America, home of the Polka! In this land of the melting pot, where all cultures and crazes are welcomed Polka is an unequivocal hit! Google the term “Polka” and your search will yield a bevy of fan sites dedicated to this centuries old dance. Polka is so widespread that it has its own Grammy category. Shania Twain, U2, Kanye West and Jimmy Sturr? Yep! Jimmy took home the 2005 statue for his album “Shake, Rattle and Polka”. Only in America could a folksy hop-step-close-step dance share a platform with a hip hop group who penned the ditty, “Its Hard Out Here for a Pimp!”
Polka is often associated with Poland, but the dance actually originated in Czechoslovakia, in the mid 1800s, or did it? Similar to other dance movements, Polka’s roots can be traced back to the working class. It is believed that the inventor of this half-step dance was a peasant girl, Anna Slezak. Well that’s the Czech version anyway. The Poles steadfastly hold to the story that they invented the dance but the Czechs popularized it. In the Polish version, a Czechoslovakian was passing through a Polish village and saw the dance being performed by a Polish girl. They called the dance “Polka” which translates to “Polish woman.”
After its Polish or Czechoslovakian beginnings, Polka was introduced to the ballrooms of Prague in 1835 and made its debut in Paris in 1840. Polka reached the United States by the mid nineteenth century as it joined the Waltz as the dance of the day. Its popularity waned with the introduction of jazz and ragtime. People no longer wanted to half step they preferred to “boogie woogie”.
Following World War II, Polish immigrants adopted the Polka as their national dance. Lawrence Welk and other post war bands added to the newfound polka craze. Contemporary American Polka has a wide range of styles. The push type “honky” style was birthed in Chicago; the faster paced Slovenian style has its roots in Cleveland; the Dutchman with its tuba music and oom-pah sound hails from the Midwest, the Tex-Mex version is the Conjunto style, and the punk polka or alternative polka is contributed by San Francisco. Today Polka fans gather at conventions, clubs, dance halls and “Sausage Festivals” to celebrate the “heel and toe and away we go” upbeat dance. There is a Polka Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio and International Polka Association in Chicago, Polka Newspapers, and numerous Polka booster clubs around the country.
“Sausage Festivals” or Wurstfests are similar to the German Octoberfest. Eastern European culture is celebrated with food, drink and Polka music. One such festival is the annual 10 day “Wurstfest” held in New Braunfels, Texas. This popular festival began in 1961 as Sausage Festival and later was known as “Wurst Week.” The first festival to the astonishment of its organizers welcomed 2000 visitors due to worldwide media coverage. The event now welcomes over 100,000 visitors to this annual smorgasbord of food, fun and music. There are many small and large festivals across the United States and all are dedicated to promoting and preserving the European heritage and its traditions which include Polka.
Polka music has a happy, upbeat feel but upon closer examination the songs are melancholy ballads of love gone wrong that can only be solved by alcohol! Hmmm, not unlike a good country and western tune - this definitely explains the American appeal. For the Polka enthusiast, it does not matter how or where it originated or what style you prefer because for the true aficionado it’s all about the music, so let’s Polka!
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