“Wilia” – three hours of folklore

Three hours long concert, ten dances, a lot of well-known songs but also several new ones, a few generations of artists on the stage – the Polish Folk Song and Dance Ensemble “Wilia” finished the year 2012 in great style.

“Wilia” welcomed the audience gathered in the House of Polish Culture with the polonaise and “mazur” from “Halka”. The first part of the concert called traditionally “To the rhythm of the polonaise and “mazur” was interspersed with various Christmas carols. The audience was pleased to admire familiar polonaises and waltzes (among the audience there were many veterans of the Ensemble) and sing the songs together with the young artists.

In the second part of the performance the audience was moved form the palace salons to the various regions of Poland. The Ensemble presented the Polish folklore as well as a new Lithuanian dance. Everybody was delighted to watch the younger group of the Ensemble performing the dances form the region of Nowy Sącz which are probably the most difficult among the Polish folklore dances. The audience did not wait long for the apogee of the concert. After the old songs from Rzeszów, the older group of the Ensemble appeared on the stage.

“Żywiec” – probably the most physically demanding dance suite. A very fast tempo at the beginning of the suite did not decrease even for a single moment. On the contrary, the tempo was increasing with every new dance of the suite. Only a well-trained dancer can endure such a tempo. It was proved by the older group of the Ensemble. During the loud applause, the message “We can do it!!!” could be read from the dancers’ faces.

“Each concert is difficult in its own way but we look before we leap. Our dancers have been preparing for the concert for a long time. They did their best. In my opinion, the concert was a huge  success.”, said Marzena Suchocka, a choreographer of the Ensemble.

“I’m glad that this Christmas marathon came to an end and now I can enjoy my holidays. I’m happy that we were able to organize something special for the audience. We presented everything we were working on last year. It was sort of a summary, or rather a report of our achievements. I’m glad that our concerts enjoy popularity. Long before the concert the tickets were sold out and unfortunately, we could not hire a hall for another concert. However, I have already reserved the hall for two concerts next year so every interested person will be able to watch our performance”, promised Renata Brasel, the artistic director and choirmaster of the Ensemble.

The director of the younger group stressed that it was extremely difficult to interest teenagers in folklore. “Young people who have finished school or children are more interested in folklore, however, teenagers consider folklore unfashionable. That’s why I’m glad that “Wilia” managed to organize the younger group of dancers”, said Beata Bużyńska, a choreograph of the “Wilia” younger group.

After the concert, Apolonia Skakowska, a chairwoman of Stanisław Moniuszko Centre for Polish Culture in Lithuania, expressed her regard for the Ensemble and stressed that “Wilia” was a symbol of Polish folklore and culture in Lithuania. Alicja Pietrowicz, a representative of the Association of Poles in Lithuania, acted the role of Santa Claus and gave the Ensemble a few large boxes full of sweets.

Source: http://pl.delfi.lt/kultura/kultura/wilia-trzy-godziny-folkloru.d?id=60326677

Tłumaczenie Karolina Rolka w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Karolina Rolka the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.