Polka in the United States
It was sometime during the mid 19th Century that the vivacious, exuberant dance of Bohemian origin, the Polka, reached the shores of United States of America. It had no dearth of fan-followers in the US and very soon, people began to identify with it, leading to a replacement of the Contredanse and Cotillion. Such was its popularity in America that it was recorded by Thomas Balch in his ‘Philadelphia Assemblies’ that for the Assembly of 1849, Breiter’s band had actually composed a new Polka.
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The Polka became quite a popular dance form in the United States of America, especially during the post-war period, thanks to the Polish immigrants, who actually came to regard the Polka as their ‘national’ dance. Credit must also be given to gifted artists like Lawrence Welk, who contributed much to the growing popularity of the Polka among the Americans.
The Polka has also made its mark in bagging Grammy Awards where eminent musicians like Frank Yankovic, Brave Combo, Jimmy Sturr, etc proved to be straight winners with their polka musical compositions and Albums.
Several cultural organizations have also come up in USA with the intention of preserving and continuing the heritage of Polka dancing. Cultural groups like the International Polka Association that is based in Chicago, and the United States Polka Association that is situated at Cleveland, Ohio, works with the intention of preserving the rich heritage of Polka music and promotes such musicians and their talents. Another institution which promotes and supports Polka music is the Polka America Corporation which has its base at Ringle, Wisconsin.
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Thanks for passing along this information and pointing out the origins of the polka. While many believed the polka to be of Polish origin, I believe the confusion lies in similarities perceived between it and the Oberek, which does have it’s roots in Poland.