25 r-- 3o--UQ_ -j:n:te/:2, 11o;ft ,_ Pronunciation: POHL-kah pshehz NOH-~eh Record: JA-333 "Tance rzeezowskie" {Polish Folk from the Rzeszow Re~ion), side A, band 3, available from Ada Dziewanowska.

Polka przez no~~ is a couple from the Kroeno (KROH-snoh) province in the re~ion of Rzesz~w [ZHEH-shoof] in southeastern . The name means " over the foot." As often happens, this is one of those old names that looses its meaninr in translation. In fact, it is not even danced as a rerular polka. It is just one of the typical vivacious, fast-spinnin~ Rzeszow dances done in 2/4 time. There exist several sli~htly different ways of doing Polka przez nog~ and it can be done to several different tunes, which usually have an accompanyin~ son~. Some have an 8-meas and some a 6-meas phrase. The tune used on this record (see the lyrics below) is composed of a 6-meas melody A and a 6-meas melody B; melody B is repeated which often occurs in Polish son~s. The dance was shown to Ada and Jas by Leodadia l~a§"dziarz, a v:rell-kno¥.'!1 native authority on the Rzesz6w folklore. It is also described in two books: Lidia Nartoweka, Tance z okolic Rzeszo-v1a, t-Jarszawa 1967 and J6zef Szmyd, T~~ce kroenienekie, Warszawa l961. THE SONG t r I E Na ~ro- dku po- la sto- i to- po- la, chwie-je s1~. Mf'' [~~ sr.roh-tkoo poh-lah stoh-ee toh-poh-lah hfyeh-yeh sheh ~ ~t*f. p t E 1 r r 1 E r P 1 r r 1 r r 1 J i Da- la- bym r~ by mo- je- mu chlo- pcu, bo- j~ si~. [dah-wah-bihm guem-bih moh-yeh-moo hwoh-ptsoo boh-yeh shehJ Translation A poplar tree stands in the middle of the field and it sways. I would let my boy kiss me but I am scared.

For:uat ion Circle of cpls in ballroom pos~ M's back to ctr, W faces ptr. The joined hands are held in the Rzeszow style: M's L hand over the back of W's R hand, his thumb on her palm, arms extended to the side, parallel to floor. PATTERN ~easures Music 2/4 INTRODUCTION {Mel B - 6 meas) 1-6 No action.

I. PREPARATION: SD~~ STEP {Mel A- 6 meas) 1 Slightly flexing M-R, W-L knee and tilting torso twd RLOD, step sdlo:d in LOD on M-L, W-R ft ( ct 1); straightening knee and torso, slide inside ft to outside ft (ct 2). 2-5 Repeat action of meas 1 four more times (5 times in all).

(cont.) Dances of Poland, Ada Cziewanowska, Nov 13-14, 1993, Miami Valley Folk Dancers, Dayton, Ohio 26 (Polka przez nog~ - p. 2) (FIG I cont.) Variations: Both facing LOD, ptrs may substitute· the sdwd step with small running steps (beg outside ft, cts 1,2 of each meas); OR dance a few meas of the runnin~ step followed by a few meas of the sdwd step. 6 With one step {M-L, W-R) make a 1/4 CCW turn, ending with M facing LOD, W-RLOD; maintain the ballroom pos, OR acquire another typical Rzesz6w hold: M place W's R palm on your L hip and hold it there; also at any point of Part II, as a display of enthusiasm, M may raise his L arm, while W's R hand remains on his L hip or waist.

II. "TEREE-AND 11 PIVOT (Mel B - 6 meas repeated) Using 11/2 meas cpl will now dance a series of full CW turns, moving in LOD. 1 Do a deep knee bend (which will ~ive the first step a lunging quality) and beg M-R, W-L, with 2 steps dance approximately a 2/3 CW turn (cts 1,2). 2 Strai~htening knees momentarily, with 1 step-tog (M-RL, W-LR) com~lete the full CW turn (cts 1,&); bending knees again, start 2nd CW pivot (ct 2). 3 Complete 2nd CW pivot by repeating action of ct 2 of meas 1 and of cts 1,& of meas 2 (Fig II) (cts 1,2,&). ~: The action of bending and straightening of the knees gives a wavy quality to the pivoting. Although every even pivot starts in the middle of a meas, the count for each pivot is 1,2,3,&. 4-12 Repeat action of me as 1-3 (Fig II) three more times ( 8 full Ci-t turns in all), except with eta 2,& of meas 12- instead of repeating action of cts 1,& of meas 2 (Fig II) - with one step (M-R, W-L) make a 1/2 CW turn (ct 2) and hold (ct &), ending in the starting formation, i.e., M's back to ctr. Repeat the entire dance 5 more times {6 times in all). The above is only a suggested arrangement. Provided there is ample room on the dance floor to avoid collisions, the dancers may switch from the Preparation Fig to the Pivot Fig at will during any of the melody transitions which occur every 6 meas. In Poland, during crowded weddings or at other parties, for safety's sake, couples would take turns in doing this slightly wild dance.

Dance introduced by the Dziewanowskis in September 1983 at a workshop for the Folk Arts Center of New En~land, Cambridge, Y~. Please do not reproduce these directions without the Dziewanowskis 1 permission.

Dances of Poland, Ada Cziewanowska, Nov 13-14, 1993, Miami Valley Folk Dancers, Dayton, Ohio