative polka".
Polka Varieties was an hour-long television program of polka music originating fromCleveland,Ohio. The show, which aired in several U.S. cities, ran from 1956 until 1983. At that time, it was the only television program for this type of music in the United States.[20] A number of polka shows originated from theBuffalo Niagara Region in the 1960s, includingWKBW-TV'sPolka Time, which was hosted for its first half-year on air by Frankie Yankovic, and cross-border stationCHCH-TV'sPolka Party, hosted byWalter Ostanek.[21] In 2015, when Buffalo stationWBBZ-TV launched the weeklyPolka Buzz hosted by Ron Dombrowski, who also hosts the Drive Time Polkas radio show onWXRL Mondays-Saturdays from 5pm-7pm and onWECK Sundays from 8am-11am.[22])
Beginning with its inception in 2001, theRFD-TV Network airedThe Big Joe Show, a television program that included polka music and dancing. It was filmed on location in various venues throughout the United States from 1973 through 2009. RFD-TV replaced The Big Joe Show with Mollie Busta's Polka Fest in January 2011; after Big Joe's death,reruns ofThe Big Joe Show returned to RFD-TV in 2015.[23]
Peruvian polkas (becoming very popular inLima). In thepampas of Argentina, the "polca" has a very fast beat with a3 4 time signature. Instruments used are: acoustic guitar (usually six strings, but sometimes seven strings), electric or acoustic bass (sometimes fretless), accordion (sometimes piano accordion, sometimes button accordion), and sometimes some percussion is used. The lyrics always praise thegaucho warriors from the past or tell about the life of thegaucho campeiros (provincial gauchos who keep the common way). The polka was very popular in South and Southwest of Brazil, where it was mixed with other European and African styles to create theChoro. There also existCuraçaoan polkas.
The polka (polca in theIrish language) is also one of the most popular traditional folk dances inIreland, particularly inSliabh Luachra, a district that spans the borders of countiesKerry,Cork andLimerick.[25] Many of the figures of Irishset dances, which developed from Continentalquadrilles, are danced to polkas. Introduced to Ireland in the late 19th century, there are today hundreds of Irish polka tunes, which are most frequently played on the fiddle or button accordion. The Irish polka is dance music form in2 4, typically 32 bars in length and subdivided into four parts, each 8 bars in length and played AABB.[26][27][28][29] Irish polkas are typically played fast, at over 130 bpm, and are typically played with an off-beat accent.[30][31]
The Polka made its way to the Philippines during the mid-19th century and was adapted by Filipinos to local tastes and style. The Filipino Polka is usually more mellow than its European and American counterparts and often accompanied by therondalla or abrass band. The Philippine polka step is performed as a step on count "one," a close on count "and," and a step on count "two and."
A number of different polkas were documented in the Philippines. Themalaket-a-polka or "happy" polka fromEstanza,Pangasinan, Thepolkabal (polka-balse or "polka-waltz") andpolka antigo fromQuezon, thepolka sa nayon fromBatangas, thepolka culebra fromBulacan, and thepolka tagala from theTagalog region, among others. The polka music was also used as basis for other Filipino folk dances and folk songs.[32][33]
The polka also migrated to the Nordic countries where it is known by a variety of names in Denmark (polka, reinlænderpolka, galop, hopsa, hamborger), Finland (polkka), Iceland, Norway (galopp, hamborgar, hopsa/hopsar, parisarpolka, polka, polkett, skotsk) and Sweden (polka). The beats are not as heavy as those from Central Europe and the dance steps and holds also have variations not found further south. The polka is considered a part of thegammeldans tradition of music and dance. While it is nowhere near as old as the older Nordic dance and music traditions, there are still hundreds of polka tunes in each of the Nordic countries. They are played by solo instrumentalists or by bands/ensembles, most frequently with lead instruments such asaccordion,fiddle, diatonic accordion,hardingfele andnyckelharpa.
While the polka is Bohemian in origin, most dance music composers inVienna (the capital of the vastHabsburgAustro-Hungarian Empire, which was the cultural centre for music from all over the empire) composed polkas and included the dance in their repertoire at some point in their careers. TheStrauss family in Vienna, for example, while better-known for theirwaltzes, also composed polkas that have survived.Joseph Lanner and other Viennese composers in the 19th century also wrote polkas to satisfy the demands of the dance-music-loving Viennese. In France, another dance-music composer,Émile Waldteufel, wrote polkas.
The polka evolved during the same period into different styles and tempos. In principle, the polka written in the 19th century has a four-theme structure; themes 1A and 1B as well as a 'Trio' section of a further two themes. The 'Trio' usually has an 'Intrada' to form a break between the two sections. The feminine and graceful 'French polka' (polka française) is slower in tempo and is more measured in its gaiety.Johann Strauss II's"Annen-Polka" [de], Op. 114, "Demolirer-Polka, Op. 269, the "Im Krapfenwald'l", Op. 336, and the "Bitte schön!" polka, Op. 372, are examples of this type of polka. Thepolka-mazurka is also another variation of the polka, being in the tempo of amazurka but danced in a similar manner as the polka. The final category of the polka form around that time is thePolka schnell, which is a fast polka orgalop.Eduard Strauss is better known for this last category, as he penned the "Bahn Frei" polka, Op. 45, and other examples. Earlier,Johann Strauss I and Josef Lanner wrote polkas designated as agalop (quick tempo) or as a regular polka that may not fall into any of the categories above.
The polka was a further source of inspiration for the Strauss family in Vienna when Johann II and Josef Strauss wrote one for plucked string instruments (pizzicato) only, the"Pizzicato Polka" [simple].[36] Johann II later wrote the "Neue Pizzicato Polka" (New pizzicato-polka), Op. 449, culled from music of hisoperettaFürstin Ninetta [de]. Much earlier, he also wrote a "joke-polka" (Germanscherz-polka) entitled "Champagner-Polka", Op. 211, which evokes the uncorking of champagne bottles.
^abČeněk 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, 1895(Google eBook)
^ab"polka, n.". Oxford University Press. (accessed 11 July 2012).
^"Polkamania ... has raged very fiercely amongst us, indeed all over London this year." Letter by E. J. Knox,14 August 1844: quoted in A. E. Blake,Memoirs of a Vanished Generation ..., London (1909) viii, 217
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