POMORZE

POLISH FOLKDANCE ENSEMBLE

Pomorze, Nova Scotia's Polish Folkdance Ensemble, was born in 1983. During the last several years the ensmeble has been "dormant" however, it has recently started up again and rehearsals are once again in progress. See the information below on how to get involved. During its past incarnation, Pomorze grew from a small group of enthusiasts to a well-organized company with a full repertoire. During that time Pomorze gave over one hundred fifty performances at occasions such as the Polish Dance Festival of the Americas in both Boston and Montreal, the Canadian Polish Dance Festival in Toronto, the Seventh and Eighth International Festival of Polish Folkdance Ensembles in Rzeszow, Poland, the Canada Games Festivities in Cape Breton, the visit of His Holiness Pope John-Paul II in Halifax, The Nova Scotia International Tattoo, the first annual 'A Day in Poland' celebrations, and many multicultural events and celebrations.

Pomorze's performances in Poland earned them the Medal of Honour from amongst the fifty-five companies from eleven countries who participated. Pomorze also produced two half hour television programs for Halifax Cablevision entitled Zabawa - Poland Dances.

Pomorze's costume collection is one of the best of its kind in Canada with six complete colourful sets of eight men's and women's costumes for the dances in the repertoire. All the costumes are authentic folk costumes, for the most part made in their respective regions of Poland. The collection also includes smaller numbers of costumes from other regions. The original music to which the dances are performed was scored for eight instruments and recorded by local musicians.

Their dances include exciting and original choreography's for some of the most intriguing of Polish dances. They include full company choreographies for:

• The Krakowiak -- one of Poland's national dances including the story of the invasion of the Tartars complete with their dancing horse, the Lajkonik.

• The Nowo Sadecki-- the company's 'signature' piece from the town of Nowy Sacz in the foothills of the Tatra Mountains. An exuberant village dance with lots of character.

• The Rzeszowski -- from Poland's south-east this dance features beautiful costumes combined with the eye-catching spins and turns of this region.

• The Goralski -- from high in the Carpathian Mountains. Completely unlike any other dance in Poland it features very athletic and acrobatic performances by the men including their characteristic axe leaping!

• The Lubelski -- from the beautiful city of Lublin this dance is another brisk and lively folk dance comprised of several segments including a polka, an oberek and a gypsy dance.

• The Kujawiak-Oberek -- from the Kujawy area of Poland it combines the very energetic oberek with the stately kujawiak. The most balletic of Poland's national dances it employs much classical technique and features a number of energetic lifts.

All the dances are from original choreographies done specifically for our group by some of the better choreographers in Canada and Poland. No one else dances these numbers!

Pomorze has recently started activities again. For further information or to get involved with the ensemble, please contact:

• Pomorze Polish Folkdance Ensemble
• Kersti Tacreiter
• 215 Parklea Drive
• Head of St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia
• Canada
• tel: (902) 826-9348
• email: driftwood.lodge@ns.sympatico.ca

Practices are at St. Anthony's Church Hall, 27 Farrell St., Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and take place at:

• Children (age 7-15) practice on Sunday 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
• Adults (age 16 and up) practice on Sunday 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM and Wednesday 7:00 - 10:00 PM.