Bearish! Trans! Bewildering! Dancing reflections on the traditional music of country people

I would like to introduce you to a Polish dance, oberek, which is representative of Polish dance culture. The name oberek is used interchangeably with mazurek Polish mazurka rhythms have been popular around the world from the 17th Century. In Poland their popularity endures today, like pop music. No other dances excite such enthusiasm in dancers, cause such euphoria and elicit such ecstatic singing, as oberek! There is a national epic named Chłopi (Peasants) which is full of vivid descriptions of various dances. I have used many quotes from this book, which depicts oberek very accurately. The aura of the dance is very thrilling and unpredictable. The music is lively, fiery and even furious. The dance is nothing else but improvisation, spontaneity and creativity, as it is in jazz. The frenetic pace of the dance requires real physical fitness. The dancers should be irrepressible, and ready for all kinds of variations. The dancer can lose himself in the midst of the dance, entering a sort of trance. Current research suggests that dancing oberek may even have therapeutic qualities.Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00